Top Five PR Campaigns of 2019

In today’s media environment, it can be really hard to break through the noise. The news cycle changes minute to minute. You may start the morning dominating the headlines, only to be buried by three or four stories before noon! Every brand, leader, influencer—you name it—is trying to get a word in. It’s crowded, competitive and noisy.

I’ve been in PR and marketing for close to 30 years. I’ve worked for small startups, and I’ve worked for big corporations—like Microsoft and T-Mobile. No matter the case, the same PR rule applies: You want to be talked about (for good things, of course). You want your campaigns to be memorable. You want to make an impression on people that is authentic to your brand.

When I started thinking about the best PR campaigns of the year, I thought about all of this. Because as communications professionals… our jobs are getting harder every day. Not easier! So I wanted to single out the ones that really pulled me in, stirred up debate in the office or gave us a much-needed laugh.

Below are my personal top five PR campaigns of the year. Some are hilarious. Some are heartwarming. Others are just plain genius. But they all have one thing in common: They stand out from the crowd.

The Not Big Macs Campaign by Burger King

At T-Mobile, we’re big fans of poking fun of the competition (see: verHIDEzon). So it’s no surprise that one of my favorite campaigns involves some expert-level trolling…. When McDonald’s lost their Big Mac trademark earlier this year in the European Union, it meant anyone could use the name of their beloved burger. So what did chief rival Burger King do? Sprinkled a little salt on the wound, of course! And they did it by changing the menu at one of their restaurants in Sweden to mock the iconic burger. It included clever phrases such as: “Like a Big Mac, But Actually Big,” “Burger Big Mac Wished It Was,” and “Anything But a Big Mac.” Ouch! And as if that didn’t sting enough, Burger King released a video of customers ordering from the menu—all while their employees kept a straight face! It was all in good fun, but it also netted real results: Burger King experienced its best January sales week EVER in Sweden!

Delta’s Girls in Aviation Day Campaign

It’s common for companies to try and create media moments around holidays that are relevant to their industry. But it’s not every day that you see them land so effectively…. To celebrate Girls in Aviation Day—and highlight the gender gap in the aviation industry—Delta Air Lines flew 120 girls to NASA in Houston. To punctuate the point, they used an all-female crew! “We’re taking ownership to improve gender diversity by exposing girls at a young age and providing a pipeline so that 10 years from now, they will be the pilots in the Delta cockpit inspiring generations of women who follow,” Delta told Time magazine. To help spread the word, Delta partnered with the Today show and released a selfie of its all-female crew and passengers, which went viral. The campaign generated 400+ earned media stories, and those pieces were shared nearly 500,000 times on Twitter. This campaign actually made me feel even better about the airline. So, if I am any example, they earned their brand some additional love and preference with this one too! 

Fiji Water Photobombs the Golden Globes

During the 2019 Golden Globes, Fiji Water strategically placed one of its spokesmodels with a tray of its water bottles behind numerous celebrities during the red carpet opening. The sheer number of photobombs caused #FijiWaterGirl to start trending, and outlets started to report on the viral sensation. PRWeek declared, “Fiji Water is the real Golden Globe Winner,” while E! News gave the Fiji Water Girl her own award for Best Supporting Actress on a Red Carpet. She even inspired people to be her for Halloween, including one of my employees! But here’s the real value of earned media: The stunt generated so much buzz in one evening that it was equivalent to spending $12 million in paid advertising. Talk about stealing the show!

Mental Health America’s World Record Egg Campaign

It’s hard to beat the Kardashians at social media, but one campaign did just that—and it was all for a great cause. Earlier this year, an account surfaced on Instagram featuring a plain brown egg. The caption offered a challenge: “Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)!” A couple weeks later, another photo of the egg surfaced, but this time it had cracks. Then, several days later, more cracks. After much speculation, the account posted that everything would be revealed after the Super Bowl on Hulu. In a 30-second video, the egg talked about the pressures of its newfound fame on social media. Its message was clear: "If you're struggling too, talk to someone." It turned out to be a campaign by Mental Health America, which set a world record with more than 52 million likes on Instagram. More importantly, though, it was a brilliant effort to draw attention to such an important issue.

T-MoBell Campaign

I couldn’t post my Top 5 without featuring one of our own! During the 2019 Super Bowl, T-Mobile and Taco Bell announced a new partnership to give Un-carrier customers a free taco every week with T-Mobile Tuesdays. When we saw the overwhelming response, it became abundantly clear: Our customers love free tacos. So, we teamed up with Taco Bell to go BIGGER—and give EVERYONE a taste of what it’s like to be an Un-carrier customer. We transformed T-Mobile’s high-traffic Signature Stores in Chicago, LA and New York into co-branded T-MoBell stores with giveaways, celebrity appearances, co-branded merchandise, and of course, free tacos for all. We even gave away a year of free tacos in social to ensure everyone could get in on the action, regardless of location! It was a ton of fun and drove massive increases in retail foot traffic—784 percent in Chicago, 555 percent in Los Angeles and a 378 percent in New York City. A smart campaign with tangible results!

Comment with your favorite PR campaign from the year!