The PR Pulse PR Words and Wisdom From Silicon Valley and Beyond

I understand the founder’s journey well—I formed my business on $50 and a half tank of gas, truth be told.? Donna Loughlin, Founder LMGPR

?It fueled my creativity and unstoppable quest to go from employee to entrepreneur.? I will detail more on this in the book I am writing. Meanwhile, this newsletter is for the trailblazers and innovators looking to grow their business with PR.

This week I chipped a fingernail using ChatGPT? but I am still here and AI doesn't seem to be offended that I am writing my own content, so here we go!

In watching the recent headlines on the Tesla Cybertruck recalls, I have to start this week off with something even public companies forget :lead with the problem, not the product.??

Highlighting the problem you are solving needs to rank higher than the cool factor.?

That being said,? this week's featured question is timely:

Dear Donna,

What steps do I take to launch my company? How do I know when I am ready to go?

--Time is Money in San Jose, CA

?

Dear Time is Money,

We hear you!?

While there is no one-size-fits-all timetable, successfully launching a company requires a lot of details. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen is companies thinking that a press release IS the launch.??

At LMGPR, we are all about developing leadership, momentum and growth… and that means making you more money!?

In an ideal world we’d like to have 6-8 months—6-8 weeks minimum to get everything ready and approved. That being said, at LMGPR we’ve also done it last minute with successful results. Take for instance, Damon Motors. The electric motorcycle company came to us one week before launching at CES 2020 and so we had to spring into action and work overtime to get them ready. Their launch, despite the timing, ended up being a great success winning the hearts and minds of media globally and resulted in a Best of CES Award. Read the case study here. You can also listen to my Before It Happened interview with Damon Founder Jay Giraud here.

So to answer your question, it’s best to give yourself and the marketing and agency time to thoughtfully plan out the launch and make sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed. Waiting until the last minute isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, but it definitely adds unneeded stress and could potentially affect the success of the launch. Assuming you have your website, sales and customer support in order.? If not, than you are in

Here’s a breakdown of how the pre-launch months should be spent:

Pre Launch

There are six key components:

• Define Problem – What is the problem you are solving?
• Strategic Position-What makes you unique and stand out in the field of unicorns or acorns?
• Beta and Feedback loop-This is so important in establishing a sound product in a real world scenario. Some products command being in the “real world” such as space, agritech or robotics.
• Narrative Story – Most companies have more than one story. Founder’s journey, innovation or trend. We also like a solid video news roll for broadcast TV and have seasoned partners to write, direct and shoot content ready for prime time.

• Educational Content – Are you an authority? Do you have awards, published white paper or research? If so, it’s important to leverage these as part of your media plan for byline, opinion piece or speaking opportunities.
• Digital Kit: The media kit should contain company at a glance, white papers, data sheets, video, product photos, bio of spokesperson, FAQ, and yes, a launch press release.? This can be on the website or, if stealth, provided via a QR code for direct access.?

Go to Market?

The key components here are:

• Partners – Do you have partners or customer qualified beta references? If so, have them groomed for conversations with market analysts and media.
• Briefing analysts or influencers – Both enterprise and consumer products have industry research and pundits to weigh in on the market and tech. These are organizations like Frost and Sullivan, Gartner, and Parks and Associates, to name a few. Influencers can be futurists, venture capitalists? or customers, but not pay for-play social influencers.? We will save social media for another time. Social influence is more credible than social media for companies at launch.
• Hyper-focused media interviews – You need to be convincing and quotable.? I think of this as the “fortune cookie” soundbite. You have one memorable moment. Focus on the why vs the what with the media. The first round of media discussions should be with the media that move your conversation to influence and sales. What three publications do you want to take into a customer meeting? What three publications can help you secure funding? Focus on media outlets that mean business not just coverage. For a new company introduction, I highly recommend embargoed media discussions…not an exclusive.
• Product demos – First-look reviews for enterprises take some time, so customer references are often best. For consumer products, you should have at least 12 units for priority media to evaluate for same day news coverage. Once the first looks are public, you can expand the reviews to more outlets or choose to do a sponsored unboxing like Unboxed Therapy or Marquess Brownlee, but keep in mind they are costly and they are unbiased.
• Refinement – Once you have taken your story out for a spin, monitor how the story is received and refine if needed.? What message resonates and which falls short? Adjust your story and keep going because this is just the beginning.

Here’s an example of a successful launch we did with Realware, a first-of-its-kind industrial headset. We briefed market analysts six months in advance, conducted media pre-briefings and created a customer council of 50 Fortune 500 users. The day we launched, we had a standing room only unveiling and lots of media coverage. To learn more about this successful launch, click here.

Here are a few questions to determine if you are ready to launch:

What is your business need to launch?

Do you have a strong position and message?

Are you a challenger or disruptor?

What’s your story?

Are you pre-sales or in beta? What’s your revenue goal?

Have you briefed market analysts?

Do you have a product to demo or review?

What media outlet is going to close business deals?

What is the worst-case scenario if you don’t launch in a certain time frame?

The Bottom Line: You only have one chance to officially launch, so we recommend you plan the two phases according to your business needs to yield the highest impact. LMGPR looks at your overall brand, customer challenges and needs, and market opportunity. PR is smack in the middle of the business plan. The goal is to use PR as a strategic tool to not only be heard, but to also be relevant.

To learn about LMGPR’s entrepreneurial journey, listen to:

• How’d It Happen Podcast
• The Start Up Studios Podcast

Are you getting ready to launch your company and have questions? Schedule a free office hour consultation or even better lunch? with Donna today at [email protected] to see how LMGPR can make your launch a successful one.