Earlier today, Right Stuf issued a press release stating that they would unveil a new title in the near future. Specifically, the company will unveil a title under their Nozomi Entertainment label tomorrow at noon (Central Time). The company mentions that the announcement will be part of their twenty-fifth anniversary celebration, and that they announced titles like Revolutionary Girl Utena and Princess Knight through such announcements.
“So… what’s so special about this?”
Well, dear reader, the fascinating part of this release is the timing of the announcement. According to the timestamp on my e-mail, the document arrived in my mailbox at 3:23PM Eastern, 2:23PM Central time.
“And?”
The unveiling will be at noon the next day. Given the time differential, that leaves twenty-one hours and thirty-seven minutes from the time of announcement to the time of unveiling. In that span of time, the company has but two goals:
- To ensure their message reaches as many ears as possible
- To see to it that those that hear the message are excited and talking about the upcoming unveiling.
“But it’s just a new title unveiling. How can anyone get excited about this?!”
Dear reader, have I not taught you anything? Exciting the masses is a combination of art and science, that requires a careful combination of storytelling and timing. In this case, the story is as follows:
Nozomi Entertainment will announce a new title on January 15, at 12:00PM Central.
On its own, the story is rather bland and tasteless, isn’t it? It’s, by all intents and purposes, unremarkable. Most would look at this base announcement and turn their noses at first glance. Instead, a marketer must give readers a reason to read: a reason to look forward to not only the product announced, but the very announcement itself. To temper the message, Right Stuf opted to highlight previous announcements:
It’s Right Stuf’s 25th anniversary year, and previous announcements have included such fan-favorite titles as The Rose of Versailles, Princess Knight, Martian Successor Nadesico, and Revolutionary Girl Utena! Be among the first to find out which new title will be receiving the Nozomi Entertainment treatment.
In just two sentences, they were able to tell the reader that the announcement wouldn’t be a waste of his time. Since major titles were revealed in a similar manner, the reader has reason to believe that this particular reveal could be a series of similar magnitude. Likewise, the mere mention of the company’s 25th anniversary is enough to bring about a degree of enthusiasm in the market. Since it is a major milestone, many will be expecting Right Stuf to pull out several stops in their announcements. Hopes for unlikely titles like Sailor Moon and Macross: Do You Remember Love are thrown out, as are more realistic predictions. These discussions provide an indirect buzz for the product, as people take to Twitter, Facebook, and other social outlets to air their opinions and their concerns, their expectations and their worries.
