The secret was tickle me simple
It was a classic example of how the simplest brand ideas lend themselves to the most brilliant executions. In this case, the simple idea was a secret. More specifically, it was Fisher-Price’s brilliant branding decision to generate gotta-have fever around its T.M.X. Elmo launch by getting fifty carefully selected people to keep a secret. The simple idea was to create the kind of mystery usually associated with product launches in the highly competitive high-tech industry. And mystery was an understatement. The spectacular execution of the idea had folks at Fisher-Price, a unit of Mattel, laughing – all the way to the bank. It was a coup of immense proportion considering first, the huge and fickle market of character-based toys and, second, the fact that Elmo was not even a new character. His enormous success ten years ago was no guarantee customers would storm the stores once again.
Why was the simplicity of the idea key to the coup? Simple. It’s easier for people to understand something simple. Give them an idea they can immediately “get” and they’ll immediately be able to come up with a hundred wonderful ways to bring it to life. In Elmo’s case it was “Let’s get the people we share the secret with to sign a confidentiality agreement that playfully threatens drastic repercussions for exposure.” “Let’s hold off shooting the launch commercials until the day of the launch.” Let’s keep the furry little guy locked in a silver case.” (Is Elmo an animal? Should I call the ASPCA?) Perhaps most incredible, “Let’s get toy retailers to make space for the new Elmo, sight unseen, an entire month before his secret identity is revealed.” The idea and the way it was carried out was infectious. People got it – and they wanted to play. Everyone in on the secret kept it. Retailers made room on the shelves. Even the snarkiest of bloggers had no clue what to write about. Instead of trying to generate interest by way of borrowed interest, promotions, or hyperbole-filled sales material, Fisher-Price generated not merely interest, but genuine excitement. The secret was tickle me simple and the execution was a hoot.