By: K.G. Graham | @cosignkg
Are you gearing up to launch your brand or a new product? If yes, then I hope you’ve researched ways to introduce your product to your target market.
Product launch events are essential to the existence of businesses, but are critical to startups. Product launches are designed to achieve the specific purpose of creating awareness and publicity for a particular product/brand. A product launch is meant to generate a lot of buzz about the product/brand. The ultimate aim is to build sales momentum and a launch party is the perfect way to highlight your business or product and is a very smart marketing move. It’s a tried-and-tested way of introducing prospective buyers to your new product, giving you a chance to demonstrate its benefits, answer questions, and listen to feedback. It will give your new product the attention it deserves. However, there’s plenty of planning required if you want it to be successful, so here are a few tips:
1.) Map out the event details. (Date/time/venue)
The first thing you need to do is map out all of the details for your launch event in it’s entirety. What day are you hosting the event? Weekday or weekend? Make sure there’s not many similar events going on at the same time of your event to maximize attendance. Once you have a date and time secured, begin searching for the venue.
The choice of venue for staging the event can make or break the entire product launch. The purpose of the event should determine the most appropriate venue. The three types of product launch events are consumer events, trade events and media events.
Scouting for a suitable location can be time consuming. Proximity matters, as the venue should be easily accessible to the target audience. The product being launched should also bear some influence. Technical and room setup details will need to be covered.
2.) Plan a FREE event but require an email RSVP for entry.
When launching a product or company it’s best that you make the event FREE to the public to maximize your turnout. But, it’s very important that you require RSVP for entry using a platform such as Eventbrite that way you can collect emails for your database. Collecting emails will be essential for your company as you build a list of potential customers to market to.
People always like FREE, so having a free event with complimentary drinks and food is an extra incentive. Your goal is to gather as many potential customers as possible to inform them and sell them your product.
3.) Invite media, influencers, and tastemakers.
Have a clear definition of the purpose of the launch. Do you want to distribute the product, gain media coverage, build consumer awareness, gain support from influential industry players, or get some sales?
Either way you should have a list of local media outlets, influencers, and tastemakers that you should reach out to, to attend your event. You should also ask them to share the event details with their following via social media to help increase awareness.
4.) Make sure to have a tangible item at your event available for purchase or to giveaway.
What do you want your attendees to leave with? Creating an unforgettable experience is only half of the battle coupling the experience with a tangible item whether it’s a product or gift bag will be a constant reminder of your company.
5.) Outsource the following job duties so you can solely focus on your product/brand/service.
Hire professionals to help you successfully launch your product/brand. Each event should be accompanied with a DJ to provide the soundtrack for the evening, a photographer/videographer to capture photos and/or video which you can use to create content post the event, and a graphic designer to design promotional materials for the event.
6.) Market the event.
Now that you have all of the details lined up, it’s time to market and promote your launch event. Marketing the launch does not have to be expensive. Businesses now commonly use social media networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter in very effective ways to reach their target audience. Live tweeting has proven to be an effective method of passing on real-time information between interested groups as well as Instagram and Facebook Live.
We also suggest working with media, influencers, and tastemakers from step 3 to help get the word out about the event. Influencer marketing is a highly effective marketing trend.
7.) Follow Up
After the success of your event it’s very critical that you follow up with your attendees. By collecting emails from the RSVP send out a “Thank You” email and offer attendees discounts on future products in exchange for a product review.
It’s extremely crucial that you keep the momentum going from the event. One way is by letting the attendees know where they can find their photos and footage from the event so they can repost the images. Your launch event should really only be a part of your product launch process.
