Image via Wikipedia
Wikileaks has taken the world by storm, making thousands of confidential documents accessible to the masses. The introduction of social media to our age of information makes even the most sensitive information readily available, as is the case with the Iraq war logs that swept the web like wildfire. As marketers, it’s our job to find ways to harness this capacity for our brands, and for some, Wikileaks might have the right idea.
I certainly can’t be the only person to see an increasing level of “leaked” information regarding up and coming products, especially in the tech industry. Facebook has now officially released the new design platform for Facebook Pages that was “accidentally unveiled” back in December. Now how a sophisticated company like Facebook accidentally launches a new design is beyond me, but that’s what they report. Similarly, the Apple iPhone 4 was conveniently misplaced at a bar before its announcement last year. In both cases, the insatiable tech-junkies latched on, wrote articles, posted blogs, tweeted about it, talked with their friends, and voiced their opinions. “The iPhone 4 has 2 cameras!” was all anyone seemed to talk about as information about the lost prototype circulated. I saw it on Twitter, read about it on blogs, and saw it on CNN… public relations buzz successful.
Apparently in the Facebook office, some clumsy employee accidentally spilled coffee on a big, red “GO LIVE” button to unveil the new Facebook Pages look, only to have it be taken down shortly later. Unlike the iPhone, people were voicing their partially educated opinion on the new layout and possible applications for it, as well as potential issues. A relatively easy way to measure interest in the market?
Whether or not the “leaks” of the iPhone and the Facebook Pages are in fact that, is not confirmed, but one has to admit the two companies received some pretty valuable information and customer interest for their “slip-ups.” Of course this national level of buzz can’t easily be replicated by geo-specific business, but the potential certainly remains for many within the tech industry. I also would assume a prototype 50-megawatt wind turbine is a hard thing to accidentally leave behind in a bar, but the proactive approach of using the constantly evolving social media tools is the real take-away for a marketer in any industry.
