Roman Maslennikov - Explosive PR. Secrets of Outrageous PR-Stunts from Russia with Love for Positive News

From our perspective, everything began with the successful promo event “Raccoons Ransack an Internet Booster Shop” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV5JjzyvROE

There were plenty of releases on Ren-TV, Russia Today, Podmoskovye 360, and even in The Independent. Here is the reference: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/watch-three-badly-behaved-raccoons-ransack-an-office-in-russia-10218013.html

As per the contract terms, however, the client expected three TV releases while there was only one. Because of that, I nearly split with my business partner who was adamant that the action had been completed. But a bargain is a bargain, so I decided to press it home.

The client continually turned down our cool moves. Just follow the link to gage some of them: https://goo.gl/LWz9WS

For instance: “Launching a rumor that an Internet booster manufacturer has won a grant from PornHub to develop the Internet in the Moscow region for greater exposure of local residents to porn. This was on the premise that XXX-sites have a large audience only in the inner city, whereas in the suburbs people do not visit such sites because of the slow Internet. Or “Russian porn celeb Elena Berkova will star in a commercial of the Internet booster manufacturer.”

Here is the plot: “Taking too long to download? Getting nervous and breaking your computer? Hook up and don’t fret.” Or “A nude man is running across the Red Square and trying to climb the Mausoleum to set up a booster. The whack is taken to a loony bin, and the client says, “We bear no relation to this incident: it’s the scheming of our rivals.” Or “An Internet rickshaw: a man with an aerial wire is pursuing a businessman over the Moscow region so as not to lose location.”

Occasionally, it came to funny PR inventions infringing upon the TV broadcasting act. We cut in a TV spot already on the air, but the client got the hang, and we saw a new generation fake was invented – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvkpCTCd2-E

That’s Why Explosive PR Is More Than Just Traditional Public Relations

Eventually, we groped for the right trick and came up with a press release identifying some places in the Moscow Region that needed fast Internet more than others: clinics, daycares, playgrounds, boarding schools, bathrooms, and cemeteries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck12M1O63NA

Now about the Internet at the cemetery. That hook blew the minds of journalists. Everyone wanted to shoot that process in the midst of graves and crosses.

Yet the state enterprise Ritual was hard on us, demanding a multitude of accreditation documents, testing, etc.

That idea did not pay off. We made an arrangement to shoot a video at the animal cemetery in Khimki, but the TV channels did not care. The cemetery Internet had some coverage in newspapers; the company even had calls from real funeral brokers who wanted to hook up, with four annual subscriptions signed. They just did not want any publicity.

This story had a sequel. Ritual announced a tender for the Internet installation at three Moscow cemeteries. When the news hit the Yandex top, questions hailed down on Yota System, and I was personally thanked by journalists for “pushing through a useful initiative.” I replied that “I was simply doing my work” and was not privy to the comments, although actually, I was, as you can see.

Now about the Internet in bathrooms; this was another cranky idea! While looking for a shooting site, I called several Moscow companies to know all ends and outs of this market and made an arrangement with a Moscow toilet chain. When shootings were over – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th_oE3FWBiU – directors were already negotiating the SIM card delivery. Again, a lucrative business arose from a newsbreak.

Oleg Matveychev makes a point in his Ears that Wag the Ass that advertising only squanders your money while PR can help you earn it. Finally, I had succeeded.

Explosive PR is not the trivial “blatant PR stunt”, though that is what it is. Explosive PR just sounds better, doesn’t it?

Explosive PR takes place every time 30 to 100 or more free features about your company are released within 1-2-3 days.

I don’t know how it works abroad, but in Russia, business people often wonder how PR can boost their sales. I’ll explain everything statistically, although figures are boring. I tackled explosive PR to avoid extensive explanations and reports. Everything is seen with the naked eye. For instance, our news is in the TOP-10 YandexNews. What other coverage evidence do you need? This is the best KPI to be dreamed of in PR: hitting the TOP-5 news of the main information and news source – the search engine used by more than 70% of Runet users.

Our other news topped the Google: Trends of the Day – “A schoolboy wins a night with a porn star in the CS: GO game”

What other explanations and reports are needed to defend the maxim that PR affects sales, albeit indirectly?

Similar claims are made on explosive PR as well, but how on earth can you measure its impact on sales? I came up with a metaphor. Just imagine coming to a premiere or a Super Bowl game, or the NHL finals, or a popular stage production of a Broadway musical.

You needn’t imagine yourself a businessman because this is what you are, so you watch a game or a stage production, the brilliant play of the actors, and have fun.

Can you see how this might affect your sales? There will be some effect, but you are at a loss for precise estimation. The sure positive effect is feeling fine, experiencing a catharsis, and having deep moral satisfaction.

Now imagine being in the center of that game, the main star who scored a decisive goal or a winning touchdown. What do you feel?

Extreme, a surge of adrenaline, your heart leaping for joy. It’s a rush and a kick for you. In the same token, explosive PR is about the INNER STATE.

Apart from a higher conversion rate, the number of brand queries, coverage, etc., the main benefit of explosive PR is the new inner state.

And this is real buzz or bliss-out worth experiencing at least once in a lifetime.

And like my friend and Nietzsche wannabe Anthony “The Inquisitor” Kirsanov would put it, whatever does not kill us can be tried once again!

Theoretical Framework of Explosive PR

Explosive PR did not originate out of nowhere. However, this is how it is now perceived by my numerous rivals. The number of explosive PR agencies keeps growing. Yet, there are only five real professionals in this trade: Anton Vuima, Oleg Voronin, Maksim Perlin, Misha Chernyshev, and Oleg Matveychev 4 4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleg_Matveychev , the guru of all gurus.

Explosive PR has a host of friends: newsjacking, guerilla marketing, viral video, flash mob, pranks, art actionism, cats, sexvertising, experience-marketing, shockvertising, mem-marketing, memjacking, ambush-marketing, hashtag jacking, and marketing shticks.

Works of fiction and cinematography, rather than related areas, that motivated me to tackle explosive PR. Here is the best theoretical framework for those who want to be fearless of explosive PR:

– Wag the Dog movie – a screen adaptation of Larry Beinhart’s American Hero ,

– The Black Mirror series,

– The Absolute Power mini-series,

– Christopher Buckley’s Little Green Men ,

– Ears That Wag the Ass , a book by Russian authors who are currently employed as Kremlin spin doctors