After watching previews for months and getting psyched about its release, I got a chance to see M. Night Shyamalan’s newest flick, ‘The Visit’. Packed with suspense and a bit of horror, I enjoyed this movie immensely. After walking out of the theatre a bit shell shocked by the ending, I came up with a few similarities the movie had with public relations. Here are four PR lessons from ‘The Visit’.
Have you seen ‘The Visit’?
4 PR Lessons from ‘The Visit’
- Offer Exciting Sneak Peeks
The first commercial I saw for ‘The Visit’ was delightfully simple: a grandmother asked her granddaughter to climb into the oven to clean it. Clinging to the edge of my seat, I watched as she shut the girl into the oven, proclaiming, ‘This’ll just take a second!” I was hooked from the very first commercial, without even fully knowing what the film was about.
Teasing your newest work before it’s publically available can be a powerful public relations tool. If you have a big event coming up or a new publication on the horizon, offer your customers a sneak peek to get them really excited for the big release.
- Don’t Leave Anything to Chance
One of the most important PR lessons from the film was to not leave anything to chance. By failing to accompany her children to their grandparents’ house, the kids’ mother sets some terrible consequences in motion. Had she traveled to the town and seen who was meeting them at the train, the whole film wouldn’t have occurred.
Don’t leave anything up to chance in your public relations campaigns; you never know what might happen if you don’t plan properly. Be sure to proofread all communication that goes out and dedicate a point person to manage your online presence.
- Get All the Details
The children in the movie were wondering what their mother could have done when she stormed out of her parents’ house nearly 15 years ago, but failed to hear the whole story before spending a week at the grandparents’ house. Had the children gotten all of the details before their visit, they might have been able to predict the scenario that was unfolding in front of them.
This is also a quite valuable PR lesson from the film. Get all of the details about any major project, event or announcement before taking the plunge and sharing it publically.
- Don’t Forget to Have Fun
Although the film was packed with suspense and I found myself bracing for a scare at every turn, it was also quite light-hearted and funny. The characters played games and made jokes throughout much of the movie, which made for an easy decompression from the frights.
If you’re sharing via social media, don’t forget to make it fun and engaging; posts with images or videos are shared most often and could help spread your message even further.
Offering juicy sneak peeks, planning every step of your campaign, getting all major details and having fun in the process are all PR lessons I picked up from watching ‘The Visit.’ Have you seen the film? Can you name any I may have missed?
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