When launching new products - whether consumer goods, professional services or technology - it is critical for businesses to develop aggressive marketing plans to help meet their goals.

In the past five years, public relations has become the preferred marketing discipline for product launches because it is more cost-effective than advertising and carries tremendous credibility.

Although it used to be thought that the ideal product launch program should include a mix of advertising, marketing and public relations, new thought leaders such as Al and Laura Ries, authors of The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR, recommend placing a greater emphasis on public relations. Why? Because of the credibility it establishes with consumers and its power to create brands.

“The general rule is: Never run advertising until the major publicity possibilities have been exploited,” Al Ries writes. “With publicity assuming the major role in most new product launches, with whom do clients consult on strategic questions? More and more, they hesitate to ask their advertising agency for advice. In the future, public relations will set the strategic direction for a brand, and advertising will be forced to follow its lead.”

For a product launch, a public relations campaign entails creatively exploiting publicity opportunities inherent in trade-show participation, speaking engagements and special events. Strategies and tactics are specifically tailored to address each product’s unique goals and attributes.

Major product launches follow extensive market research, including media audits, competitive analyses, and identification of industry trends and growth. It’s wise to ask your public relations counselors to spend time in your company’s trenches, such as joining your sales team for a day in the field. This will enable your public relations counselors to identify first-hand the main barriers to sale and incorporate this information into strategic plans and key message points.

Research findings drive the strategic plans of high-stakes launches. First, public relations counselors identify a company’s audiences and determine specific goals for each. Second, public relations counselors evaluate a product’s unique selling proposition and develop a branding and positioning strategy. Additionally, the counselors conduct media-training sessions to help spokespersons rehearse the delivery of message points.

At this stage, public relations counselors will evaluate your company’s communications tools – from your corporate Web site to trade-show materials – to help ensure that the materials are integrated. Consistent with the branding of the product, public relations counselors may develop media kits with a company fact sheet, backgrounder, biographies of company executives, and photographs or slides of the product to be used as they coordinate media interviews, media tours and trade-show events. Collateral materials (brochures, data sheets, banners, etc.) and direct-marketing materials (direct-mail letters, e-newsletters, etc.) also play an important role in product launches.

In addition to their media relations efforts such as securing introductory meetings and interviews with journalists, public relations counselors may recommend a speaking tour for your company’s executives, special events to “build buzz” and community-outreach programs to entrench your product in the minds of your target audiences.

Thoughts on Branding…

When branding new products, many companies have made the mistake of forgetting to ask themselves the simple question: “Will our target audience understand our message?”

In his recent book, Big Brands Big Trouble, Jack Trout outlines the problems that Apple encountered with the introduction of its Newton, a product Apple called a “PDA” (a “personal digital assistant”) before that phrase gained consumer acceptance.

Apple’s biggest positioning problem was: “What are we selling?” Trout writes, “Apple, however, failed to answer these questions with words that users could comfortably absorb. The Newton died, and the Palm, a simple, high-tech organizer, has become a runaway success.”

The hand-held organizer by Palm was simply positioned, clearly branded and benefited from better marketing.

Trout offers the following tips:

• “When faced with the tough task of coming up with a name for what you’re selling, start with a simple analysis of how the new product works, then try to use those words to describe it.”
•  “The biggest marketing successes come with basic, powerful explanations of the product being offered… ‘Cable television’ accurately describes how that system works.”

Thoughts on Working with the Media…

It goes without saying that companies and their public relations counselors must have positive media relationships that are built upon ethics, integrity and trust.

Recently, Microsoft received negative publicity after posting on its Web site a testimonial called “Confessions of a Mac to a PC Convert,” which was later deemed phony and found to include a photo bought from a stock-art agency. In response, New York Times columnist David Pogue emphasized the importance of maintaining the media’s trust when introducing new products and also offered tips on how to regain that trust following a bad corporate communications situation.

Pogue’s advice: “If I ask a question about your product for a review and don't get a straight answer, everything else you say is suspect. If you have to withhold information, fine. If you can't answer our questions, tell us so or go on background. But never lie. Right now, honesty is the only policy."

Thoughts on Holiday Gift-Giving

The Associated Press recently called Patricia Thorp for an article about holiday corporate gift-giving.

Reporter Joyce Rosenberg writes: "...Some business owners ... believe customers would be just as happy to see money that would have gone toward a fruit basket or keepsake go to a worthwhile cause. So the companies make donations to charities, with acknowledgment cards sent to customers.

Thorp & Co., a Miami-based public relations firm, covers most of its gifts through a donation to Heifer International, an organization that gives good food- and income-producing animals to families in need.

President Patricia Thorp said her company sent expensive holiday cards for years, but 'in a world where there are so many challenges and so many people struggling, shouldn't we put that money to better use?'"

When the nation’s largest Medicare HMO, PacifiCare, launched its product in the Southeast, it turned to Thorp & Company to develop its strategic entry into the marketplace. Recognizing the importance of public perception, Thorp & Company created a grass roots public relations campaign to help the healthcare provider quickly gain reputation and customers.

To raise awareness of PacifiCare and position it as a good corporate citizen, Thorp & Company developed several community-outreach programs that generated a measurable increase in positive news coverage and a change in community perceptions. Working in conjunction with local school boards, the agency created the “Working the Dream” essay contest that awarded winners with scholarships from PacifiCare.

To create “buzz” surrounding the contest and PacifiCare, Thorp & Company announced winners at community rallies. Led by the Miami Heat cheerleaders, the events were attended by local civic leaders, elected officials and hundreds of students and their families. In addition, producers of “Hoop Dreams,” a basketball documentary, and members of the Miami Heat joined in making the event a fantastic success.

Creativity and “building buzz” drive successful product launches.

When Seagram Beverage Company called on Thorp & Company to introduce TAOS, a new aperitif aimed at upscale consumers, Thorp & Company used an attention-grabbing tactic: The hiring of actors to wear Shakespearean garb and Carmen Miranda outfits who delivered product samples to the media and to attendees of special events.

Thorp & Company implemented a program with creative flair that included product samplings at upscale events such as Jupiter’s Shakespeare-by-the-Sea Festival – hence the actors and the special deliveries.

Though exciting and interesting, the product launch was not without challenges: 1) Neither a mixed drink nor a wine cooler, TAOS did not fall into an existing beverage category; 2) Though appealing, TAOS’ taste was difficult to explain; 3) TAOS’ price, higher than that of beer and wine coolers, discouraged retailers from offering samples.

To accomplish the campaign’s objectives, Thorp & Company researched special events where samplings could take place and selected 12 for the launch campaign that attracted upscale crowds consistent with TAOS’ positioning. Thorp & Company arranged to have TAOS sold or sampled at events ranging from Key West’s Hemingway Days Festival to Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Art Show.

More than 65,000 people attended the events, and more than 6,770 individuals sampled TAOS. Results from the media relations efforts included numerous feature articles, coverage in three major daily newspapers and promotional mentions on top-rated radio and television stations in Florida.