How can you use media outreach to make your product launch a success?

Defining what success looks like for a product launch is crucial for setting clear goals, guiding your strategy, and measuring performance against your objectives. Success can vary but I tend to focus more on quantitive metrics over qualitative metrics.Here are some metrics I focus on - Sales metrics - Revenue attributed to traffic source (paid, organic and earned) - Visibility metrics (# of press pickups and impressions)

SMART Goals Achieved = Launch Success 1. Define what "success" means (e.g., No. of media mentions, X% sales lift). 2. Map that back to your target audience. Who needs to hear about your product? (Parents? Developers?, Gamers? Marketers?) 3. Research where they consume media (blogs, podcasts, Social Media, Communities?) 4. Personalize your pitch to speak their language and highlight features relevant to their needs. Tailor, target, measure.

A goal should measurable, realistic and calculatable to expected ROI. A goal can be a Sales goal, an educational goal, a teasing goal or whatever. You should be aware of the type of the goal as it shall be affected by the combination of the marketing message.

Define your goals and audience to create a unique and relevant narrative. You can use the following questions: Why does your product exist? What problem does it solve? How does it work? What sets it apart? Tailor your pitch for each outlet and contact. Use a catchy subject line, a brief introduction, and a structured summary of your product's story. Include a clear call to action and a link to your product demo. Keep it concise, respecting your audience's time. A well-crafted story and pitch increase the chances of grabbing attention and ensuring a successful product launch.

A few thoughts: 1. Focus on impact, not just specs. Does it save time, solve a pain point, or offer exciting possibilities? 2. Let your personality shine through. Don't just list facts, make the story personal. Infuse your message with that tone, making it more engaging and relatable. 3. Ditch the press release clone. Journalists crave fresh narratives. Offer exclusive insights, behind-the-scenes glimpses, or even a personal anecdote about the product's creation. 4. Tailor your message to each outlet. Research different media and their audiences. Craft a unique angle for each, highlighting aspects most relevant to their viewers. 5. Proofread! Make sure your story is polished, grammatically correct, and flows smoothly.

Cross marketing is the secret. Do a partnership with one of your potential partners, create a dual benefit combo offer that combines your product and their product and create a campaign on their channels and your channels. Shell and Huyndai is a good example.

One of the best ways to demonstrate a product launch to the media is at a live industry event during a one on one interview. The media will already be planning to attend and will be searching for exciting news to share. When planning your product marketing calendar for the year, earmark all of the largest industry events along with your big releases. Which ones line up? Reach out to your media contacts and find out who will be in attendance at the event. Ideally, prepare a senior leader - preferably already media trained - with a demo script while also including why this new product or release is valuable to the industry. Have another technical expert on hand - just in case!

Interactive Premiere Events We hosted a live interactive premiere for our product demo on platforms like Twitch and YouTube Live, turning the launch into an event. Viewers could ask questions in real-time, creating a buzz. This strategy, inspired by video game releases, significantly increased our engagement rates and provided immediate feedback. Targeted Demo Release Parties For a more personalized approach, we organized virtual "release parties" in specialized online communities related to our product (e.g., LinkedIn Groups, Reddit). Providing exclusive access to early content fostered a sense of belonging and generated valuable, in-depth discussions, much like private software beta tests.

A successful media outreach campaign involves rigorous measurement and optimization. Track and analyze media coverage, product demonstration views, website traffic, social media engagement, and conversions. Leverage tools for data collection and visualization. Compare results against goals, identify strengths and opportunities. Apply insights to enhance future media outreach campaigns for sustained success.

Expanding media outreach beyond traditional news publications to involve consumers directly in product launches enhances visibility and fosters viral sharing, making it a potent strategy for success. It will be great to broaden media outreach to consumers in product launch events and encouraging them to share their experiences on social media, businesses can significantly boost visibility and engagement. This approach not only transcends conventional news publication boundaries but also leverages the power of personal recommendations, creating a more impactful and viral strategy for launching new products successfully

Once we were looking to launch some new products with major customers in a crowded market. Media outreach helped us build thought leadership as we pitched and successfully got a BBC TV Interview with me to promote our product capabilities. This really helped cement our thought leadership with key customers and helped us successfully launch our products and win tens of millions in New customer sales. While you may not need media outreach for every launch, when used strategically it can be invaluable.