Catching the Eye of Gen Y Through Interactive Stunts

Have you heard of Snowglobe Boy?

As a promotional stunt, McKinney put Ben Eckerson, a 24-year-old production coordinator for the company, into an inflatable snowglobe for over three days.


They planned to set a world record for the longest time spent in an inflatable snowglobe, with the reigning champion being... well... no one actually. Note that he was allowed 51 minutes per day outside of the globe to deal with "personal needs".

The feat was streamed on the Web live for the entire period, and gained media attention as well.

Sitting in a globe, Ben had plenty of time to promote the project. The level of interaction didn't exactly make it to that of Trevor the Mentos Intern, but it do a decent job out of reaching out to Gen Y audiences. A Facebook page was even created - give Ben a poke if you like!

This worked out as a relatively effective way of capturing Gen Y's attention. These kind of stunts and challenges work well for bringing them in. In this case, it appears that McKinney is looking to interest young adults in their company in order to build a strong workforce. This stunt served to show them that McKinney is a fun place to work, and should be on the top of their list. As Tara Lamberson outlined in her article "How to Hang on to Digital Talent", Gen Y needs to know that they are going to be able to have fun in the workplace and enjoy the time they spend with their co-workers.

Since this record isn't actually too ridiculous, and because Ben was allowed to leave the bubble for a short period of time, it will be interesting to see who will be willing to take this to the next level. A consumer brand could gain a lot of attention by breaking this record over the next holiday season. A creative touch could be used to give it an enticing spin and generate even more media attention. Why not put a VP in there or three people? What would happen if they couldn't leave at all? Or will an individual look to take it on themselves? If that is the case, with the right strategy, a sponsorship could prove to be quite valuable!

What other stunts can be done? Does your company have the time an resources to make it happen? If Gen Y is your target, it might be a good time to give it some thought!