Want to succeed in PR? Grow a mustache

If you still need convincing that PR can pull off humor, take a good look at the American Mustache Institute.

AMI is the brainchild of three former Fleishman Hillard alums who created the fake institute to prove a point to their masters – that humor can be a serious public relations strategy.

The masters at Fleishman didn’t feel that way so Brian Cross, Aaron Perlut, and Dan Callahan left in 2009 and formed Elasticity, a St. Louis-based firm that “blends the competencies of traditional public relations and digital strategies with the creativity of advertising.” And, where humor is a driving force behind its approach to PR as well as its corporate culture.

This past year, AMI celebrated its fourth annual ‘Stache Bash. A wacky event in St. Louis that attracts between 500-1000 guests each year. Past guests have included John Oates of Hall & Oates, the mayor of St. Louis, Clay Zavada of the Arizona Diamondbacks and even Borat. Best of all, ‘Stache Bash has raked in over $50,000 for a variety of charities over the years. Not bad for something that isn’t even real (or is it?).

From a media relations perspective, the Institute has racked up some impressive coverage in major news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and The Colbert Report.  In addition, Elasticity’s Aaron Perlut has appeared in person on major news networks like ESPN2, CBS News not as himself, but as Dr. Aaron Perlut, AMI’s chairman. In a four-year-span, AMI has garnered roughly 300 million media impressions.

I spoke with Brian Cross and Aaron Perlut this week to learn more about AMI and how it has helped them to build their business. [Note: Responses below are from Aaron]

Q: How has the AMI helped you to build Elasticity’s business?
A: The reality is that most PR firms have little practical experience executing programs that blend social media and traditional public relations strategies. We’ve been using AMI as a test-vehicle to understand and harness the power of social media – in essence a petri dish to comprehend how social media strategies were most effectively executed and integrated with other marketing activities. And we’ve done it on our own dime — not the client’s.

Q: You guys have used the AMI to establish an amazing network of contacts at major news outlets like the NYT and WSJ. How have you leveraged this network with your paying clients?
A: AMI has been covered in media including USA Today, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, the BBC, Colbert, Leno, CBS Sunday Morning, NBC News, and in the outlets you mentioned to name a few. It provides us with a nice opportunity to get to know the reporters writing about AMI, and it also serves as a great ice breaker with other reporters when you pitch them and the first line mentions that they need to read the pitch because I’ve got a great looking flavor saving instrument of justice. [Note: flavor saving instrument = mustache]

Q: How do you successfully pitch a client a creative idea?
A: In a pill: pants-free pitching. But seriously — it’s very hard. I remember pitching an amazing idea based around my hero Mr. T to a national swimming pool company and they didn’t get it. I will never forget the marketing manager for one of the country’s largest poultry companies telling me he didn’t believe in engagement. And a mid-level manager at the country’s largest energy company told me that Facebook was a fad. So what do you do? You try to make a compelling argument based on metrics, facts, and mustache follicles. You win some and you lose some. But I pity the fools who pass on our collection of finely tuned mustaches.

Q: Do your clients mainly consist of brands that are known for their sense of humor?
A: Our clients are all over the place. Big, small, public, private, government, not-for-profit. Quite frankly, only a few of them have cultures that embrace our humor, and that’s fine. It doesn’t work for everyone and we’re not in the business of replicating cookie-cutter programs for clients, just so we can take a break from creating new, customized solutions. We put humor where it fits and wear bathrobes every Wednesday in the office to fill any voids.

Q: How often have media confused the AMI with a real entity?
A: To a great degree, AMI is a real entity that’s taken on a life of it’s own. It’s a not-for-profit corporation that raises funds for charity. It represents people of Mustached American descent in bringing the mustache back into style. It’s been responsible for changing policy in a school district, has led a boycott of a restaurant chain for discrimination. And we’ve been asked to weigh in on anthropological questions of mustache and man. Plus, AMI has improved American good looks by 38 percent and we have a toll free number of 877-STACHE-1, and that does not suck.

Q: Do you see any differences between the practice of humor PR and traditional PR? For example, do you use the same PR tactics to promote AMI as you would a paying client?
A: Indeed, the model of AMI works in some form or fashion for almost any entity. We essentially took an age-old form of PR by forming a third party and leverage the influence of that group to raise awareness of an issue in modern media channels.

Q: Tell me more about ‘Stashe Bash?
A: ‘Stache Bash is a wild event. More of a costume extravaganza for the psychotic that we hope to soon take on the road if we can find the right corporate sponsor that wants to reach men age 21 – 40 in a meaningful manner. We’ve had Bill Geist from CBS News show up. Clay Zavada of the Arizona Diamondbacks came last year to claim the “Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year” honor. Borat showed up twice and so did Chewbacca. We’re kind of a big deal.

Q: From a PR perspective, how successful has AMI been?
A: I’ve had clients in cover stories in Fortune and Forbes and featured in WSJ and the New York Times many times. And this might sound crazy, but aside from from what we’ve accomplished with Elasticity in our first year, there’s nothing in my career I’ve been more proud of. In a four-year-span it’s made roughly 300 million media impressions and changed the course of my career from random, disinterested flack who was ready to burn out into an overweight and highly unlikeable creative strategist who believes he can actually make a tangible difference for clients.

Q: Any other things I should know?
A: You may be surprised to learn that according to the Dead Sea Scrolls, each time a mustache is shaved an angel in heaven dies and falls to earth.