Reward for missing hockey equipment - brilliant PR move by Reebok Canada
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Reebok Canada has offered a $10,000 reward (no questions asked) for the return of the stick and gloves Sidney Crosby used to score the gold medal winning goal at the Olympics.
What a brilliant PR move.
There must be numerous companies kicking themselves for not coming up with this idea. For Reebok (which is a long-time sponsor of Crosby and the maker of the missing equipment), it's a no-lose proposition. If the offer leads to the recovery of the equipment (which has been estimated to be worth as much as several hundred thousand dollars), Reebok comes out looking like a hero. In the meantime, they're getting some great (free) publicity with the offer of the reward. And even if the equipment never shows up, Reebok will be remembered as the company that tried to make a difference. Brilliant.
As the manufacturer of the missing equipment, Reebok is the natural choice to offer a reward. But any number of organizations could have come up with the same idea. It's too late for them now. Anyone else who offers a reward (unless it was for much more money) would be left in Reebok's shadow.
So who dropped the ball by not coming up with the same idea? Here's a small list...you could probably think of others too:
- Canada Post, Purolator, Fed Ex, UPS, etc. (just imagine the coverage of one of them delivering the found equipment to Crosby on national TV)
- The Hockey Hall of Fame (duh)
- Any of Reebok's competitors (this would have been very 'Art of War')
- Roots (perhaps the founders decided not to offer a reward because they're actually American)
- Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, etc.
- Any of the big Canadian banks or insurance companies
- Any of the Canadian lottery providers
- One of the national newspapers
- Air Canada, WestJet, etc.
Reebok has already generated much more than $10,000 worth of media coverage with their offer of the reward. This is a great example of how PR (when it's done properly) is much more effective than traditional advertising.