Most PR people like to blow the fanfare when they have something new to promote. After all, it is a great opportunity to show what can be done with an effective PR campaign, and enables them to give the media something really meaty for a change.
Yet it is a truism in PR that the greatest successes come from doing something different from what everyone else is doing. So why not have a non-launch, and keep people waiting for the product?
The Harry Potter books have been a huge success, making their author, J. K. Rowling, a multimillionaire. New Harry Potter books were big news, and the publishers were good at teasing the readers: when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published in 2000, bookstores were prevented from selling the book (although they were allowed to display copies in locked cages). News reports came in that 20 copies had accidentally been sold by a nameless supermarket: TV footage of the books being delivered to bookstores in security vans was shown, and (mysteriously) a copy of the book found its way onto the news desk of the Scottish Daily Record, upon which the journalists (equally mysteriously) returned it to the publishers unopened.
Eventually the official launch took place on July 8th, 2000. Needless to say, there were queues around the block to buy the book.
Practice
• Ensure that you have something that people will find exciting anyway: this idea works best for new products in a series, such as new models of car, book and movie sequels, and new menu items in restaurants.
• Set a date for the release of the product and publicize it.
• Limit the number of outlets or the supply of products—this is more likely to create an initial frenzy.
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