Teaser trailer

A teaser campaign, also known as a pre-launch campaign, is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads". A teaser trailer for an upcoming film, television program, video game or similar, is usually released long in advance of the product, so as to "tease" the audience.

An early example of the teaser trailer was the one for the 1978 Superman film by Richard Donner. The film was already nearly a year late; it was designed to re-invigorate interest in the release.

Teaser campaigns, or teaser advertising, can be defined as a planned set of communication activities designed to arouse interest without giving too much away (Trehan and Maan, 2012). Often, it is not a single advertisement but a series of inter-related communications, combining multiple forms of advertising, surrounding a single theme or idea that consumers follow to fill in the information and lead up to the “reveal” (Menon and Soman, 2002).

Teaser campaigns are used over traditional advertising technique by brands and companies who wish to launch new products into the relevant market, often before the product is finalized in production in order to create a buzz (the degree of attention a brand gains in the market) and gain headway before the product is released. By doing this, brands can gain knowledge on how consumers are responding to aspects of the product before it is finalized and make changes if needed (Trehan and Maan, 2012). Studies have found that advertisements that immediately introduce the brand name have less of an association building effect between the brand and product category, than advertisements that evoke mystery and only reveal brand names once the viewer is hooked (Fazio, Herr and Powell, 1992). Teasers can also be used to draw attention to a unique element of a brand rather than separate it completely from the market and inform consumers about a differentiated selling proposition.

Brands that already have a position in the market can use teaser campaigns to create new brand imagery especially if they have gone through managerial changes, rebranding or decided to target a new market due to attention from an unexplored segment. Teaser campaigns allow brands to introduce themselves in a controlled and desired way in an attempt to possibly change the publics current perception of the brand. Teaser campaigns from known brands give space for both the advertiser and the consumer to feel out the market before rebranding. When companies decided to present a product to the market again in a different light, teasers can be successful in rebranding and creating fresh excitement for their products and services (Trehan and Maan, 2012).

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