Mobile App Testing

Loose lips sink ships….but they sell a boat load of mobile devices.

I call it the leak strategy. Basically, if you want the masses clamoring for your soon-to-be-released mobile device, you’ll need to “leak” it through the appropriate channels. A press release and commercial just won’t cut it anymore. Of course, there’s a lot that goes into this type of marketing maneuver, but here are my two pieces of advice:

1. Keep your PR firm in the dark: For a successful leak, your PR firm must have plausible denability. That is to say when the news breaks, you want them to be in damage control mode – and it needs to be genuine. People can easily sense this type of PR apprehension, which only lends credibility to your leak and builds awareness around your product. If the leak was the brainchild of the PR firm (like when Apple “left” the iPhone 4 in bar), then they must do their best to feign concern. I recommend a sham press conference with lots of “no comments.”

2. Leak the actual device, not just the details: Your leak will gain much greater credibility if it involves the actual device, not just the specs. A picture is worth a thousand words, which is worth a few dozen purchases, at least. A Youtube video could seal the deal.

I bring this up because, in the last 24 hours, we’ve read about leaks from Android (2.2), Microsoft’s Windows 7 phone, the Chrome tablet and others. These types of leaks are becoming more and more common, and I wanted to make a few suggestions that would keep them lively, entertaining, and above all, believable.