How to land the perfect launch

“You just make the best product you can, and you don’t put it out until you feel it’s right. But no matter what you think intellectually, your heart is beating pretty fast right before people see what you’ve produced.” - Steve Jobs

Welcome back to the first day of school. Launching a new product or service is the same as being the new kid in the classroom. You may as well throw on a backpack and a maroon blazer, and get ready to face adversity. In today’s chaotic culture where news travels fast, and social trends travel faster, you need to be prepared for battle. Most markets have become heavily saturated with multiple products that offer identical services: who can blame consumers for feeling confused, and perhaps even apathetic, by all the life-changing, money-saving claims of greatness.

Most people will stick to what they know, unless you give them a reason not to. A survey conducted by Nielsen in 2014, reviewing the FMCG market, showed that three quarters of new product launches are doomed to disappear within a year. Datamonitor found that only 1 in 10 people notice when a new product is launched. But these statistics are no reason to lose heart. The key to success is arguably a simple one: focus on the people, not the product. Apple have often been cited as a prime example of this, aiming their advertising towards personal experience not just product specification. When Kissmetrics analysed the ‘Steve Jobs’ approach to a launch, they stated ‘he goes out of his way to emphasize how the product affects you... It’s about simplicity, productivity, style — all things he knows people are interested in.’

Of course product details are important, and the rational side of the brain will always play a part in the decision making. But it’s the emotional connection that drives people to act, to change companies, and to try something new. An article by The Next Web argue that ‘people want products that add something more than just functionality to their lives’ and whether a consumer likes the experience of the service, the design of the product, or simply the brand itself, they still need something more to invest in than a one-time offer of a passing product.  

Recent campaigns have been using this philosophy to launch new products into the public eye, and agencies have adopted a number of different techniques to generate a customer connection.      

Step One: Attract the consumer.
It is essential for new products to make an instant impression, if they’re to have a lasting impact in their market. For example, Dragon Rouge recently worked on the launch campaign for Danio, a new range of yogurts being released by Danone. They recognised that it was a challenge designing into a busy category with prescribed codes, and believed that ‘getting stand out and high appeal was paramount. They aimed to create a simple, powerful and uplifting design’ that could ‘spearhead a sea change in the yogurt category.

But launching a new product doesn’t end there.

Step Two: Involve the consumer.
Incentives are certainly a powerful weapon in a launch’s armoury, but they are even more effective when they can encourage the consumer to interact. MBA recently used a social treasure hunt competition to help raise the profile of B2B crowdfunding investment company, Money&Co. Consumers were given the chance to win £10,000 by finding hidden gems on the Money&Co website. MBA aimed to make the company wholly accessible to consumers, creating a new website alongside a multi-channel strategy, in a bid to encourage customers to search, share and spend.

The next step in connecting with the consumer is, perhaps, the most significant one.

Step Three: Share with the consumer, and let them share with you.
Above+Beyond recently launched Amazon Prime to the UK market, and did so by focusing on the narrative of consumers. We are more likely to believe a consumer, than we are a company, when they say a product is worth buying, and we are far more likely to be persuaded by a story than we are a sales pitch. Above+Beyond used carefully selected interviewees so that their stories could support multiple product focuses, and built their campaign on the most important question all consumers will ask: how will this improve my life?

Ultimately, if you are planning on launching a new product, there is one golden rule to follow.

Step Four: Understand your consumer, understand your purpose. 
Five by Five, believe that a successful launch is hinged on an understanding of the consumer’s needs, and how your product is able to fulfil them. They argue that you must be able to articulate that reason to exist in one line before you even think about launching. Certainly what makes a successful launch is still up for debate. Most agencies would advocate a creative simplicity that is still capable of challenging convention. Others would suggest using a uniting theme across all channels and striking a balance between originality and functionality. But, whichever way you look at it, if you want to successfully launch a new product, you need to be prepared to launch a lifestyle too. If you want to succeed in selling something, you need to sell the experience of using it. You need to be able to convince the consumer of why your product or service will make their life better, easier, and simpler. Pinpoint your purpose, consider your consumer, and then don’t think twice: launch yourself into it. 

Observations inspired by insight articles posted on haystackonline.com. Read more from haystackonline in our Clubhouse.