With a little bit of flair something routine can turn a non-story into a media frenzy.  Recently unemployed, JetBlue flight attendant, Steven Slater, is a good example of what I am talking about from which PR people can take a lesson.

Let’s consider that right now, in the skies above us, there is a flight attendant losing his or her temper at an unreasonable passenger.  Having traveled extensively for 15+ years I can almost guarantee that this is happening now and that it happen every day, but we rarely hear about it.  What occurred in this case?  Slater decided to take some beer then leave the plain via the emergency slide.  It was probably not the right thing to do, but the guy’s got style.

So what good can you take from this?  When you have something you want media coverage for do something a little mysterious.  (Why did he take the beer? Was he going to drink it on the tarmac?) Then do something unexpected.  (We all know about the emergencies shoot, but no one would open one if it wasn’t an emergency, right?)  This technique is especially effective for new product launches and launching new integrated marketing campaigns.  It allows you to lead with some buzz rather than the ho-hum.  “Acme Widget Company launches version 5.2 of its Super Widget,” is a snooze.  “Alien technology allows new widget to solve the industry’s biggest problems,” is getting somewhere.

Have some fun, take some risks.  Take some beer and use the emergency slide.
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