Last night, I went to a lecture at the St. Louis Zoo entitled, “Emergence: Nature’s Mode of Creativity”. The lecturer, a biologist from Washington University, spoke about nature’s version of “synergy”. One example she used was ice…water is made from hydrogen and oxygen atoms and when combined with the cold, it forms a new substance, ice…

This same type of creation can be true in public relations. An example of this would be Simons Jewelers and Lake Forest Confections. Simons Jewelers sells high-end jewelry and Lake Forest Confections sells gourmet chocolates. Individually, both businesses are well respected, but not unique in the eyes of the media. But when these companies came together and created Le Chocolat, a $1.5 million holiday gift, it sparked a media frenzy that resulted in features in Vogue, the Associated Press, and about three dozen other newspapers and magazines.

Another good example would be the partnership between Nutra Pharma Corporation and the World Aquarium. Nutra Pharma, a biotechnology company developing treatments to diseases using modified cobra venom was facing a dilemma. They were in the middle of trials and had no news to share with the media. During this time, they opted to create a partnership with the World Aquarium and sponsor its rare 2-headed snake to help build awareness about their trials as well as the importance of nature. The fit worked and they received spots on various radio and television stations and features in newspapers and magazines.

As you can clearly see from the above examples, combining two or more individual products, services or companies can be a very powerful source of creativity in public relations. The emergence from these partnerships can certainly help drive publicity that would otherwise be no existent.

The next time you are at a standstill with your product or service, give some thought to what you could pair it with to help drive media exposure. As always, feel free to post comments or email me if you have any questions or want feedback on your new PR ideas.