A new year around the corner means planning for those seasonal product launches is coming up fast. But product launches happen all the time, and you are (without doubt) facing a large market with many competitors all wanting to stand out and make an impact – We know that every brand has their own take on advertising, but some things are common and that is the focus for our four tips.

You cannot take product launches lightly if you want to file your work under success. Since we live in a time of advertising overload, you need to critically assess the impacts of various media and tools, and you have to choose which to strategically use and what message you want to convey to your audience, in order to make them relate and eventually buy your product. Either way you have to consider your options and make a lot of choices along the way, before you are ready to go to market and shout to everyone.  

1) Set a clear goal
Stop! Before you do anything else, you need to establish your goals. It seems stupidly obvious, but nevertheless this is an entry-level task that many brands fail to get right. Simply stating mission accomplished when run out of stock is not an intelligent goal to aim for, as you will lose focus on the more long-term metrics, which build engagement and brand affinity. When you have set your targets, you will be able to mold the campaign accordingly and build your momentum towards success. 

2) Focus on user experience
Always remember that you are not the only one trying to get the attention of the customer, as there are litterally tons of ads, videos, billboards, commercials, endorsements and end cap displays. You name it, and it’s sure to already be out there competing for the valuable attention of the same people you are trying to reach. That means you have to give the customer a good experience, which in turn means that you have to begin with the customer's needs and have to learn as much as you can about them. When you have a precise image of the actual people, not a segment or a group, but individual people who could purchase your product, it will be possible to address whatever needs and wants they may have when you create your launch campaign.

3) Pick the right platforms
When you set your goal and work with finding out who your target audience is, you will wonder about platforms. Which are the most effective, which ones are you used to, what will have the biggest impact, and are there platforms that are superfluous or ones that should be left out? The best strategy might be to stick to a platform that has given you great results in the past, and that’s for sure a safe hand to play. But your customers are dynamic and they keep up with different types of media, and you need to know if they can be reached on social, by massive billboards, one-pagers in glossy magazines or displays in malls and retail spaces. Or most often a fair mix of the all. If you create a campaign targeting an audience across multiple platforms, you will be able to make a coherent effort resulting in a successful impact.

4) Explore 
Sometimes it’s nice to just do what you did the last time around, because you already know the game and it has given OK satisfactory results. Most times it is, however, valuable to explore and try something new. This does not mean you have to spend all of your resources on experimenting and trying whatever fad or crazy trend that’s popular. It means that a Columbus egg may be lying around the bend and thinking outside the usual confines of your campaign work could be the best way of finding it and doing something new that adds even more value.  Remember that your consumers today are much less homogenous than you might imagine.

If you're interested in learning more about how to use mixed reality for your next product launch, then take a look at some of our cases right here.