Royal Baby PR: The Good, The Bad, The Money To Be Made

Hooray everyone! We have a new prince! Release the publicists! With #RoyalBaby trending for most of the day on Twitter (along with some reference to Buckingham Palace, the Royal family, or David Cameron), it's only fitting that marketers raced to social media to try and tap into the excitement with some sort of play on the big news. Out in front as they were for the Super Bowl was Oreo with a cookies-and-milk joke. Cute. OK, we'll take that because that's what they do. Also, and making perfect sense, Pampers had a sweet clip about how every baby is special to their mom and dad. Check it out after the jump. Then there's the desperate madness that happened. Hostess did something weird with a man cradling a Twinkie in a blanket that fell as flat as their big re-launch day. MAC smeared some lip gloss. Lululemon... I don't know. And Starbucks (UK) slapped some crowns on coffee cups. Really, I can't. Buzzfeed has a round up if you need more. But really, you don't. No matter what the hot momentary event is, it's always important to make sense if you're going to try and capitalize on it. That kind of eluded some of the brands today. [caption id="attachment_68500" align="alignleft" width="275"] Royal Cheasel indeed.[/caption] Another case in point: Pizza Hut's "Royal Offer" is a free side dish with the purchase of a medium or large pizza. Besides posting it on their social media sites, the company put this information on an easel in front of their Plano, TX HQ and then sent some poor guy in a Royal Guard costume to stand next to it. What in all the world does this have to do with anything? The Royal family or Pizza Hut? Every time you turn around, Pizza Hut is running an ad for some sort of meal deal. It's not special because you say the word "royal." If anybody actually takes advantage of this, it will have nothing whatsoever to do with how regal it is. Rest assured, they would've wanted a free side either way. All that said, the British economy is expected to get a boost as a result of the historic birth. The Christian Science Monitor says the British economy could see a £243 million spike (about $372.6 million) after the new Prince's birth. "That estimate includes £87 million on celebrations and party supplies, £80 million on merchandise like souvenirs and toys, and £76 million on media including books, DVDs, magazines, and newspapers," the Centre for Retail Research says. And unlike many other celebrations, this won't be a national holiday. Brits will be heading to work, so productivity will not slow. Finally, all those bets that people made have the bookmakers rolling in it. And, of course, people will be spending money on anything they see the Duchess of Cambridge buying, including baby strollers and other accessories that she and the new baby will be rocking when they return to the public. Now we wait and see what the PRs have up their sleeves for the next piece of news.

Social Pro Daily

Royal Baby PR: The Good, The Bad, The Money To Be Made

No one's surprised that brands tried to capitalize on today's Royal birth. But some of it just didn't make any sense.

Tonya Garcia

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Tonya Garcia