Sorry, I’m sick of Back to the Future Day

The second time somebody texted me asking me if I knew it was Back to the Future Day, I’d had it.

Yes, I knew. Every third web story I’d seen this week referenced it.

I know, I’m probably being too cranky. Maybe it’s because when the movie came out another kid called my bespectacled teen self “George McFly.”

But still – a dozen dudes on my social media feeds all thought they were the first to say, “Where’s my hoverboard?”And if I was that sick of it, imagine how journalists felt?

Companies have been tying pitches to this “holiday” since the calendar turned to 2015 (“Back to the Future Year).” I remember being in a pitch strategy session with a company in March 2014 talking about tying into the milestone. Yes, it works – there were lots of stories about the day. But for every successful placement, there were 10 less relevant pitches that strained to make a connection and therefore flopped.

Reminds me of this tweet I saw from a reporter on April 16th: “Good news – no more Tax Day pitches. Bad news – the marijuana people have started with the 4/20 pitches.”

It’s no longer enough just to claim a connection to a date on the calendar. If you thought of it, odds are lots of others did, too. Here are three things that can set you apart from the masses also using the same approach:

1. Start early – by the actual week of Back to the Future Day, journalists either already had their stories lined up or were totally sick of the whole thing. Or both. Lexus unveiled its hoverboard back in early August.

2. Actions speak louder than words – don’t merely claim some connection or offer a source to speak about it. Have your organization/client actually DO something different in honor of the holiday/event. Publicists for Universal Pictures didn’t just remind reporters that the movie in Back to the Future was “Jaws 19.” They produced a (cheap) mock trailer for “Jaws 19.”

3. Find a less competitive day to tie into – next week organizations will be falling over themselves to tie into Halloween. But a select few dentists around the country will be chuckling and waiting, because they will be the only ones tying into Nov. 1st. They’ll face virtually no competition for their programs about turning in trick-or-treating candy in return for movie vouchers, and they’ll get free publicity for a day.

By all means, have fun with your creative pitches and holiday tie-ins. Just don’t settle for what everyone else is doing.