Guerrilla Marketing Agency Creates 'Platinum Mine Controversy

Guerrilla marketing and reality collide in this real on-line / off-line drama!!

Last month it emerged that Mclean International Mining had decided to build the UKs first platinum mine, in southwest England. The environmental price was the destruction of a species of rare butterfly.

The news spread fast. The corporation received thousands of emails and phone calls -- most condemned their decision, but some praised it. Activist group PAWE (People Against Wildlife Extinction www.pawe.info ) led the antis, encouraging people to register their protests on the corporations website and join the PAWE forum. A chain protest letter started to make the rounds, suggesting not only an email campaign but a phone blitz -- it gave the number of Mcleans switchboard. The crusade was co-ordinated by PAWE Chairman Harry Yeats, working out of his front room on a clapped-out laptop.

Meanwhile, Mclean was conducting a campaign of its own. Press releases were issued, denials printed and hotlines set up. In a classic New Labour spin operation, the benefits of platinum and mining in general were hammered home while the environmental impact was softened. The PR firm of Adler, Klein and Mason deployed all its considerable talents to dismiss claims of wrongdoing and irresponsibility.

In the space of a few days the McLean switchboard received calls from journalists and even the Cornish County Council enquiring about the relevant planning permission for the platinum dam. In the space of 2 weeks the McLean website had received over 45,000 hits and had been sent thousands of emails; the protesters were in full swing.

But this battle between David and Goliath, with the Internet playing Davids slingshot, was a fiction. Despite the slick logos and mission statements on www.mcleaninternationalmining.com and the campaign that was sweeping the internet, Mclean International Mining was a fictional corporation.

In fact, the battle was a unique 'web drama, inspired by author David Dochertys ecological thriller The Killing Jar. Docherty had brought his books characters and corporation to life with the help of underground marketing agency YourRelease (www.yourrelease.com). The book is based on real-life incidents, such as the Aznalcollar disaster in Spain," says Docherty. The purpose of the web drama was to open peoples eyes to the corporate activities around them. It was intended to question the new environmentally caring attitude preached but not often practiced by companies all over the world. I hope that the dramas use of a fictional company provoked a wider debate and brought both sides of the issue to light."

The drama ran for a one month period and the McLean site is now being turned into a forum for people to discuss what they thought of the campaign. Some people saw through it right away, but we managed to keep the drama going until the final chapter," says Seth Jackson, YourReleases Marketing Manager. We set the platinum mine in the UK to make sure that while we were highlighting real issues we werent hijacking them."

The worlds first web drama has demonstrated the Internets amazing, self-propagating power when it comes to pushing an issue into public consciousness and highlighting different opinions some users congratulated Mclean (Id rather have the platinum than some bug, yall get a grip" read one email), while many others sent message of support to PAWE.

Contact Seth Jackson at YourRelease Media on 44(0)117 9250100 for a full account of the campaign