As PR practitioners, our focus is to communicate strategic messages by developing sharp, quirky, innovative, and, above all, newsworthy story angles.
We all sometimes get carried away with becoming overly eager to stand out in a message-cluttered environment. Is there danger to developing news items that are just too innovative… to the point of disgust?
I came across this article about strange jobsin hotels on Consumerist, and there are apparently Holiday Inns in the UK that employ professional snugglers to pre-warm a guest’s bed! Just take a look at all the negative comments to taking such a bold step of doing PR around such an invasive amenity! While I don’t know, I am assuming Holiday Inn was looking for a quirky, personalized amenity to satisfy guests while obtaining PR in the process.
Who wants pre-warmed beds with a strangers’ smell or hair on their pillow?
I have not verified this odd amenity with Holiday Inn, but this article has gone viral - I found it through a friend on Facebook.
I guess this raises the question… when does innovative become just too much? And do you really think that there is no such thing as bad publicity??