Someone stole my dinosaur, and it went viral!
What happens when somebody steals your 8-foot-long, 80-pound baby velociraptor on Halloween night? Why, you tell the media about it!
That’s what I did when somebody – probably a group of teenagers – decided to kidnap a baby dino from the Dinos & Dragons exhibit I was hired to promote.
The result? The story went viral and was picked up by media outlets all over the country…and even internationally! And what’s even better, somebody who saw the story on TV found our dinosaur and we got him back. Actually, his dog “Dude” found the dinosaur, and he has now been renamed “Dude the Dinosaur.”
You can’t make this stuff up!
So, as a public relations professional, I’m going to share with you what I did right and what I could have done better during this insane situation.
RIGHT: I Jumped on the story immediately.
I drove straight to the exhibit the second I got the call that our dinosaur had been stolen. After talking with the museum curator and deciding that media coverage could help find the baby dino, I went back to my car and sent out an email to every TV station in the area and the local newspapers. I didn’t write a news release…I didn’t send it to anyone to approve…I simply wrote the facts in the body of the email, attached a photo of the “crime scene” where the missing dino was taken, and hit send. Within minutes, I started getting calls from assignment desks and reporters.
RIGHT: Using a catchy subject line and being creative.
I get it…not everyone has a stolen dinosaur to pitch. But when you do, take advantage of it. My subject line was: Baby dinosaur stolen in New Port Richey. That got the media’s attention! I also used the sentence, “New Port Richey police have issued a BOLO (Be on the lookout) for a baby velociraptor.” That was pure gold! In the end, many of the stories printed used my email pitch word for word…something I am very proud of.
RIGHT: I kept the media updated when the dinosaur was found.
What’s better than getting great coverage on your story…getting a second round of coverage on it! Fortunately, our missing dinosaur was found two days after he was stolen, in an alley two blocks from the exhibit. Our guess is either the thieves got tired of carrying the heavy guy, or they saw the story in the media, got scared and dumped him. Either way, we got him back, we got a second round of media coverage, and we even got a great name for the baby dino – Dude!
NOT SO RIGHT: Don’t expect pictures to explain themselves.
While I was very proud of myself for including a photo in the initial email pitch, I quickly learned that I should have also included a description of what the picture showed (don’t assume it’s obvious to the reader) and also a photo credit. Almost every media outlet who used the photo had to call me to find out who to credit the photo to, and several did not describe the photo correctly. It wasn’t detrimental to the story, but it would have made things easier for the reporters.
NOT SO RIGHT: Make sure to prepare your spokespeople prior to the interviews starting.
Because of the quick response we got from the media, I didn’t have time to prepare the museum curator for the interviews. Honestly, in all the craziness, I didn’t even think about it. Only when he started talking did I realize I should have given him some key messages to get across, and a few areas to stay away from. I shouldn’t have assumed he was going to say what I would have said!
NOT SO RIGHT: Don’t exclude the radio stations
To me, this was a very visual story, so when pitching, I didn’t think it necessary to include the local radio stations. That was definitely an oversight on my end. Several local radio stations actually did report on the story, only after reading or seeing it on another media outlet. In addition, most radio stations now have websites where they share news and stories with their readers. So, visuals for their websites are very important to them.
In the end, we had a happy ending to our story. Dude the Dinosaur has been reunited with his family, and many, many, many, more people know about the upcoming Dinos & Dragons exhibit. Some folks have asked me if I planned this as a publicity stunt. Honestly, I’m not that clever. I’m just glad everything worked out….and Dude the Dinosaur is safe and back at home!
To see Dude in person, along with over 100 other dinos and dragons, visit the Dinos & Dragons exhibit opening Dec. 9, 2022, and running through Feb. 26, 2023. Visit www.DinosandDragonsNPR.com for more information.
