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Posted on May 6, 2011 at 6:24 pm by Andrew Arnott

Kohort – a lesson in how to create pre-launch buzz

kohort

I’ve just signed up to a new site called Kohort. What is it? Well, I’ve got no idea.

Will it be the next big thing? Who knows! But one thing’s for sure – they know how to build intrigue and create buzz, as people are scrambling to reserve their ‘handles’ despite not having a clue what on earth Kohort is.

So, how have they managed this without even announcing what the product is?

Firstly, they haven’t just popped up out of nowhere. Their CEO and co-founder is a venture capitalist who has no doubt had a massive hand in raising $3million in seed capital, as reported by TechCrunch.

And the fact that TechCrunch picked up on the launch is one of the crucial factors. With a massive online readership, TechCrunch can make a site or a new venture instantly by sending huge amounts of traffic their way, and since their article on 18 April, buzz about Kohort has been running high.

But the biggest factor is intrigue. By keeping the purpose under wraps and using only a few words on their homepage, they’ve whetted people’s appetites. We know it’s something social and we know there’s a few million dollars involved, so it’s a mixture of mystery and ‘not wanting to miss out’ that has driven signups. And the few words on the home page are brilliantly chosen – as a copywriter myself, I’d be very proud of those words, which allude to so much by saying so little.

From a technical perspective, Kohort has also made the wise choice of encouraging social sharing when you sign up. That’s just the icing on the social cake to help the buzz over facebook and twitter.

I for one can’t wait to see what Kohort will actually involve and hope it lives up to the expectations that are so rapidly building. Click here to ‘stake your claim’.

Related articles

Mashable: How to sign up users before you even launch a startup

TechCrunch: Stealth NYC Startup Kohort Raises $3 Million Seed Round From IA Ventures, RRE, And More

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