Product launches: Why put on a circus when you could be like Disney World?

Do you remember when you were little, and the circus came to town?

It was spectacular.

The circus, for all its excitement — the animals, the trapeze artists, the clowns, the daredevil acts — came into town, did a few shows with some cool stunts, and then they left.

That was it. You might be left with a plastic inflatable monkey or some other cheap overpriced souvenir.

A couple weeks later, the circus was barely a memory in your mind — it went out of town just as fast as it came in.

Now think about Walt Disney World.

Those who have been fortunate enough to go to Disney World when they were younger (or older, as my case would be) know that no matter how long you stay at the park(s) — it could be a few days, a couple weeks — you are left with many, many memories for years to come.

Walt Disney World is no circus. You don’t go in and out and then forget about it. It is an experience, one whose vision is to ensure that “each and every guest has the best time of their life,” a place where “dreams come true” and memories are made. It sticks with you, and on your way home, you already can’t wait to go back.

Which would you prefer, the circus or Walt Disney World?

Disney World, of course.

Why is it, then, that when companies launch new products, almost all of them prefer the circus approach?

Here’s what I see all too often:

Company X has a new Thingamabob coming out. It could a new phone, a car, a gadget, a boat, it doesn’t matter. They’ve talked about it for a long time, gotten some press about the long-anticipated, brand new Thingamabob. So, when it comes for Thingamabob launch day, what does Company X do?

All the usual tactics. They go to certain cities, solicit high profile journalists and/or social media pseudo-celebs, spend an insane amount of money on treating them like kings for a day, tons of media buys, the whole shebang. Company X parades around like bulls in the china shop of their choosing, hoping, just HOPING, that they’ve done enough to generate some good press for the Thingamabob in traditional media, get the social media pseud-celebs to blog and tweet about it a lot, and hey, maybe even sell a few Thingamabobs!

And then Company X rides their china-shopped bull into the sunset and calls it a “product launch,” and talks about it ad nauseam, patting themselves on the backs until it’s time for the next Thingamabob circus to come to town. Lather, rinse, repeat.

This is old. This is tired. This is not memorable.

WHY in the world do companies insist on doing this?

Apple, on the other hand, takes a more Disney-esque approach.

Rumors of the new iWhatever start circulating all the top tech blogs for a long time. Because of the loyalty Apple has from its fans, they start chatting feverishly about even the possibility of a new product long before there’s any official word. (There may or may not be an accidental or purposeful iWhatever “leak,” but that’s a different story for a different time.)

Finally, the day comes for the iWhatever launch.

Apple holds a special keynote presentation, hosted by their CEO, Steve Jobs. Journalists and other important people are invited to attend. The same presentation is also put on the web so that anybody who wants to watch the presentation can. Apple builds up enough anticipation and excitement about the iWhatever that people come to them. Much like Disney World. Jobs does his thing, reveals the iWhatever and all the cool stuff it can do, does a few live demos of it, then tells you how much it costs and when it will be officially available for purchase.

When that day comes, people flock to their nearest Apple store, some camping out overnight outside just because they HAVE TO HAVE THE iWHATEVER. After the initial fervent fans have their iWhatevers, more people flock to the stores if not to buy one, but to at least play with one so they can tell their friends, “Yeah, I was at the Apple store the other day and got to try out an iWhatever, it’s amazing.”

The entire process of an Apple product launch is an experience. It resonates. It sticks with people. Apple doesn’t have to bring a dog and pony show to town, people come to Apple, and people tell all their friends about it.

Much like people come to Disney World.

Now, ask yourself, which would you prefer your product to be more like, a circus or Walt Disney World?

Which do you think sells more product, makes more money, generates the most loyal fans, creates the most memories?

Circus photo via David Shankbone at Wikimedia Commons.

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