Launching a new product is an exciting time for a company. Product engineers are getting kudos for their hard work, the sales force is revved up, and marketing efforts are kicking into high gear to let the world know about your new offering.
Your marketing plan for the launch likely includes these tactics:
- Professional photographs of the new product
- Digital and/or traditional ads
- A press release
- E-mail newsletters
- Social media posts
- Website updates
- Sales sheets or brochures
These are all excellent tools to get the news out to your customers and prospects. After all, it’s always best to capitalize on good news with a cohesive, coordinated effort across all your communication platforms.
But a closer look at the list reveals a gap in the public relations approach. Issuing a press release is important, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what you can do to get publicity for your product. Here are Studio/D’s “secrets” to help you earn media placements that go beyond just a photo and brief description.
- Produce a series of press releases – Most product launches deserve more than just a “one and done” press release. Depending on your industry and the competitive environment, you might want to issue a release a few months before the actual launch, as a teaser to build excitement. Include quotes about why this product will matter to customers and to the industry. Accompanying the release with a photo of a product prototype will make it much more likely to be picked up. You can also write a release about what happens AFTER the launch. Are customers raving about it? Has it outperformed sales expectations by a considerable margin? Is it being used in unexpected ways? Any of these could be newsworthy to editors in your industry and get you another round of publicity. What about an “anniversary” announcement? One year after the launch, re-cap how the industry has embraced this product. Are competitors copying it and if so, how is your product superior? Talk about what else is in the works from your R&D team.
- Pitch interviews with your product managers – Editors and writers for industry publications are happy to talk to marketing managers about new products, but often what they really want is to speak directly to engineers or researchers who have in-depth technical knowledge of the product or industry. Be sure to prepare your folks well for a media interview, as this is most likely unfamiliar territory for them.
- Offer a video news release – Editors are starving for video content, and a new product introduction is a great excuse to offer a video. Keep it short, to about 30 seconds. And make it as factual as possible, without superlatives like “the greatest” and “incredible.” With a long or overly promotional video, you won’t have much luck getting editors to post it on their publication sites.
- Consider a wire service – The majority of media sites, both trade and consumer, subscribe to wire services that deliver press releases to them on a daily basis. Editors find relevant releases by looking for keywords that matter to their audience — terms like HVAC, plastics or medical devices. Distributing your release through a wire service can be beneficial in some cases, but not all. Costs need to be weighed carefully, as it can be expensive. Now you know some of our PR secrets, but wait, there’s more! We have additional “tricks up our sleeve” that we’d love to share. Give us a call and let’s start the conversation. And, if you’re like most marketing and sales directors, you probably don’t have time to execute all the tactics needed for successful marketing outcomes. Let us do the heavy lifting as you launch your new product to stardom!
Studio/D’s PR services include pitching stories to industry publications, media training, content marketing, white papers, case studies, and crisis communications. To learn more, please contact Scott Dieckgraefe at 314-200-2630 or scott@StudioD.agency