By Odette Barry, founder of PR agency Odette & Co and host of Hack Your Own PR
If the 21st century public relations landscape tells us anything, it’s that the old adage “all publicity is good publicity” has had its day.
Publicist and notorious PR, Roxy Jacenko, is feeling the consequences of that. Not only is she being savaged by her peers for the structurally deceptive $10 million dollar house giveaway, she is also copping flak for playing the victim in this real estate grift gone wrong.
Unfortunately, marketing stunts like these not only fail spectacularly for the offending PR when exposed, they also fling debris across the whole industry.
As a publicist, this attention-seeking at all costs tactic leaves me frustrated and embarrassed, sentiments many in the industry are feeling too.
Despite spending years demonstrating to clients already wary of PR that you don’t need to resort to cheap tactics and unethical behaviour to get your message across, it only takes one Jacenko to bring it all down.
Back in March, Jacenko announced she was giving away a $10 million Sydney beachside house in Cronulla. To enter the competition, all you had to do was sign up to her online Bootcamp course for as little as $29. The more Bootcamp access you purchased (up to $499), the more entries you received.
Bootcamp subscribers amassed some 7,000 entries into the scheme, putting their trust in the high-profile influencer only to find out later that nobody was ever going to win the house.
What it did offer the victorious subscriber was an entry into another near-impossible-to-win competition run by a second party, its fine print also citing the house may not be won.
This visibility at all costs, burn and churn approach to PR is really toxic for the industry.
It flies in the face of what PR is traditionally meant to be about. It’s not just about visibility; it’s about how people think and feel about the brand or mission being publicised, not simply that they know it exists.
We don’t need more churn and burn PR. We need to slow down and think.
Our industry should lead with clear, considered, and consistent campaigns that build visibility and trust. A slower, more measured approach, designed around how you want the community to feel about your brand, your personality, and your values.
The question PRs need to be asking after this fiasco is: Do these fast, flashy ideas or free sets of steak knives really belong in today’s PR landscape?
Where is the tipping point that will see ridiculous, disingenuous offers no longer tolerated by the client and the consumer?
In Jacenko’s case, the fallout from her approach was enough for the influencer to publicly offer Bootcamp refunds out of her own pocket – which she went to great lengths to reiterate, while trying to distance herself from a competition that literally had her name all over it.
While mainstream media gave airtime to Jacenko and her too-good-to-be-true offer, little was known about the actual product – the online course at the centre of the controversy.
Which begs the questions: Why wasn’t the course content provided by such a high-profile creator enough to speak for itself? Why the need to give the Bootcamp a $10 million leg up?
While there are spaces for clever, well-executed pop-up campaigns, I still believe the best and most effective strategies begin with trust, between the PR and the client and therefore the client and consumer.
Jacenko and her now estranged collaborator are now in the process of blaming one another publicly for the flawed proposal while both claim to have prioritised their customers’ needs… despite overseeing a competition framework that says the opposite.
It’s a reminder the most successful campaigns are based on substance, not sensationalism. You want people to remember your name – but not for all the wrong reasons.
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Top image: Odette Barry