Unveiling a new product signifies a pivotal chapter in a brand's journey. In today's hyper-competitive market, these milestone moments need to echo with significance and impact, and importantly maximise engagement. What's the secret recipe for orchestrating an event that truly amplifies the potential of your product launch?

Understanding your audience

At the heart of every successful event lies a profound understanding of your audience. Knowing their values, expectations, and lifestyles allows you to tailor your product launch to truly resonate with them. Consider the example of Apple’s keynote events. These are meticulously designed experiences that are more than product demonstrations—they serve as vivid representations of how Apple's innovations align with their audience's lifestyle.

Jackie Gordon, Director at Dovetail, reinforces this: "Understanding your audience is the foundation of any successful event. We work closely with our clients to gain a deep understanding of their target demographic before finalising any event strategy. This enables us to design product launch events that not only showcase the product, but also resonate with the audience on a deeper level and generate greater engagement."

Immersive experiences: bringing your product to life

Creating an immersive experience is pivotal to an impactful product launch. Events that merely list the product features may fail to engage the audience. One must strive to do more—to tell a story, to create a spectacle. Tesla's Cybertruck unveiling exemplified this. The event transcended the boundary of a traditional truck reveal; it was an electrifying spectacle that etched a lasting impression on the audience's minds and generated huge social media buzz.

Leveraging technology: expanding reach and interactivity

Technology, when thoughtfully integrated, can significantly enhance your product launch event. Innovations like live-streaming, augmented reality, and interactive demos can expand your reach and amplify engagement. A notable example is Google's use of augmented reality at their annual developer conference, Google I/O, to demo Google Lens. This approach provided an interactive experience while also vastly expanding the event's reach, making it accessible to a global audience.

Building Anticipation and Momentum

Generating excitement and momentum is an essential aspect of a successful product launch. It's crucial to consider strategies for building hype before, during, and after the event. Social media, email marketing, PR campaigns—these are all powerful tools for fostering anticipation before the event. The momentum should be sustained throughout the event with engaging content and immersive experiences.

For example, beauty brand Glossier brilliantly uses pop-up events to build pre-event buzz, leveraging the power of exclusivity and limited-time offerings. During the event, attendees are engaged with Instagrammable moments, and post-event, the brand maintains engagement through social media interactions and user-generated content.

Synergising with existing events: a smart strategy

As Marcus Gibbs, Director at Dovetail, points out, “Doing a product launch by yourself is a major cost exercise or PR stunt. But in many cases, piggybacking off another event is a smart strategy.”

For instance, Skiddoo used the Sydney Festival to launch its online booking engine to the world, and China Southern, a five-year sponsor, used the annual event to showcase new flights and products. These brands wisely leveraged the captive audience already concentrated in one place.

"The key thing is to understand how to maximise reach to deliver the best cut-through and connection with your customer," Gibbs adds. It's not just about having a presence at these events, but understanding how to strategically use this platform to your advantage.

CASE STUDY: Vegemite

Vegemite, an iconic Australian brand, is a prime example of a product launch done right in the FMCG sector. In 2019, when the company decided to introduce a new blend, Vegemite Blend 17, they knew they had to execute a highly strategic product launch to engage their dedicated fan base.

They started with a teaser campaign, leveraging social media platforms to build anticipation without revealing the specifics of the new product. This was followed by a selective launch event, inviting influential personalities and brand ambassadors for an exclusive tasting experience. The event was designed to offer an immersive Vegemite experience, featuring not only the product but also incorporating the brand’s heritage and values into every aspect of the event.

Furthermore, Vegemite cleverly piggybacked off Australian national pride by releasing the new blend around Australia Day, creating a strong emotional connection and sparking a nationwide conversation. This tactic significantly increased the brand's visibility, driving a surge in media coverage and public interest.

Finally, Vegemite tracked the success of their product launch by measuring social media engagement, press coverage, and initial sales of Vegemite Blend 17. The results exceeded expectations, proving the effectiveness of their strategic and well-executed product launch.

(Sidenote: as with the New Coke debacle in the 80’s, consumers ultimately caused the demise of the Limited Edition due to taste issues)

Measuring success: tracking performance and adjusting strategy

Lastly, and crucially, you need to measure the success of your product launch event. Defining clear, measurable goals and tracking your performance is integral to understanding the effectiveness of your event. Depending on your objectives, this could involve tracking social media mentions, press coverage, attendee feedback, or product pre-orders.

Creating a Lasting Impact

In conclusion, creating a successful product launch event involves deep audience understanding, immersive experiences, strategic use of technology, building momentum, synergising with existing events, and measuring success. Each of these elements interweaves to ensure your product makes a lasting impression in the marketplace.

Dovetail Brand Engagement is an Australia-based company offering a suite of brand engagement solutions. We believe in the power of connection, creativity, and clear strategy to create impactful brand experiences. Whether you're looking to create a product launch that resonates, design an event that captivates, or craft a brand narrative that connects deeply with your audience, Dovetail is your go-to partner.