Public relations could use a few superheroes.
Miles Scott, a 5-year-old boy who has suffered from leukemia most of his life, wanted to be Batman for a day, and this past Friday, his city made it happen. San Francisco was transformed into Gotham, and it seemed everybody joined in to make Miles’ wish come true.
It’s not every day such a feel-good story gets attention, let alone captivates a nation. But this story is a textbook example of good public relations working hand-in-hand with the media to engage volunteers, city officials and a police department to make one kid’s wish come true.
All the elements of a perfect news story came together – a heart-tugging story of a child’s battle against a life-threatening disease, a non-profit organization using its connections to make his wish come true, and the use of media and social media to get the word out.
BatKid got his own logo. Media ran fake breaking news stories throughout the day (Giants’ mascot Lou Seal kidnapped!). Crowds of “authentic fans” gathered at City Hall to cheer as the Mayor gave BatKid the key to the city and proclaimed November 15 as Miles Scott and Make-A-Wish Day. Make-A-Wish Bay Area saw its number of Twitter followers swell to more than 26,000 as the story gained momentum.
The Penguin, “who was defeated & jailed by #SFBatKid,” got his own Twitter account (The Penguin @PenguinSF). ABC affiliate news anchor Ama Daetz was inundated with congratulatory tweets for her coverage of the day’s event. Even the president took part with a heartfelt Vine message thanking Miles for savingGotham.
Things are getting back to normal in the City by the Bay – today’s top news stories are about more mundane matters like the Bay Area Rapid Transit labor strike and the Coit Tower closing for renovation.
But the story of BatKid’s impact on the city – and the expert way it was packaged, promoted and conveyed – will be remembered for a long time.