PR Secrets for a successful Product Launch
I would argue that PR is almost as important as product in a product launch. The media circus atmosphere of a great product launch is literally more effective at creating interest in a product than the product itself. I don’t mean that PR is a substitute for a good product. Just that the way a product is introduced can significantly impact the reception it gets once it hits the market.
Today, successful product launches are more about PT Barnum than traditional marketing. It’s about making your product into “The Greatest Show on Earth!”
After all, without smart publicity, nobody will know about the product – what it is, what it does, when and where it can be found, how much it costs, what experts and the media think about it, etc.
Here are seven PR secrets to obtaining fantastic publicity for your next product launch:
- Tease the market: Apple is a master at teasing the market with news of its latest innovations. Leak tidbits of information to the media (and bloggers!) to pique their interest and keep their ears open for future updates.
- Product reviews: Send out advance version of product to key influencers (journalists, reporters and bloggers) to review the product for their respective publications. Alternatively, you can invite certain members of the media and blogosphere to your office and spend the day testing out the new product.
- Just the facts: Send out news alerts & product fact sheets to media & bloggers to flesh out the product for them. Make this more widespread than when doing product reviews. It helps maximize the buzz.
- Hold a launch party: Doesn’t matter if you are Apple, Snapple or Crapple, holding a launch party is one sure way of creating buzz about your new product!
- Paparazzi to the rescue: Be sure to invite the media to the launch party for a paparazzi effect. Heck, some companies like Cele-4-a-Day, a company founded in Austin by Tania Cowher, specialize in adding a celebrity element to your event by acting like paparazzi running around taking pictures. Nothing like a little extra glitz and glam for added brand cachet!
- Fan participation: Hold a video contest for fans that send in the most creative ways to use your product. Or have fans create funny video-shorts about the product – something Stephen Colbert has been known to do on his satiric political talk show The Colbert Report. Award top video submissions a free pass to the launch party and spoil them with VIP treatment. You can never have enough loyal fans.
- Document the launch: Have your marketing team blog about the launch from start to finish. Videotape the launch party and send clips of it to the media not in attendance as well as to popular blogs. YouTube the most memorable clips to keep the buzz going strong.
- Brand ambassadors: Consider hiring brand ambassadors to spread awareness in key demographics. Dr. Pepper uses brand ambassadors to help spread the popularity and participation in its million dollar tuition give-away. You’d think a million-dollar give-away would be enough to cause a landslide of interest but the popular soft drink brand knows that even the best PR campaigns need a little extra push.
Got any ideas you want to add to the list? Disagree with me and want to air your grievances? Add your thoughts to the comments section below!
What NOT to Say in a Press Release
Based on my experience writing, reading and observing press releases, I have come up with a list of No-No’s to avoid when writing your next press release lest you appear unprofessional, unsavory or downright unlikeable. This list, while not intended to ...
Need Good PR for your Company? Write an Article!
A good way to get your personal and business brand in front of more eyeballs is to write articles for magazines, journals or newspapers. Winning the brand war today is about visibility, trust and value, which makes article writing a particularly ...
10 Practical PR Tips for Raising your Brand Awareness (and Becoming Shockingly Successful!)
Are you looking for a way to raise your personal or company brand awareness? You can take the usual route – advertising, email blasts, telemarketing – or you can try some of the PR tips I’ve gathered below.
PR is often overlooked ...
6 Reasons Why Videos May Not Work for Your Small Business
Are you falling under the spell of all the social media Zen Masters telling you the next big thing in social media marketing is adding video to your repertoire? There’s a reason why many are predicting great things for video in ...
5 Ways to Use PR for your Small Business
PR is an extremely powerful and persuasive medium when done properly, especially for smaller, growth-minded companies trying to work their way to the top.
Despite constant rumors of the death of traditional media and press releases, they are quite possibly the most ...
Rules for Pitching your News to the Media
Getting your news out to the media is one thing. Getting stories written about you is quite another.
If you want to create a firestorm of interest in your story as opposed to a forgettable fizzle, then it’s best to keep in ...
How to Go Zero-to-Sixty in PR
Few realize that PR is perhaps the most powerful and affordable way for small businesses to advance their chance of success and prosperity. Yet PR is a significant catalyst behind small companies with almost no advertising dollars to spend getting coverage ...
The Art of a Press Release
Many believe the art of a press release is in the writing. I don’t agree.
It’s true that writing an effective press release requires some writing talent. And turning a press release into something more than just a logical series of sentences ...
Leave the Office to Think Strategically
I spent Saturday morning at Panera Bread in north Austin trying to figure out what I should do for my business over the summer. I like to get away from the office – family, dog, television, lawnmower… the usual distractions – in order to think strategically about my business.
I have ...