Producer Manual · Chapter 2 · NBA Top Shot & Disney Pinnacle
The arc of a drop
Every drop starts by celebrating the collectors, the collections and the collectibles of the past that led to this point. Those collectors get the first chance to buy. From there, every step is something collectors do that becomes news, and each piece of news brings in the next wave.
Beats 1–3 happen before drop day. The first domino goes up in beat 2, and the dominoes fall in beat 3.
The five beats
The Top Shot and Disney Pinnacle notes show each move. They're examples, not plans.
1
Honour the past
The announcement
Save the date. Announce the drop and start the countdown. Then celebrate the collectors, the collections and the collectibles of the past that led to this point:
the past sets this drop continues, and the stories behind them;
the collectors who completed them, named and shown;
the new content that's coming, and which past sets will open which doors.
Publish each product and exactly how many there are. The supply is fixed from this point.
Who hears it first, and how
Collectors who completed the past sets: a personal note that celebrates their collection before anyone else hears the news.
Everyone: the save-the-date and the countdown, on every channel.
NBA Top ShotCelebrate last season's rookie class, its best Moments and the collectors who completed it. Then set the date for the new class.
Disney PinnacleCelebrate last October's Halloween collection: its pins, its art, and the collectors who finished it. Then set the date for this year's.
The headlineSave the date. And a thank-you to the collectors who got us here.
2
Open the doors
The weeks before. The first domino goes up.
The priority allocation goes on sale. This can happen on the day of the announcement or later. Either way, it is designed to sell out the day it opens.
The reason to buy nowThe priority allocation is guaranteed and limited, for collectors who already qualify through what they own. Because it will sell out, they buy the moment it opens instead of waiting. Design it so it sells out the day it opens. That sell-out is the first domino.
Then open more ways in, through ownership and quests:
Lock a set to qualify. On Top Shot: a Legendary set qualifies you for the Case. A Rare set, or an Ultimate of a featured player, qualifies you for the Box. A Common set or a Starting Five qualifies you for the Pack. Qualifying gets you into the priority draw.
Trade-ins and small upgrade auctions.
Chance Hit packs, where the big pulls are the story.
And keep telling the story. The weeks before are for:
last year's sets, and this year's content;
the story of the drop and the story of the content;
the Moments and pins, and the art;
the collectors who own last year's sets.
Who hears it, and how
Collectors who already qualify: "Your [set] gets you first shot. The priority allocation is open now."
Collectors close to qualifying: "You're 2 Rares from Box priority." Messages built on what someone owns get 3–5x the opens of a broadcast.
Social Fans of the featured players or characters: the story, and the easiest way in.
NBA Top ShotOwners of last season's rookie sets get the priority allocation. Others go back to finish those sets so they can qualify for the draw. This pulls buying into past content and takes the locked supply off the market.
Disney PinnacleOwners of last October's collection get a priority allocation for the new one. Quests and collecting earn priority draw entries. The art and the story of the pins lead every post.
3
Show the build-up
From the moment the doors open to the close of the main draw
Report what collectors are doing. The most important number is priority orders. The headlines are the dominoes. Each one proves the demand to the next, more cautious, group of collectors:
DOMINO 1Priority allocation sold outThe first proof, and the reason the next group enters.
DOMINO 2Priority draw oversubscribedCollectors enter, then wait days to learn whether they won.
DOMINO 3Main draw oversubscribedDemand reaches beyond the early adopters.
Each domino is demand outgrowing a fixed cap, and a bigger cap waiting behind it:
Illustration: the shape, not real data. Priority orders keep climbing, and each domino is that line crossing a bigger fixed cap.
In between the dominoes, keep the news coming: how many collectors have qualified, how much was traded in, who won each auction, and the biggest Chance Hit pulls.
Who hears it, and how
Priority entrants: "The allocation sold out. Your draw entry is in."
Everyone who hasn't entered: each domino as it falls, with the next way in and its closing time.
Before every close: a last-chance reminder, sent only to people who haven't acted yet.
The headlinesPriority allocation sold out. → Priority draw oversubscribed: [N] entries for [N] spots. → Main draw oversubscribed.
4
Drop day
One day. Nothing else that day.
Treat drop day like Sunday service. Everyone shows up at the same time, for the same thing. Nothing competes with it. Every winner opens at once, and the whole community shares the moment. The teams that run the best launches treat the day this way:
One time, known in advance. Count down to it everywhere.
Nothing else ships that day. No other content, promotion or announcement.
The drop takes over every surface: the homepage, the app, email and social media.
Open together, on camera. A live show or stream where collectors and the team open at the same time.
The whole team is on deck. Support, engineering and community are live and ready.
The best pulls go up live as they happen.
Who hears it, and how
Winners: "Your pack is ready. We open at [time]."
Everyone: one countdown, then "It's live."
NBA Top ShotDrop night. Cases, Boxes and Packs open together on a live show, and the new rookie class lands in collections everywhere at once.
Disney PinnacleThe Halloween collection opens for everyone at the same moment, with the rarest pins revealed live.
5
What's next
From the moment the drop opens
Celebrate first. Make heroes of the collectors who made the drop:
The best pulls, shown as they come out.
The big buys: the biggest purchases and the top marketplace sales.
The first to complete. The first few collectors to finish a new set are heroes. Name them, show their collections, and put them at the front of the story.
The set-completion leaderboard, live from day one.
A reason to buy now, againRight after the drop, supply is at its highest. That's exactly when we need a new reason to buy now, aimed at completing serialised sets. The leaderboard is the start of it, and we'll build more mechanics like it across both products.
Then give everyone a next move: Chance Hit packs, set challenges, trade-ins, and a new set to start.
Who hears it, and how
Collectors one or two pieces short of a set: "You're 1 away from completing [set]."
Collectors who missed the drop: their best next move, not a generic "shop now".
Today's heroes are the honoured collectors of the next drop, and today's new content becomes the past set that opens it.
The headlineMeet the first [N] collectors to complete the set.
The right message, to the right collector, at the right time
Notifications are part of the arc, not an add-on.
Segment by what people own and what they've done, not by a single list. Qualified, close to qualifying, past buyers, fans of the featured players or characters, collectors who have gone quiet, newcomers.
Send messages triggered by what each person has done, not blasts. Send a message when something changes for that person: they qualified, the allocation opened, they're two away, a draw result is in, a close is near.
Lead with their own collection. "You're 2 Rares from Box priority" beats "New drop available".
Pick the channel for the moment. Use push for time-critical alerts (allocation open, last chance, it's live). Use email for the story and the full picture. Use in-app for the next action, and social media for the headlines.
Send one message per moment, and cap how often. Every message should be worth opening.
How you know the marketing worked
The true test comes after the drop. It's how many collectors go on to complete the Moments and the sets from the drop. If people are out completing full sets, as buyers rather than sellers, the marketing made the content and the set feel special. A sell-out on its own doesn't prove that.
Why it works
The marketing tells itself. We don't buy attention for the drop. We create moments that are news because collectors are making them: the sell-out, the oversubscribed draws, trade-ins, auctions and big pulls. Each one proves the demand to the next group.
The circle. Past sets earn first access to new content. That new content becomes the next past set. Every drop honours the last one and sets up the next.
The principles underneath
Honour the past. A past collection makes the new content feel earned rather than arbitrary. Heritage-brand research.
Loyal collectors go first. They act fastest, and when they act, everyone else trusts the drop. Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations.
Give a reason to buy now. A guaranteed allocation that will sell out turns intent into action straight away.
Let each domino prove the next. Each sell-out and oversubscribed draw makes the next wave want in. Cialdini, social proof.
Make the day a ritual. One shared moment that everyone respects.
Questions for your drop
Which collectors, collections and collectibles of the past led to this drop, and how will we celebrate them?
When do the doors open? Is the priority allocation designed to sell out the day it opens?
What could stop each domino from falling?
Who gets which message, when, and through which channel?
Is drop day clear of everything else, with the whole team on deck?
Whose pulls, buys and completions will we celebrate first? What's the reason to complete the set right after the drop?
A month later, how many collectors have completed the set, and are they buying or selling?