Submitted by Deborah Hitchcock on 26-05-2011

A great bit of tactical PR from Marmite this week turning a request to apply for a licence to sell the product in Denmark into a campaign fighting against a full on ban. Marmite has seized ownership of the story, encouraging their Facebook and Twitter followers to get their own ‘Marmite for Everyone’ Twibbon - cue outrage on Twitter, a groundswell of consumer support and coverage across all of the nationals, not least a leading article in The Times.

I’ve been a fan of Marmite’s PR activity for a while  -  clever stunts such as flavoured special editions and strong social media outreach have meant that Marmite has kept itself front of mind with consumers and developed a strong personality for the brand. Personality which really shines though in its latest activity.

A request to apply for a licence to sell the product would have most brand managers scratching their head in confusion and running to the legal team for advice. But not those quick thinking chaps at Marmite - by seizing the opportunity to call on their loyal army of fans, they’ve turned a  European policy loophole into to great PR opportunity.

Love it or hate it, it’s a pretty bold and clever reaction.