It is no secret that secrets spread faster than news
Leaking secrets for spreading the news
If you ask someone to keep a message secret, he will probably spread the secret faster than any news. There is more value in a secret for people because of the exclusiveness.
The exclusiveness gives power to the holder of the secret or makes the person more interesting.
Just for this exclusiveness or uniqueness, news in less interesting as it is made available to the general public broadcasted over mass media. Thus anyone can know.
In many cases secrets are leaked onto the market in order to spread faster than a normal advertising campaign. Apple uses this method frequently to announce or rumor new products.
The spreading of the rumors, gives also the company the opportunity to test the expectations and an indication of the possible size of the market.
Using secrets as marketing
If we want to use a secret as marketing for spreading news of information, the problem is:
-To find a secret related to your product or solution.
- Or to embed a secret into your products or solutions.
This could be:
- An upcoming new release of your products or solutions.
- A new product that promises to be disruptive.
- A big customer.
- A partnership with a large corporation.
- A technology breakthrough.
More or less anything that could make an interesting press release and is remarkable enough can be used as a secret.
Still the concept needs to be relatively simple in order to to generate false messages.
Leaking the secret
Once you have your secret concept, you need to leak the secret to a limited number of people.
Thus you are confronted with to who and how to leak the secret.
Who:
- The more trustworthy or respected your messenger the better.
- The more your messenger is related to your market the better.
- The messengers should be spread geographically.
- The messenger should have access to mass media or use social websites.
How:
- The message needs to be communicated verbally in order not to leave any trace.
Although this method has been many used in consumer markets, chances are it will also work in business to business.
What’s your secret?
We promise we won’t tell anyone else.
