Written By: Karen Deis - You can also view a short clip of his speech at www.MillionDollarBrain.com or order the DVD of his entire presentation, view sample ads and how the press covered the event.
Do you remember the media buzz when Oprah gave away a Pontiac G6 to everyone in the audience? It was one of the most innovative marketing initiatives that Pontiac ever devised to announce the release of their brand new car.
How would you like to create your very own "Oprah-style" press?
A truly innovative, outside-the-box originator took the marketing concept to heart and combining it with the "extreme makeover" phenomenon (millions of people tune in every week). Chris Vinson and his staff created their own version of it in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
His event was called the "Extreme Bedroom Makeover".
The simple explanation is that it starts with elementary school students entering a contest about "why they would like to win an extreme bedroom makeover".
However, it's much, much more than that! It involves a local television station, radio and newspaper publicity, school principals, teachers, students, parents and remodeling contractors.
Read Chris' interview on how to get the media involved, how he subsidized his costs with sponsorships and download the sample entry form that was sent to the school in his area to get kids (and parents) to submit the entry forms and a basic outline of the steps you would need to take.
While this "contest" was held in conjunction with an annual Realtor®/Builder Show, it has been "deconstructed" in this article so that it can become its own separate event and create a huge amount of press for you, in your own community.
Hey, if it can be done in South Dakota, it can be done in your little corner of the world.
Karen: Chris, what made you decide to create an extreme bedroom makeover?
Chris: Well, last year our company created an Ultimate Open House which was very successful and while we got some news coverage, I wanted to kick it up a notch, and create something really press worth - you know, Opran-style press.
Karen: How did you go about planning the event?
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