6 Creative Ideas for a Product Launch Event

A product launch is an event where you introduce your product or service to your customers and potential clients. The purpose of a product launch is to generate buzz around your product, increase sales and create brand awareness. 

With a successful launch, you can gain visibility in your industry as well as promote your business through various marketing channels. As Brian Lawley, an authority on Product Management and Product Marketing, said in his book Optimal Product Process, “After the launch phase, your product is old news.” So it’s crucial to ensure the event’s success and maximise the product’s potential.

Read on to find out the one power that you need to harness before you launch your product, 6 creative product launch event ideas, and 5 common mistakes to avoid.

Social Media Power

Social media is an essential part of the modern marketing mix. It’s a great way to reach customers directly, build engagement, create buzz around your brand or product, and get people talking. Studies show that 92% of Internet users use social media every month. That’s 59,4% of the total population on Earth. The use of social platforms is also rising each year. On average, social media platforms get 4.3 new users every single second. So if you’re preparing to launch a new product, the question of using social media is not an “if” question; it’s a “how” one.

No matter what kind of product you’re launching, whether your company is a big or a small one, there are four sure things you can do using social media.

• When you’re present in social media, you can learn about your audience and create a product that meets their needs. If you have an audience, then you have a potential customer base, which will purchase the product from you. By analysing the data from your social media you will be able to tell who to reach and what is the best way to do it.

• Build awareness and get your audience familiar with the product even before you launch it. Create targeted social media posts, a countdown, and tease what’s coming. The possibilities are endless here, but your new ideas must match the content you’ve been publishing on your platforms so far.

• It’s always a good idea to come up with a creative slogan for your product or campaign, but if you can make it into an easy-to-remember hashtag, it’s a win. Tag the product content with it, and use it in your ads. Encourage your followers to use it after they bought your product and posted about it on their socials.

• Make a video. 92% of marketers report good ROI with video, so it goes without saying that if you want a successful product launch, you need a video for that. A video format is entertaining, easy to share, and doesn’t require much for the audience to engage with it. They can share it with their followers or send it to friends and family, spreading the news of your brand and the product launch.

So, now that we have the basics covered, read on to find out what kind of product launch events are bound to be a success for your company.

Creative Ideas For a Product Launch Event

1. Work with an Influencer

You already know how important social media are. So why not use that power further? One popular way to reach more clients and spread awareness of your product is to cooperate with an influencer. There are different ways to do so. You can gift them your product or agree on sponsored social media content. A good collaboration on one product can lead to the influencers becoming brand ambassadors as well.

To make the collaboration authentic, find influencers who share the same values as your company so using your product will come naturally to them. The influencers can become the face of the product, but also give a pre-launch experience and share it with their followers. As the followers trust the influencers, they are more likely to buy the product from their recommendation.

If you’re worried you may not have the budget to hire the biggest influencer in your area, don’t worry. Studies show that working with nano- and micro-influencers can be equally profitable as working with the big names. You might also contact an influencer agency who can manage the relationship on your behalf.

2. Do a Flash Mob

A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in public, perform a short song or a dance routine, and then quickly disperse. Flash mobs are unexpected and exciting. They catch people by surprise, delight them and make them want to share what they’ve seen with friends. This is exactly what you need if you’re trying to build excitement around your new product launch.

Flash mobs are viral marketing at their best. If there’s one thing that social media users love, it’s sharing things with their friends on social platforms. When people take videos of your flash mob and share them online, it can bring in huge numbers of potential customers for you. You can also use the situation to take the video yourself to later use it to promote your product.

Here’s a video to show you how fun flash mobs can be.

3. Organise a Conference

If you’re putting out a new product, you want people to know it’s the best one yet because you’re the best one in your industry. There are a lot of ways to position yourself as an expert, but the most effective one is organising a conference. It will show that not only you can provide an exceptional product, but you are the place to look for advice and knowledge in the field.

The main point of your conference will focus on, of course, the launch of your product. But if you organise an occasion where experts and clients receive lots of knowledge and resources and have a chance to network, your product will become an added value to an already great event. Attendees will be more likely to recommend the presented product to others, as they will not only talk about the product but the entire experience as well.

Here’s a checklist that might come in handy when organising a conference, and here you will find the best venues for your event.

4. Charitable Product Launch

You created a new product, invested and now await a good ROI. Charity sounds like the opposite direction. But it can help you build goodwill and establish positive associations for your brand. It will also gain exposure for your business, which in turn should get you more sales.

There are different ways to go about a charitable product launch. You can give some percent off your product on the day of the launch, or make a commitment to give a certain amount to charity after the first week of sales. You can also give your product to some charities for free as a promotional strategy. You can organise an event where you’ll promote your product, but the proceeds of the event will go to a chosen charity.

Whatever you decide on, remember to choose a charity and method that aligns with your company’s values. Also, always follow through. Continuing to help even after the product launch will give your company credibility and build customer trust.

5. Go Virtual

By organising a virtual product launch, you will be able to attract more visitors to your site and get more eyes on your product, ones you wouldn’t normally attract if you organised an in-person event. A virtual product launch may be a good idea if you’re a smaller brand trying to present your product to a bigger audience.

The one big thing to remember about virtual product launches is that you really have to make them as immersive as possible. Don’t just talk about your product. Show its features in use, demonstrate the product, and let it be tested live by people present on the site. Let your audience be familiar with it as if they were there with you to test it

It’s important to interact with the audience during the launch as well. You can host a live Q&A to immediately answer any doubts that customers may have before purchasing your product. You can host live polls and offer one-on-one consultations with experts. A good idea might be to organise a contest, where your product will be the main prize.

6. Best of Both Worlds

Hybrid product launches are a great way to ensure that your new product is a hit. Hybrid launches work by combining the best elements of traditional and online marketing, to ensure the needs of all customers, whether in-person or online, are met.

Using different types of media at different stages in your launch strategy can build momentum for your product across multiple platforms before it goes on sale and continues generating interest once it’s launched. Hybrid launches are flexible, meaning you can adjust them to any unexpected occurrences that may happen.

If you were planning an in-person product launch, don’t worry, it’s actually quite easy to make your event into a hybrid one. You can organise live streaming of the event using your social media. You can show not only the main stage but also some BTS (Behind The Scenes) footage. To maximise audience participation, similar to virtual launches, you can organise live Q&A, polls and online-exclusive deals and contests. 2022 Oscars showed that it’s possible to host a hybrid event even on such a big scale.

Common Mistakes

There are a lot of things you can do to make sure your product launch is successful. However, there are also some things that can doom it from the beginning.

Here are 5 mistakes to avoid when preparing for a product launch.

1. Keeping the Launch to a One-Time Event

When you launch a product, there is a specific time when it’s ready and available to customers. However, you can’t focus only on that one moment. You should organise pre-launch events or happenings to get people interested. The one-time event will happen once and be forgotten, but a whole series of events and teasers will establish momentum for your product.

2. Under Preparing the Backstage

The best preparation and launch will bring you nothing if, in the end, you are not able to deliver the product. So when preparing for the launch, make sure your website is working and there are no problems with payments or any other issues. The more you hype the product the more traffic you should expect. And be prepared for it.

3. Being Unaware of the Competition

This should go without saying, but you should keep a close eye on the competition, most importantly schedule-wise. If you’re a smaller company putting out a new electronic product around the same time as Google or Apple, then no matter how great your launch plan is, the product will be overshadowed by the competition.

4. Forgetting About the Calendar

It’s one thing to remember about your competition, but it’s also important to keep the calendar in mind. If you’re launching a product that could make for a good Christmas gift, then schedule the launch in late November. A great tool for travellers? Launch it before summer begins. A snack that will go best with a beer? Aim for Oktoberfest. Remember also about industry specific holidays.

5. Skipping the Follow-Up

Maybe the number of sales or sign-ups speaks volumes. You know your product was a hit and the launch was successful, it’s a really bad habit to omit the follow-up. Getting back to clients shows that you’re interested in them and you want to provide the best service. Follow-up can also get you invaluable feedback that you can use for your next product launch.

Key Takeaways

There are different ways to launch a new product your company has created. The key is to make it the talk of the industry and to make your company stand out. You want to ensure your old clients made the right decision following you, and the new ones are glad that they did.

Careful planning, keeping an eye on the trends and avoiding the common pitfalls will ensure your product launch will be a successful one and the product will sell well. With our list of creative ideas, your product launch is sure to hit the jackpot. We can’t wait to see what you’ve prepared!

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