Product Launch Coordination Checklist

Field Readiness Checklist

• Beta-testing should be completed before launch to ensure a good user experience.
• Production and distribution should be on schedule to avoid delays.
• Marketing materials should be consistent across all channels and align with product launch timing.
• Sales team training and motivation should be prioritized while maintaining product secrecy.
• Support planning should be realistic to handle customer inquiries effectively.
• PR events and press should consider pros and cons of pre-announcements.

Keys to Coordination

• Cross-functional launch team is essential for coordination and communication.
• Formal timeline and responsibility assignment are crucial for clarity and accountability.
• Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) should be designed and shared jointly.

Success Factors for Cross-Functional Launch Teams

• Assemble team earlier rather than later to ensure adequate preparation.
• Carefully select team members from relevant departments like Project Management, Design, Marketing, Sales, Production, Legal, and Supply Chain.
• Open communication is vital, particularly for service and support.
• Use a dashboard to track pre-launch events, post-launch metrics, and assign accountability.
• Clear ownership of tasks ensures responsibility and accountability.

Marketing Dashboard

• Track key metrics that align with the specific situation.
• Common metrics include Return on Investment (ROI) per initiative, media exposures, tracking targets, prospects, leads, and calls.
• Monitor cannibalization to understand the impact on existing products.
• Track percentage of customers reporting word-of-mouth (WOM).

Pros and Cons of Pre-Announcements

• Pros include gaining a pioneering advantage, stimulating demand, delaying competitor's product launches, helping customers plan, gaining customer feedback, stimulating complementary product development, gaining access to distribution, and increasing shareholder value.
• Cons include alerting competitors, potentially damaging reputation due to product delays, cannibalizing current offerings, confusing customers, creating internal conflict, generating antitrust concerns (vaporware), and negative impact on existing products.

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

• IMC refers to the consistent delivery of a message across diverse channels.
• It includes news, print ads, direct mail, brochures/literature, social media, trade shows, personal selling, promotions, and sponsorships.
• Consistency across all channels is key, focusing on value proposition, timing/place, hashtags, call to action, and action location.

Social Media Rules

• Provide value to followers by sharing relevant and interesting content.
• Forget control as content can be shared organically and virally.

Sticky Messages

• Memorable, salient, and reusable messages are essential for effective communication.

Virality Basics

• Human elements drive virality, but industry-specific execution is crucial for success.

Buzz

• Buzz refers to infectious chatter about a new person, place, or thing.
• It is related to grassroots marketing, guerilla marketing, and viral marketing.
• Buzz highlights the power of word-of-mouth marketing (WOM).

Creating Buzz

• Offer special treatment to fans, such as advance news and product demos.
• Create an exciting story that encourages sharing and generates status.
• Foster a crusade that encourages education and engagement.
• Provide facts to create high involvement and participation.
• Give fans a break from their routine and offer something new.

Most Spreadable Buzz

• Taboo, outrageous, unusual, hilarious, remarkable, and secret information is most likely to be shared because it is storyworthy and relevant.
• Negative information about products tends to spread more quickly than positive information.

Field Readiness Checklist

• Beta Testing: Evaluate product performance for word-of-mouth potential. Consider future product modifications.
• Production and Distribution: Ensure timely production and determine initial distribution recipients.
• Marketing Materials: Create integrated marketing communication (IMC) across all touchpoints with proper timing.
• Sales Training and Motivation: Balance pre-launch preparation with maintaining secrecy.
• Realistic Support Planning: Plan for customer support needs.
• PR Events and Press: Weigh the pros and cons of pre-launch announcements.

Cross-Functional Launch Team Success Factors

• Early Assembly: Form the team early in the launch process.
• Strategic Team Members: Include project manager, design representative, marcom, sales/customer service, production representative, legal, and supply chain.
• Open Communication: Establish a two-way communication system, especially regarding service and support. Utilize dashboards for pre-launch event and accountability tracking, as well as post-launch metric tracking.
• Clear Task Ownership: Define responsibilities for each team member.

Marketing Dashboard

• Track key metrics relevant to the situation.
• Utilize common metrics such as ROI per tactic/initiative, media exposure, target/prospect/lead/call tracking, cannibalization, and % of consumers reporting word-of-mouth.

Pre-Announcements

• Pros: Pioneering advantage, stimulate demand, delay competitor product purchases, help customers plan, gain customer feedback, stimulate complementary product development, gain distribution access, and increase shareholder value.
• Cons: Alert competitors, product delays damage reputation, cannibalize current offerings, confuse customers, create internal conflict, generate anti-trust concerns (vaporware).

Integrated Marketing Communications

• Deliver a consistent message across all touchpoints - news, print ads, direct mail, brochures/literature, social media, trade shows, personal selling, promotions, sponsorships.
• Ensure consistency in value proposition, timing/place, hashtags, and call to action.

Social Media

• Value: Provide valuable content for users.
• Forget Control: Accept that you cannot fully control how your message is spread.

Buzz and Word-of-Mouth Marketing

• Buzz: Infectious chatter about a new person, place, or thing.
• Relationship to other marketing practices: Grassroots marketing, guerrilla marketing, and viral marketing all emphasize word-of-mouth.
• WOM: The power of word-of-mouth marketing.

Creating Buzz

• Special Treatment: Provide advance news and products for demonstration.
• Exciting Story: Create a compelling story that encourages sharing, potentially leading to status gains for those who share it.
• Crusade: Encourage a desire to educate others.
• Facts: Utilize high-involvement vs. low-involvement content based on the product.
• Break: Offer a break from routine or conventional information.

Most Spreadable Buzz

• Taboo, Outrageous, Unusual, Hilarious, Remarkable, Secret: Buzzworthy information should be memorable, compelling, and relatable.
• Relevance: Information must be relevant to the target audience.
• Negative News: Bad news often spreads faster than good news.