There was a great story on NPR's Weekend Edition yesterday about the life and times of renowned magician Harry Houdini. I liked reporter Robert Smith's focus on how Houdini was a master buzz builder. Some interesting lessons from Houdini on carrying out successful publicity stunts:
Go to where the media is. One of Houdini's favorite stunts was hanging himself upside down in a straitjacket from buildings — but not just any buildings. He chose buildings that housed major newspapers, hanging off The Houston Chronicle or The Boston Globe so photographers could just pop their heads out the windows to shoot him. He would not only make front-page headlines but he would sell out evening performances.
Look for cross-promotion opportunities. Houdini used other stunts like escaping from milk cans, mailbags or steamer trunks as an opportunity to build buzz. For instance, Houdini would have a beer manufacturer produce a beer barrel big enough to contain him. Then, he would be nailed into the beer barrel and submerged in water. Houdini's escape from a beer barrel contained great symbolism. Magician Teller, one half of the comic-magic duo Penn and Teller, said "When Houdini escaped from your boss' beer barrel, you were escaping from your everyday job."
Use evocative symbols. A new exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York, called Houdini: Arts and Magic, looks at the visual legacy of Harry Houdini and how his fame managed to survive.The Houdini exhibit features posters from every stage of his career, each one more and more dramatic: Houdini surrounded by the forces of evil; Houdini being handcuffed by a menacing policeman; Houdini being choked by a robot; Houdini being held underwater by a giant, green monster.
Houdini was such a master of publicity that he still remembered today more than 80 years after his death.
(Photo Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian Institution)
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