I was all set to write a very serious post about online critics and Dell’s new blog, but I ran acoss this amazing story and scrapped it all to have a little fun.
Today a blogger named Kyle will get a house in Kipling Saskatchewan, Canada (map) that he got by trading a paperclip with a series of fourteen items leading to the house.
Along the way it could be said that he had an excellent adventure.
Today he will get the key to the town of Kiplinger and a whole host of swag and goodies thrown in to sweeten the deal.
Why? Because the town wants the spotlight thrown its way. In other words, it is good PR.
It all started with a simple ad in Craigslist. Kyle asked to trade a red paperclip for something “bigger or better.” Fourteen trades later, he made his stated goal, which was to trade a paperclip for a house.
Although he professes to know nothing about public relations, Kyle is a master at telling a story. His blog is set up as a narrative, with all the suspense built in for what will happen next. And indeed, he is a storyteller. He wants to write a book and he has a collection of short stories on his blog.
He also had a little help from PR practioner Evan White, who graduated from college in April and started assisting Kyle. Evan also arranged interviews with a few of his media contacts, including a reporter from a small little outfit called the Associated Press.
In other words, he applied classic public relations skills. If your client has a compelling story, or is creating one, the story will take on a life of its own.
But Kyle also has an unusually keen sense for what will sell, or in his case, trade. He calls it “funtential.”
In other words, not every public relations campaign needs to be super serious and bring on world peace. Sometimes it is sufficient to have fun, and don’t we all need more of that?
There was a great story about “rejuveniles” on NPR yesterday that kind of reminded me of Kyle’s quest. Author Christopher Noxon coined the term which is a moniker for adults that act more like kids. But I digress…
Kyle is taking fun to new heights. Oh, and if you see a story about him today in your local paper, you can get in on the fun since he will trade a red paperclip patch if you send him the clip. I might do it since it was in my paper recently.
This is one creative way to build a clipbook!
Congratulations Kyle! May we “professionals” all be inspired to be just a little more creative and spontaneous in our public relations campaigns.
Oh, and no worries to my readers, tomorrow I am sure I will be back to my serious self, or maybe not 😉
Hat tip to Mike Dieshorst of Mikes Points for the link.
