New product promotion strategy and methodology

We share our expertise based on the knowledge and long-term experience of special projects combining PR and marketing tools.

First, understand the goal of the campaign.

Of course, the global goal of any marketing and PR activities, business as a whole, is profit, that is, sales. But when it comes to a specific project, in particular, the launch of a new product or model, you need to understand the introductory and not forget about the stages of the user path. In any case, focusing on sales right away is a direct route to draining budgets. The logic of the events should be directed like this:

1. Ensure brand/product awareness.
2. Gain trust.
3. To push for a purchase.

In order for a new product to sell, you first need to tell potential customers about it, then convince them of its value, brand reliability, and ideally establish an emotional connection with the audience. Only then you can move on to sales promotion.

Make friends with PR and marketing

When building a strategy for any project, we at 2L rely on the PESO communication model. In short, it’s about the synergy of different communication channels, including both PR and marketing tools. But to build a working system, you need to understand the difference.

The objectives of PR are to create a positive image of the company, increase brand awareness, create an emotional connection with the consumer, strengthening reputation and brand loyalty. Marketing is more straightforward – it is aimed at attracting potential buyers, stimulating them to make purchases and, as a result, increasing sales.

To achieve maximum effect, it is necessary to use both approaches: PR creates a positive perception of the brand by a wide audience, and marketing directs to specific products or services, encouraging them to buy.

The general structure of new product promotion campaigns

Step 1. Work on recognition

The task: To create/raise awareness of the brand and product, to convey to a wide (within the target) audience information about the appearance of the product on the market.

Tools and formats of work:

• Distribution of press releases;
• Reviews in industry media;
• Digests with selections of products in mass media;
• Presentations at exhibitions;
• Sponsored promotion;
• Organization of press tours;
• Content with social media promotion;
• Unpackings and integrations in bloggers’ videos;
• Interviews with top managers of the brand.

Key indicators: Coverage, the number of publications, including news based on the results of the press release distribution, their readability, the number of brand mentions, the dynamics of the number of subscribers in the company’s social media accounts, the dynamics of product/brand queries in search engines.

Step 2. Building Trust

The task: To create a sense of trust in the brand, to justify the reliability of the product, its usefulness to the consumer. Establish a positive emotional connection.

Tools and formats of work:

• Collecting and posting reviews from satisfied customers;
• The company’s responses to reviews, including working out the negative;
• Development of loyalty programs;
• Participation in conferences with industry experts;
• Product analysis by opinion leaders – video reviews, testing by bloggers;
• Collaborations with other reputable brands (for example, when the developer of a popular game recommends certain PC components);
• Text reviews in industry media or popular blogs;
• Online meetings with company representatives;
• Challenges and contests that stimulate UGC content.

Key indicators: The number and quality of reviews, the number of reactions to videos / posts / articles and sharing (for publications on social networks), the tone of comments under the materials. Plus all the indicators that we looked at in the first step: coverage, mentions, full reads, search query dynamics.

Step 3. Marketing activities to stimulate sales

The task: Get traffic to your website or stores and convert it into sales.

Tools and formats of work:

• Incentive promotions and discounts;
• Contextual and targeted advertising, retargeting;
• Special offers/promotions in partnership with other brands;
• Promo codes from bloggers (for videos with integration or review);
• Mailing lists/messengers with individual offers;
• Contests and challenges for prizes and discounts.

Key indicators: CTR and other indicators from advertising cabinets, transitions to stores from links to bloggers’ videos, the use of promo codes, the number of participants in contests, and actual sales.

For example, when a blogger makes a detailed review of a product: first, he introduces the viewer to the brand and product, then analyzes the functionality, gives his opinion about the quality (helping us gain the user’s trust), and in the description under the video leaves a promo code «personally from himself» and a link to an online store (encouraging purchase). Note that this approach works better with small and medium-sized bloggers than with millionaires.

If we talk about consistent step-by-step development, then it may look like this: first we post articles and send out a press release, receiving news publications, then we connect opinion leaders with detailed reviews, then we launch the context and target with promotions.

Advantages of integrated communications

It is important to remember the main principles of an integrated approach: a) To work out each stage with high quality (acquaintance, trust, sale); b) For a reliable result, you need several touches (one review with a link under the video is not a good idea). By combining different channels and building a comprehensive strategy, we get:

• Holistic perception of the brand/product by users.
• Contact with the target audience at each stage of the user’s journey.
• Strengthen communication with the user step by step.
• High KPIs of marketing tools (because they work for an audience already familiar with the product through PR).
• Prolonged effect (the part of the audience that got acquainted with the product, but did not buy it immediately, will return to consideration of the brand when the appropriate need arises).

What is important to consider when developing a launch strategy?

1. Target audience: To whom is the product addressed? What kind of people are they: socio-demographic characteristics, hobbies, interests?
2. The market and competitors: Is it necessary to generate demand, or is there demand, but it is important to break away from competitors?
3. The brand’s position in the market: How long has the brand been around, what does the audience know about it, and what is its reputation?
4. Strengths and weaknesses: What are the key advantages of the product, and what are the weaknesses?
5. Communication channels: Where can I find your target audience? Where do most of the audience get into your target audience?
6. Geography: Is this a local project, or is it necessary to promote the entire Russian Federation, or several countries?
7. Time frame: When do you need a result?

It is important to register these points at the start, since the strategy of the campaign, its scale, and, consequently, the budget will directly depend on them.

In conclusion, we would like to emphasize once again the main principle that we adhere to when planning such campaigns:

In order for a new product to launch successfully and make a profit, you must first introduce your brand to the consumer, clearly explain the value of the product, earn trust, and only then encourage them to make a purchase.

We have repeatedly proved the effectiveness of this approach with the agency’s cases.