Gary Baker

Knocked out hypnotist – A great PR stunt?

The BBC reports on a stage hypnotist in Dorset who apparently tripped over a participant during the show and knocked himself out, leaving three of his participants “asleep” on the stage.  However it now emerges that perhaps hypnotist David Days wasn’t as unconscious as initially suspected, but the fall could have been part of a ruse for students filming the show. His manager denies it of course, which seems to conflict with what the theatre says, according to the report at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-13653944

But regardless of actual events and the intention or lack of behind it, David Days has scooped a bit of PR gold. PR stunts are not uncommon, though most fail to attract much attention, and if this was an elaborate setup, it has certainly worked from a publicity perspective. And there’s something to be learned from this for therapists marketing themselves and their practices (besides look where you’re going!). David Days has probably done lots of marketing for his stage show, and some of it may have  worked, but this one little nugget has probably generated more publicity than anything else he’s done. And so here’s the lesson: Marketing is about perseverance and consistency, you have to keep doing it (properly targeted of course), and although you may get lucky with a single piece like David (even unintentionally), most people aren’t so lucky and genuine business growth comes about from your consistent marketing using a variety of different channels.