Hunter has had the pleasure of supporting a number of clients recently in launching products and services into the market.
While it might seem as simple as producing an ad and telling the world you have something to sell, we Hunters have a few tips about what you might want to think about well in advance.
The media pitch
The shrinking media pool in Western Australia makes for a challenging environment to launch a new product or service into the market. Key things to consider are what your product or service contributes to your customers - focus on the novel, newsworthy and life-changing benefits of your product! Think about who you want to purchase and/or engage with your offering and ask yourself - who are they following on Instagram? Which news websites are they consuming content from? Target your pitch to these people. Also, ensure you have great high-resolution imagery of your product handy.
For our client Miss Chow’s Group, we could see its offering appealing to a few different markets and we tailored our media approach accordingly. Business News received a business-driven angle, while food blogs and variety websites like The Urban List received a media pitch that was food-focused and consumer-based.
The product drop
Looking to make a visual impact? A media drop to key media, social media influencers and stakeholders can be a great way to showcase your new product to an audience in a tangible way. It is a creative and fun way to showcase your brand personality, and to put your product directly in the hands of people who have the ear of your potential customers. A visually engaging and creative media drop can create buzz around your brand.
For Miss Chow’s Group, we sought out influencers and personalities who truly fit the brand and the product. Think about how authentic your product or service would look to an outsider if this person was promoting it. Would the person you’re reaching out to actually use the product? If not, there may not be good alignment between your brand and theirs.
The launch event
Launch events are not crucial to business success, but can be a way to share your brand narrative and introduce a large number of people to your product, brand or venue. It’s also a key opportunity to encourage user-generated content and give people an experience of your brand.
Ensure your invitation list is varied - media, key ‘influencers’, suppliers and stakeholders are a good place to start, and don’t forget an invitation to the social pages who may want to come along to grab some snaps.
For our client Thermomix, which recently launched a new model, the launch event had to give people something to engage with to excite the busy media and influencers attending. Think beyond just speeches and product displays. The Thermomix launch event saw attendees making dumplings with ambassador Matt Sinclair.
Issues management
Be prepared for any tricky questions from customers and journalists, especially if you’re launching something that is completely new to the market or within an issues-prone industry. Ensure your team knows who will handle any customer and/or media queries, and prepare some key messages for them to address any issues or questions that may arise. You might like to think about preparing holding statements or social media response frameworks to streamline responses to any potentially negative commentary.
If your key spokespeople aren’t already media trained, that’s a great place to start. Even if you don’t anticipate any curly questions or negativity, your spokespeople need to know how to make the most of interviews and weave your brands messaging into every response.