New products are popular attention getters and rumour generators: flagship smartphones, computer games, cars. Why does it happen? It’s hard to think up a better (and a cheaper) advertisement – a leak is a proven weapon.

Just one photo can make a huge stir whereas an elaborate costly campaign might not always seem the most efficient solution.

Why do we need marketing leaks?

Deliberate marketing leaks allow a business to dose information and control facts. Staged leaks let you assess clients’ expectations.
According to the Beedie School of Business, these kinds of leaks:
  • Inform. They announce a new product entering the market so that their client won't go to a competitor.
  • Confuse. They may appear useful in search for an insider.
  • Mislead. They provide competitors with false information allowing a company to surprise the market. 
  • Provoke. They throw a teaser to let a company watch some reaction. For example, Apple leaked the price of an iPad to receive some feedback and find out what people think of a $1 000 label.
Deliberate leaks:
  • Warm up the audience. Blurred photos, scrappy information, random details.
  • Overtake competitors. Other companies will fear to be accused of stealing an idea.
  • Assess reaction. The demand can be forecasted – the opportunity to learn about customers’ expectations is one of the key tools in marketing.
Gossip might become a serious problem. If the audience appears to be negative about a new product having its opinion based on the false details it will be hard to reassure potential clients.

As for real incidents – data leaks are nearly disastrous.

Here's how to tell the difference between a marketing leak and a real incident:
  • The tone. A marketing leak will not damage a company’s reputation. It doesn’t question manufacturer’s reliability.
  • The time. If the time gap between the news leak and the official release seems to be small, this is most likely a marketing move.
  • The source. Pay attention to the person who reveals the information. There are some specific bloggers and channels that publish these stories. They will not treat the audience with dubious facts because they don’t want to lose followers.
  • The insider. If there are many details, including the data on who has found the information and in which way – the leak is probably a real incident.
  • The content. A staged leak can be given away by an illustration of an impressively great quality. Even if a photo features no technical specifications, the curiosity will make people post multiple reviews based on their inference. Such leaks produce headlines making the news more exciting.
  • The consequences. A real incident has its rising, climax and resolution: Something happens, investigation is conducted, violators are detected, and they get penalised.
For more information, visit www.searchinform.com. You can also follow SearchInform on Facebook.