"Meaning isn't something you discover. It's something you create, one step at a time."

Pitches, Sleepless Nights and Swine Flu

Posted: May 4th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Idea Drunk's Ideas | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments »

First of all, I apologize for not posting last week. I got caught up in the last minute craziness that normally accompanies new business pitches. For the uninitiated, it usually means late nights, greasy Thai food and for some reason, sore shoulders. On Thursday afternoon, I emerged from a post-pitch nap with stubble and red eyes. So, I decided to turn on the news. Apparently, I missed this whole swine flu pandemic.

My first thought was that this was another media-created panic. It’s justification for all of the taxpayer dollars spent preparing for another SARS outbreak. Plus, only 98 of the 33 million people living in Canada had come down with it. That’s pretty much the same percentage of people affected by scurvy.

But then I thought this irrational fear could be an opportunity for the right companies. Like Purell. As a PR stunt, Purell should donate tones of their hand sanitizer products to malls, subways and movie theaters. Use this opportunity to get their brand in places that they haven’t been before. Get a spokesperson touring around the major news networks educating people on preventing the flu through basic hand sanitation. And brand all of it.

When it’s raining lemons, make lemonade. Then add vodka.

- Christian

5 Comments on “Pitches, Sleepless Nights and Swine Flu”

  1. 1 chowner said at 3:28 pm on May 4th, 2009:

    This is also a sign that farmers should stop screwing their animals.

  2. 2 your sister said at 7:48 pm on May 4th, 2009:

    Christian christian christian, perhaps its not the number of people that have the flu but the incredible potential for it to spread like wildfire.

    But its cool, from a PH perspective because you compare it SARS which literally led to chaos with vital public services being shut down (though this is happening in Mex), people stockpiling canned corn and olive oil and so on. But now? People are all like cool beans…for the most part (I’m basing this on the number of useless masks I’ve seen, though it may be a different story in Aussieland).

    Regardless, pretty interesting to see how the authorities and health institutions react — it tests their actual capabilities while giving me interesting things to write about for school.

  3. 3 Christian said at 9:53 am on May 5th, 2009:

    @ Chowner

    That’s sick. But I’m still going to eat bacon. As Homer said, “Lisa, if God didn’t want us to eat pigs, he wouldn’t have made them out of bacon.”

    @ Lillian

    But is the potential for it to spread real? Or media hype? And is it more contagious than regular flu? If not, then isn’t it just a new spin on the classic “flu season/get your flu shot” story?

    The impact of the pandemic on the economy is being perpetuated not by the actual cases (and people staying home because they’re sick), but because of an irrational fear.

  4. 4 Freeman said at 8:24 am on May 6th, 2009:

    I don’t think Purell needs to do any sampling, they were sold out at the grocery store yesterday when I was there.

  5. 5 Christian said at 8:28 am on May 6th, 2009:

    @ Freeman

    I don’t think that the sampling is really about getting people to try Purell. I think it’s about getting the brand increased visibility and keeping it top of mind.

    On a side note, I wonder if the company has a stockpile of product as a contingency to new pandemics.

Leave a Reply