Good PR provides consumer experiences

I’d like to give kudos to the public relations brains behind Jif peanut butter’s most creative sandwich contest. What a great way to involve consumers in your brand.

Each year for the past six years Jif has sponsored the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest. The grand prize is a $25,000 scholarship fund with four runners-up receiving a $2,500 scholarship fund. Parents are encouraged to help their children ages six through 12 enter the nationwide contest between Aug. 4 and Nov. 14, 2008 (read Jif’s press release).

Good public relations not only informs, but motivates and encircles key audiences with brand experiences. It’s less about telling someone about something and more about having them experience it first-hand.

This, in turn, drives word-of-mouth testimonials through social networks which are far more impactful than cut-and-dried press releases, fancy collateral materials and Web sites or articles/stories in the media. Of course, your campaign will more successful with all of these elements present.

So for today, I’m going to look forward to my lunchtime peanut butter and raspberry honey sandwich on Great Harvest Bread Company whole wheat bread. And perhaps I’ll help my seven year-old cook up some creative peanut butter sandwich so we can enter the contest this year.

Way to go Jif!