Building Anticipation into New Product Releases (Taking a Lesson from NBC)

New products don't just appear and fly off the shelf. You have to have a focused strategy for releasing or launching your new products. This is a very complicated message that warrants special attention.

When telling your audience about something new, you need to grab their attention out of the gate and sustain it through your call to action. This requires a flair for the theatrical. Where to look for inspiration? No further than your TV.

Programming has become so saturated with excess noise that it's become even more critical to highlight the need to tune in next week. For my money, no one does this better than NBC's dramas. ER and The West Wing have always made you feel like your life depended on seeing next week's episode.

Do your research at the end of the next installment of one of these dramas when they show the "scenes from next week." Here are some things to take note of:

• The Copy — Dramatic words! "Coming Soon!" "Next week a special baby brings the ER together ... a deadly outbreak ... and one of the doctors says goodbye to the ER forever." To help you focus, imagine the preview voice-over guy delivering your copy and don't stop editing 'til it fits. Stop laughing! This is not a joke.
• Hit the Dramatic Highpoints — Have you noticed that these 30-second spots (that I wager to say are edited together almost as meticulously as the episode itself) always show the fights, sex, and the dramatic pauses? Find a way to pull the most dramatic features out for your new product launch.
• Rhythm and Pace — These previews always utilize rhythm and pace to get you comfortable and then jostle you. Mix up your presentation to keep your audience from getting too comfy.
  
• "Leave Them Wanting More" — One of the oldest showbiz adages. Just like these scenes don't tell you which doctor is leaving the ER forever or what deadly disease is on its way, remember to stop short at the end. I'm not saying incomplete, I'm saying get them close enough to the edge so they have to jump.
  
• Next Week Isn't Enough — This is the newest trend. Not just showing scenes from next week, but showing scenes from the next four weeks. Why settle for a week's commitment when you can get a month. Do you have a series of new products you are releasing over the next few weeks/months? Consider copping this strategy and piggybacking your releases. Use one launch to get your audience primed for the next one.

The point? Now that you have all of the tools you need, infuse your new product release with these trusted tools of an industry that knows a thing or two about enticing an audience and building anticipation for what's to come.