While major companies paid millions for television advertising during the Oscars, a nonprofit organization that didn’t pay a cent was the biggest brand winner of the night. It gained the most from the event with an old-fashioned public relations technique: product placement.
Oscars host Chris Rock brought his daughter’s Girls Scout troop on stage and urged celebrities attending the awards ceremony to purchase their Girl Scout cookies. “I want you to reach into your millionaire pockets, and I want you to buy some of my daughter’s Girl Scout cookies,” he said. The scouts fanned out through the audience, selling cookies to movie stars who devoured them in front of television cameras.
The event earned the Girls Scouts of the USA an estimated $5.5 million in free publicity, a figure that may grow as coverage continues, claimed Joyce Julius & Associates, a firm that analyzes brand placement and sponsorship. Eric Wright, the company’s president, told Digiday that the estimate comes from the in-broadcast exposure itself, along with the dozens of articles about it online, in print and in broadcast highlights from the awards show. The firm did not explain how it calculated the value.
The Girl Scouts achieved more Oscars-related digital content engagement than brands that paid $1.9 million to $2 million for 30-second commercials during the Oscars, according to Adweek.
Spreads on Social Media
The Girls Scouts’ PR team continued the PR by sharing photos of the cookie-munching stars on social media with links for where the cookies can be purchased online. Photos of Leonardo DiCaprio, Mindy Kaling and other stars eating cookies circulated widely on social media.
The Oscar stunt also implicitly communicated one of the Girl Scouts’ core PR messages. Once concentrated in the suburbs and small towns with mostly white populations, the Girl Scouts now welcome minorities and have many troops in inner cities.
Rock himself requested the troop’s appearance. The organization didn’t pay ABC or the academy anything. “He has personal ties to Girl Scouts, and he speaks really highly of the organization,” Girl Scouts Director of Communications Stewart Goodbody told Adweek. “And he felt it would be a great idea to do something fun and light-hearted and shine the light on something positive in this year’s Oscars telecast. And we think he knocked it out of the park.”
A celebrity father of a Girl Scout made it all happen without prodding from the organization. That speaks to the importance of building relationships – even on the local membership level.
The event was one of the most important nights of the girls’ lives. “They just had a ball. In addition to the excitement of meeting these celebrities, they also talked about the education they got being backstage at the Oscars, seeing how show business works. Only in Girl Scouts do you get this kind of opportunity,” Goodbody said.
How Many Cookies?
Much of the media coverage after the night turned to questions over how much the girls raised. Rock said the Los Angeles-based troop sold over $65,243 of cookies. Citing an unnamed Girl Scout representative, TMZ said they sold about 500 boxes for $5 each, which would equal $2,500. $65,000 was merely a joke for the skit.
The organization then released a statement to the media saying the troop did indeed raise $65,243 through a combination of cookie sales and donations.
Their appearance is also boosting sales outside of California. The Southern Arizona Girl Scouts extended its cookie-selling season by a week, until Sunday, March 6, due to Rock’s publicity.
“We had no idea of the public’s interest in wanting more Girl Scout cookies after watching all these movie stars nibbling on these treats during the awards,” Debbie Rich, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, told the Arizona Daily Star.
“If you can’t eat them, we ask that you treat them,” Rich said, saying boxes can be donated to military troops overseas.
Bottom Line: The televised scene of girl scouts selling cookies to movie stars proves the power of public relations and product placement. With the right strategy, a nonprofit organization or brand can earn publicity worth millions of dollars.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
