4 Things to Help Plan Your Next Launch for a Good PR Outcome
Common issues with a launch
All too often a potential client will call me up a month or less before a big trade show and say, “Nora! I have this great new product I’m about to launch at this trade show. Can you help me get press!?” Very rarely can we help at this point. I’ve noticed that many brands and designers see a big industry event as their ultimate deadline. This is too bad because it means their timeline doesn’t have space for photography, social media teasers, lookbooks, and press outreach.
Two or three weeks of runway is not enough for a successful product launch.
A successful launch starts well before the actual release date and you need a lot more to be launch ready than just having a product. It is great when a product is ready, but make sure you’ve done all the leg work too.
Below are four things to keep in mind when planning your next product, project, or service launch!
1. Photography and other visual assets
The number one problem that I see time and time again is a launch without photography. Or very bad, rushed photography. I see clients, for example, rushing to get their new lighting collection completed in time so they can ship it to the trade show where they are going to launch the collection. Sure, they finished the collection, but they didn’t build in time to have a photoshoot. In the 11th hour they throw a last-minute photoshoot together. Without a stylist. Without a good photographer. This results: 1. technically bad photos (weird lighting or exposure or composition); 2. a small selection of photos, and 3. usually not the photos they need for amazing media outcomes.
If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again- magazines and blogs are essentially big picture books. There isn’t a design editor in the world who will care about what you’re working on if you don’t have big, beautiful photos to go along with it. Design is visual first, and everything else second.
For photography inspiration check out our Pinterest page with individual boards for everything from tech gear to accessories to textiles, consumables, furniture, lighting, and self care products. Also, see our interview with lighting designer Erin of Lorekform where she talks photography strategy and setting up a shoot.
If you want to know exactly what makes an image media-ready check out our photo guides.
2. Find Your Angles
What are the story angles you’re going to pitch? A single launch might be lucky enough to have multiple angles. A publication that writes about entrepreneurism will want different details than one that would do a feature on a product.
You’ll also want to make sure you have relevant quotes from the right people for this launch, be it a designer, founder, funder, etc. This exercise will help you determine which media outlets to invite to your launch. It will also help you prepare the right materials for each potential story.
3. Where to Pitch
Which publications want to tell a product story? A service story? A principal profile? Well before your launch it’s up to you (or your PR firm) to find the best magazines, blogs, and podcasts for your story to live.
When a successful book is launched, you’ll see the writers doing interviews in the months and weeks leading up to the launch, as well as the weeks after. That means their PR team did their job securing media interviews **before** the book launch. With samples from the book, a bio about the writer, and highlights about what the writer could talk about while on air. The same is true when launching a new product, the media wants this info before the public. Otherwise your launch becomes old news.
For more insights on editor research and pitching see our post 9 PR Tips from WIRED’s Pitching Guide.
4. Timing to an Industry Event
We’re not all Beyonce, most of us can’t just launch a wildly successful album without a lot of promotion leading up to it.
A good way to make sure you get attention for your launch is to tie in with an industry event. There is a guaranteed increase in press opportunities during trade events, including digital events. Everything from CES to Comic Con to Design Week here in NYC has round ups, best ofs, meet so-and-sos for these multi-day trade events. Plugging into your industry’s trade events is a good way to get attention from press and other industry members, like buyers, contemporaries, galleries, showrooms, etc.
BONUS - Collaborations
Are there collaborations that can help you cross into new audiences? When you can add another dynamic element to your launch, it gives the media something exciting to talk about. Considering how a collaboration might enhance your stories is a good thing to think about when planning a launch.
When putting together a launch, it is essential to have the right assets and the right research done well ahead of time for a good PR outcome!
If you found this post helpful we think you’ll get a lot out of our 5-Day Pitch the Media Mini Course
