Product launch events can make an enormous difference in conveying your product in a positive light and enhancing your brand. In a survey by Freeman in 2023, 77% of all respondents –and more than 8 out of 10 millennials–say they trusted brands more after interacting face-to-face with them at live events.
We take a look at 14 key ideas that can help your launch event get exposure, create a positive reinforcement of your brand and generate lasting memories for delegates:
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Impact Starts With The Venue
Selecting the right venue for your product launch event is critical. You need your delegates to enjoy the experience and not just enter a bland and uninspiring conference room. Remember that their experience is also synonymous with your brand and event! It’s a good idea to select a venue that relates to your product – for example, a luxury brand matches a glamourous venue, a heritage brand fits a historic venue etc.
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Elevate the Experience With a Theme
Similar to your venue, the chosen theme for your event helps build the right atmosphere and strengthens your brand, not only in terms of a positive image and personality but also the perception of detail and quality – there are lots of different themes to choose from! A theme can be as subtle or extravagant as you wish, but including elements throughout your venue at various touchpoints will remind delegates about your message during the event.
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Run a Simultaneous Virtual Event
Virtual events are a great way to gain additional exposure without the added cost of expanding the physical event. Since the pandemic, people are far more accepting of and familiar with virtual events than they used to be. Having a virtual element to your product launch event can help you reach international or global stakeholders such as press or stockists whilst keeping the physical event just for exclusive VIPs. There are lots of platforms out there to help host the virtual event and also allow you to integrate the look and feel of both the physical and virtual elements of your product launch so all attendees have the same experience.
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Conduct a Run-through of Your Launch
When planning a product launch event, you have one chance to get things perfect. The reputation and awareness of your new initiative, service or product depend on good first impressions, so rehearsal and contingency planning for your event is key!
It often makes sense to run a test event first, almost a dress rehearsal to make sure everything:
- Works correctly
- Runs to schedule
- Flows efficiently
- Engages the audience
You can then make adjustments and tweaks to ensure your launch event is perfectly refined and ready for the big day.
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Content Content Content!
Make arrangements, hire the right people and brief them thoroughly to ensure you get the most returns from your launch event through videography, footage and photography before, during and after the event. This media goldmine will become very useful for all your media event communications including:
- Social media running up to, during and after the event
- Blogs and content publishing
- Print media throughout
- External sites, press releases and PR
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Boost Social Media
Social media is a great way to reach out to your target audience, keep them up to date with all information, dates and timing, along with creating suspense and anticipation around the launch event. Use paid social media adverts to get more precise targeting and sign-ups to your event if you don’t already have an internal list of stakeholders you wish to invite. Make sure you provide regular updates before, during and after the event to capture as much interest as possible and generate buzz and anticipation!
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Onboard an Influencer or Key Opinion Leader
To really kick off exposure, why not hire a celebrity influencer or expert in your field to get some traction? Influencers relevant to your product, service or initiative are great for championing your brand and providing already established audiences with closely aligned interests. Speak to your event management agency and partner to come up with a shortlist of appropriate candidates.
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Tell Your Story
People love a story. By telling your audience about the story of how your product, service or initiative came about, it allows them to really connect with your brand and the people behind it. Construct a carefully planned account of your product launch story, including all the spills and thrills that got you to where you are, what your vision is and who or what it positively impacts. It will turn heads and get the chatter going, all great to help reinforce the positive traits of your product, service or initiative.
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Showcase Your Products
This is your chance to show off your products! After putting the hard work in to get the right audience to your launch event, make sure you have the full range of products available for people to see, touch, try and demo. Nothing sells a product like hands-on experiences. Get the best examples to really generate some strong demand. Bring different colours and models to display as much of your range as possible. According to Bizzabo, 71% of attendees believe in-person B2B conferences offer the most effective way to learn about new products or services.
If you are launching a service or initiative you can get creative with some engaging touchpoints at your launch event. Socially shareable features such as Graffiti walls with colourful branding or pledge walls where attendees can put emotive messages will help them to remember your launch event and give them something to talk about far and wide.
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Give Out The Swag
Swag stays long after the event. Be creative and get promotional items designed and created well in advance. Unique is memorable, so bin off those ideas of mouse mats and key rings and look into video brochures, sustainable gadgets and even digital and green promotions using platforms such as ‘swagablebag’ which provides an area for attendees to reap discounts, freebies and offers without the waste of physical swag. Useful or useable items that people find valuable and regularly use to maximise the exposure of your brand.
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Launch event entertainment
Give your launch event some energy with captivating entertainment such as singing waiters, circus entertainers, comedians, dancers and performers. Entertainment keeps the energy high and can complement your theming to give you an immersive experience throughout, especially if you have a larger event with a lengthy duration time, or the thing you are launching is not tangled or sexy, meaning there is more pressure to keep people engaged.
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Networking opportunities
Create a period for networking. This gives you and your colleagues the chance to really connect with your audience on a one-to-one basis, providing a great opportunity to generate leads and build some tangible, early value from your launch event. Ensure you have any promotional pricing decided and known by anyone trying to sell. The last thing you want is confused employees providing your promo products at different prices! Incentivise people to pre-schedule networking meetings or take part in some speed networking with your employees so that you guarantee you get their attention and the chance to build a relationship, whilst the attendees get rewarded for their time.
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Run competitions
Competitions are a great way to gain contact details to build an audience of potential stakeholders to market to in the future. for potential buyers interested in winning a product. Keep the competition ‘on theme’ and the entry process simple to encourage more people to take part. straight-forward. Only ask for the minimum amount of details you need to maximise the amount of signups you get. This can easily be combined with your virtual event and be launched online as well. A competition can be used as pre, during and post-event PR to generate attendees, interest or reach depending on the mechanics and platforms used.
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Throw A Product Launch Party
Finally, when the launch event is over, it’s time for the party! Offer your attendees the chance to have fun and indulge with casino tables, champagne bar, branded cocktails or why not go all out with some wow factor from acts and performers to really get the party going.
If you’re interested in hosting a product or service launch event and aren’t quite sure where to start, why not get in touch with our friendly event management team? From sourcing venues to providing event theming, catering, entertainment and much more, Eventurous have extensive experience in organising corporate events on time and on budget.
Contact 01827 215 200 or email sales@eventurous.co.uk for more details.
