April 29 2011, quite appropriately, is all about Kate Middleton’s dress. Yes, of course you can say its about the wedding of the century. You can say its about breathing a new lease of life into an aging monarchy. You can also say its about the marriage of monarchy and common people. But with due respect to monarchy, Diana’s legacy, the wedding, the kiss, the rituals, the millions of viewers and thousands who gathered – its really about Kate Middleton. And its really really about the dress.

So today’s marketing idea of the day quite appropriately comes from none other than Kate Middleton herself. She showed the world how to keep the best kept fashion secret of all time. She showed the world, when you drive the frenzy around a secret product to such gargantuan proportions; you must bring your A+ game and the product must be damn fantastic. Which it was. Its a trait she proudly shares with Apple, another brand like Kate that knows how to keep a secret and deliver it appropriately.

The lesson is simple. Its one thing to have a fantastic secret. Its one thing to create a fantastic PR campaign around it. Its quite another to deliver an equally fantastic product. And if you can do it with an hint of emotional attachment (in this case it came from Kate by choosing Alexander McQueen for whom the public already have a soft corner due to his tragic death); then you just nailed it.