PR, The Madness of King George and the Ice Cream Man!
What has PR got to do with The Madness of King George and the Ice Cream Man?
Henry James Copyright 2022-2023, All Rights Reserved, Reprinted from my original in 2009. www.localleadoptimiser.cop.uk
How far would you go for an ice cream?
200 yards? 2 miles? How about 90 miles.......
Weymouth is a seaside resort we occasionally go to for day trips. The area on the south side of the Marina, round the "Cove" area and "The Old Brewery",
as far as I remember it was full of lovely painted cottages. The north side has the beach and esplanade. The day we visited it was thriving.
But, why were we there? Simply, because of the power of PR.
If you don't believe it works read on.........
This relates to something that happened to me years ago but a recent event made me recount this for you. I was watching our "local" TV news, tagged at the end of the national coverage. And there was a snippet of a story about an Ice Cream parlour in Weymouth, that had to get an "Alcohol License" to sell some of its ice creams.
Why? Because some of their concoctions have strong alcohol content.
As it happened when the news came up we were considering where to go the following weekend. We are lucky, we are only @ an hour or so from the coast generally but, what the hey, let's spend 2hrs 25 mins traveling instead, just to try an ice cream! For the coming weekend that TV "snippet" made up our minds - Weymouth here we come.
Was it worth battling the traffic - you bet, but I'll come to that in a minute.
The point of this blog is simply this.
If you are not using your thinking time to create ways to get some PR, do so now.
The power of PR is immense.
And the beauty of a lot of it, it's free. Yes, FREE to generate.
It will cost you nothing other than a bit of your time to write a press release [or get someone to do it for you]. It will cost nothing to call your local Radio or TV station. There are a couple of things that are useful for you to know but they are simple.
So, back to my question, was it worth the trip. You bet.
The sun shone all day, Weymouth was busy but you could still breathe. The Marina area has all been improved (I have not been for quite a few years!) and it was a pleasant bustle.
But then came the surprise.
We expected to find the ice cream parlour somewhere along the esplanade. Nowhere to be seen. In the main shopping streets - not quite. Asked passers-by, "Where could we find the famous ice cream parlour with an alcohol license" no one knew (we did not find a local person. Those we stopped, like us, were all visitors). But we were still hooked, driven even, to find it. We loved their story, we had to taste the ice cream.
We stopped at a restaurant and cafe for a takeaway tea. And asked there. Very helpful staff, know how to run a tight ship. We did not eat there but the chips looked fresh and tasty as did their fish. After a couple of moments scratching his head, the manager twigged where we were looking for.
What was even more of a surprise was that for some unknown reason I expected the ice cream parlour to be an established business - no, it was only about a month or two old. That is partly why no one local seemed to know it was there (a missed PR opportunity) but, overall, it was fantastic TV PR for a young, new business.
The manager at the cafe gave us directions.
We found it. It was called "Mad George" [not sure if it's still there as it was some time ago]. It's on George Street. And it's a trendy ice cream eatery.
Just find the "Cook Shop" store, just off the main esplanade and then turn left into "George Street" if you are walking away from the sea. It's @ 400 yards on the right-hand side.
My wife and I had honeycomb and toffee and a Pinocholada. Then, 30 mins later we found our kids and took them there. My wife and I could not resist another small "Rum and Raisin" - all the ice creams were absolutely delicious. The orangey one was to die for. I can still taste all the various ones I tried - years later.
By accident, the Ice Cream parlour had managed to get some regional TV coverage when the local environmental health refused to let them sell the ice creams without an alcohol license.
And the word had spread far and wide.
I did a spot check in the shop and discovered from other customers they had traveled even further than we had to. We had all become "Mad George" evangelists before we even got there. [update 2022 - no longer sure it is there].
By creating a story the PR worked. By asking others we were spreading the word. And we even saw some of the other visitors we had bumped into earlier in the day when we were asking directions but who did not know of it - they were there too. Our questions to them had piqued their curiosity and that of others.
Local, and regional viral marketing at its timely best.
With the product living up to its promise, I am spreading the word to you.
Could this ice cream parlour do more? Maybe a little. They need to:
- get some more local PR out to tie in with their regional coverage
- as they are in a secondary position provide some leaflets/coupons/flyers that none conflicting
businesses can carry in prime locations for mutual benefit
- they should capture people's emails so they can sell by mail order and or get repeat visitors. There is lots they could do that way.
Now, you may be asking why is an ice cream parlour called "Mad George".
I know why but that would be giving the game away.
All the staff are perfectly sound, sane and lovely people and I wish them all the best.
You will have to go and ask them, but the address and something you will see nearby will give you clues. If you go in, and they are still there tell them we sent you and you found out about it on my blog. I hope you enjoy the ice cream as much as I and my family did.
Above all, get your own PR out there.
Happy Ice Cream eating. Henry.
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About the Author:
Henry James is a marketer, and specialises in marketing systems for estate agents and those in the property sector.
He can help you Attract, Convert, Retain business to help companies like yours make more money!
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