A Marketing Lesson from Her Royal Highness Princess Catherine

Whether you're into the hype of this Modern Royal Wedding (Prince William and the now Princess Catherine aka Kate Middleton in case you didn't watch the news for the last 4 months), you've probably heard for a while now speculations on what Her Highness was going to wear today. It was quite the spectacle this morning, and has been quite the media buzz for the past few weeks. The one thing we can take away from the buzz surrounding HRH's wedding dress is this. The British Monarchy have hired some amazing Marketing consultants.

Actually, according to Google, this particular wedding dress is one of the highest searching trends and every mention of it and the possible designers (Sarah Burton) stirs up Twitter gossip like throwing a stick into a flock of birds, no pun intended.

There is a lesson here though. Keeping the wedding dress a secret was an excellent way of creating anticipation, excitement, and a lot of buzz. Take a few marketing tips from the British Monarchy on this one:

Generate Buzz Early!
It's common for businesses to announce news after it has happened, but there's a missed opportunity by not making a PRE-announcement beforehand and letting anticipation build. It the Prince and Princess had announced their plans in advance, we wouldn't have cared so much and there wouldn't have been so much speculation. Additionally, the companies profiting from the Royal Wedding would've lost out on a lot of press and cash. This is the reason companies like Apple and Facebook make press announcements regarding product releases or exciting updates months in advance (think the iPad and English Farmville for those who don't take part in online gaming).

Don't Give Away The Secret Too Early
Actually - don't give it away at all! The fact that we all had to wait until 5am Chicago time to see the dress created an enormous amount of buzz. I know I woke up early to see it. It keeps us captivated and always thinking about the possibilities, it generates excitement and curiosity. At the same time, there is a set time and date for when we'll know what's up so it's not a torturous wait. Note: If you're going to generate buzz for your company, give your fans a date and time as to when something will be announced - the same technique that movie trailers use.

Give Your Fans What they Want
All of us who are paying attention to the Royal Wedding can't stop buzzing about it and the media took extraordinary advantage of this. I can't tell you how many Royal specials are on tonight and have been airing for the past three weeks. Look into ways you can satisfy your fan's needs by creating a real buzz about the event you're throwing or product you're unveiling.

Final Thoughts
When you're thinking about how to create buzz for your business or product, or if you're genuinely trying to generate gossip about your wedding dress, think about bold and new ways to excite your audience and never underestimate the power of a secret.

If you've got anything to add to this - feel free to email me at integraphix1@gmail.com

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