Via Entrepreneur.com:
Our first peek at Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens practically broke the internet: Everyone was buzzing for days after the new Star Wars trailer premiered recently on Monday Night Football, and the movie is breaking records for ticket sales — even though the movie won’t actually open until December 18.
Star Wars is one of America’s most beloved, best-selling pop culture phenomena, and this new trilogy of films may well become the most-hyped, most-anticipated series of all time. But even though this franchise is probably too big to fail, its producers and brand managers have done a masterful job of building up buzz and audience excitement for this newest launch.
Even if your own brand is far less known than Star Wars, there are several lessons we can learn from the lead-up to Episode VII:
1. Build upon the best aspects of your past.
This is not the first new Star Wars movie to be heavily hyped. Starting in 1999 with the debut of The Phantom Menace, the new Star Wars prequels were a critical disappointment and have often been heartily mocked by superfans of the original Star Wars trilogy. But, instead of dwelling on the mistakes or disappointments of the last “new product launch,” Star Wars’ producers are reinforcing the idea that this time around is a whole new story – new director, new characters, new villains and new reasons to watch.
At the same time, the new movie is building upon the foundation of the original movies by bringing back Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Marc Hamill in their original roles. So, this product launch is reminding people of what they loved most about the original Star Wars, without dwelling on the negativity around those last prequels.
Every new product has a past. Whether that past draws on your company’s existing reputation, a previous product launch that did not succeed or even skepticism around your industry in general, it’s best to avoid the negativity and move forward with a clean slate for any new product launch. Ignore past mistakes. Focus on what’s “new” and exciting about your product — while trying to remind your existing customers of why they wanted to buy from you in the first place.
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