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Pre-Launching Products with Consumer Integration - Why Putting Your Customer Front and Center is a 2012 Imperative

By Julie Hall and Joan Schneider

Launching a new product or service in the age of social media isn’t easy. 

As product launch specialists, we know that now it’s harder than ever to get your customer’s attention, and their dollars.  Bust as more people embrace social media, brands have an opportunity to deepen customer relationships, drive loyalty and increase purchases.  Extending relationships with and among customers is the new norm.  It’s time to explore collaborative marketing and messaging with customers-and brands working together to find the right words and action to motivate customers to try and buy new products.

Consumer integration in action

Several brands are using customer integration in developing new services and products.  New Balance customers helped design their Minimus running shoe line.  Baskin-Robbins crowdsourced the creation of a new ice cream flavor.  Mountain Dew’s Dewmocracy campaign called on customers to advocate and gather votes for their favorite discontinued flavors.

Getting engaged

By involving customers before making product development and management decisions, brands can acquire new customers and get existing customers excited before product even hits the shelf, leading to robust initial sales.  What’s better than that?

The State-Gate Solution

Brand managers can profit from adapting Dr. Robert Cooper’s State-Gate approach to developing new products and initiatives by incorporating customer input:

In the Preliminary Investigation phase, consider and identify what your customers really need.  Why do they choose your products and brand over others?  What would they change?

For the Detailed Investigation phase, consider starting a beta program to test your product or services with a few core customers, secure feedback and use their input to refine your product.

The Development phase provides the opportunity to craft your message with input from customers.  What are they saying about your brand, product or service?  What do they want to hear?

In the Testing and Validation phase, introduce the redesigned product to the customers who provided feedback.

During the Manufacturing Production phase, provide your employees with the training and tools they need to become ambassadors for the launch.

In the Market Launch phase, involve the customers with whom you initially recruited to create the launch marketing strategy.

 

To learn more about cutting edge public relations tactics and trends from our PR agency partners around the world, download our free eBook from WorldCom Public Relations Group.

If you would like help planning your next launch, contact us at launch@schneiderpr.com or on Twitter @SchneiderPR.

 

SXSW is a Hotbed of Digital Innovation & Food Product Flavor Experiences

  

At this year’s SXSW 2012 event, brand names vied for exposure in a space teeming with messages and activity, with everything of course being shared in existing and new social media platforms. For more about what’s hot in the digital world and being launched and experienced by the 20,000 visitors to SXSW, be sure to watch the following videos with Launch Expert Julie Hall of Schneider Associates and our on-site correspondent, Lynne Viera, president and CEO of Rival Marketing.

 

No SXSW conference is without free food and sampling, and this year was no different. Some of the brands displaying innovation and creativity include Chevrolet, Nikon, Miller Lite, Monster Energy, and Doritos. Doritos JACKED, the newest tortilla chips from Doritos, were being sampled at a Doritos sponsored concert that also featured a chance to win special prizes. Doritos also displayed a nearly six-story tall pop-up vending machine with giant oversized quarters, to help promote the new extra large chips flavored as Smoky Chipotle BBQ or Enchilada Supreme. Doritos also recently launched a Doritos branded taco shell which is being served at Taco Bell. For additional commentary on food brand promotions at SXSW, check out the post from Dom Celentano, The Foodpreneur, on About.com.

 

SXSW also launched its first Tex-Mex Taco Table that featured participating restaurants Taco Deli, Habanero Mexican Café, and Matt's Famous El Rancho. What better place than Austin, Texas to promote foods and restaurants with Hispanic flavor profiles and influences?  This year, FedEx delivered food and free coffee from their food truck, along with providing a power up from their human chargers (see photo). Even world champion eater Kobayashi showed up to scarf what we think was a record number of grilled cheese sandwiches. The Today Show also had a food truck, as many brands find it is easier to get the attention of attendees outside the convention by offering free food or other services.

 

(Fedex Human Chargers)

(Today Show food truck)

Beer company Miller Lite gave its consumers a chance to enter the “SXSW 2012 Instant Win Game” for a $200 gift card or more.  Attendees can also "Tweet a Beer" to someone, buying a Miller via PayPal which is redeemable at some bars. They also sponsored giveaways and downloads on Pandora, Spotify, and other music apps.   Another beverage brand, Monster Energy, offered free breakfast and morning beverages during its events.

On the non-food front, Chevrolet developed an innovative promotion by providing taxi cab rides to Austin, Texas venues. Dubbed “Catch a Chevy,” the shuttle service showed off a full line of cars including Cruze sedans, Volts, Camaros, Corvettes and Mailbu Ecos featuring their updated OnStar service.  People test drove the vehicles from the convention center or hailed a car to take them to their next destination. 

Nikon put its new Nikon D4 and D-800 HD SLR cameras in the hands of fans.  SXSW attendees sampled the devices by snapping pictures of featured musicians.

The annual SXSW event began in 1987 in Austin, Texas, at the Austin Convention Center, and has become one of the best chances brands have to get in front of a core audience of influencers and trendsetters.

 

If you would like help planning your next launch, contact us at launch@schneiderpr.com or on Twitter @SchneiderPR.

 

10 Consumer Behavior Trends from the Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey

Check out our video highlighting 10 Consumer Behavior Trends from the Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey.

HotelTonight Launches App that Helps Find Hotel Deals in Major Cities

Need a great deal on a hotel room tonight?  There’s an app for that. HotelTonight helps consumers search hotels with immediately available rooms while saving up to 70 percent on their bill. Available for iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) and Android, this free app allows users to browse quality hotel profiles and book a same-day hotel stay until 2 a.m. 

In a market saturated with companies offering travel deals, HotelTonight managed the almost impossible – it became the most downloaded app in its category in just one month. HotelTonight founder and CEO Sam Shank told Marketing Sherpa his secret:  "The strategy is to make sure everybody has an incredible experience using the application." 

As a start-up with a limited budget for an advertising and marketing blitz, HotelTonight focused on creating word-of-mouth buzz by offering great deals and stellar customer service. This old-fashioned approach to marketing helped HotelTonight skyrocket to the top of the app download charts.

Improvements to the app are coming fast: HotelTonight recently launched their newly-included Las Vegas hotel deals at Caesar’s Palace, Trump International Hotel, The Palms, and the Hard Rock Hotel. 

“No city in the world is more spontaneous than Vegas, and our hotel partners are working in creative ways to remind people of this,” said Shank. “We look forward to inspiring many Friday night Vegas road trips with deals this great."

Will HotelTonight’s success allow them to ramp up marketing efforts with new introductions and leverage partnerships to grow awareness? Only time will tell.

Spotify Aims to be Music to the Ears of U.S. Users

 
The music industry has changed dramatically over the past decade, and it’s about to undergo another cosmic shift with the arrival of Spotify in the U.S. Originally based in Europe, Spotify launched earlier this month and already boasts more than 1.5 million subscribers.

Spotify is a music streaming service that allows users to access a seemingly endless music library and play songs on their computers, phones or home audio systems. Currently, Spotify offers three tiers of service: a free, limited monthly streaming membership (by invitation only), and two pay plans that offer an ad-free listening experience and offline usability.  

To build an American market Spotify partnered with Klout, the online reputation service, to offer influential social media users a chance to try Spotify for free. Demand for invitations was so strong that the Klout website briefly crashed, an indication that there is a strong interest in this music streaming service. 

  Spotify also partnered with major brands such as Coca-Cola, Chevrolet and Motorola. Coca-Cola distributed invites to the service through Coca-Cola’s Facebook and Twitter pages. In return, Coca-Cola is allowed to use Spotify as an advertising platform to target users based on their profiles or interests. Motorola announced that it was the exclusive mobile device and tablet launch partner for Spotify, will offer customers “coveted early access” to the service through its marketing campaigns.

Even the record companies are behind Spotify. Universal Music Group (UMG), a major national record label, announced the release of a playlist service called Digster that is completely integrated with the Spotify platform. Other record companies are expected to follow suit, preferring to monetize consumer music consumption that previously may have been diverted to pirated material.  

There are several other music streaming services available in the U.S., like Pandora and Grooveshark. But what sets Spotify apart is a user base in the millions, a track record of success in Europe, and a business model that should continue to generate profit.

Spotify promises to finally break any tension still separating music lovers and record companies by integrating its service across the three major, modern platforms: online, mobile, and social media.

Casio Gets Funky with TRYX

Casio launched its newest camera with a stylin’ event in New York City featuring hip-hop acts The Roots and Nicki Minaj. The new product from Casio is TRYX, a point-and-shoot skinny cam with HD video capabilities. But the real revolution is in the camera’s frame. As opposed to most cameras, the TRYX’s frame can flip out and act as a handle, a tripod or a hanger, allowing for greater flexibility and creativity. The TRYX also boasts a wide-angle lens to capture group shots, and an HDR-ART special effects feature, which stylizes photos in artistic ways.

In developing the TRYX camera, Casio targeted young, socially-networked college students and mid-30s adults. Casio listened to what this younger audience wanted in a camera: easy photo sharing, fun special effects for a photo-booth feel, and flexibility.

 "Photography is a large part of how young people express themselves today, and they want the ability to share their photographs with friends over social networking sites," said Toshi Iguchi, Casio U.S. digital imaging products general manager, when speaking with the Official CES Daily. "They have the ability to immediately identify the benefits of our new camera, and that's why we've targeted them in this launch."

Casio teamed up with Best Buy for an exclusive nationwide launch, and for a special launch concert. The New York City event, TRYX: OUT NYC 2011, featured a Nicki Minaj lookalike contest and a concert with the hip-hop diva and The Roots. The top ten finalists in the Minaj lookalike contest won a TRYX camera and a gift certificate to Best Buy, with the winner receiving a back stage pass to meet the real Nicki. Users who signed up for a free account with Casio’s photo-sharing community, Imaging Square, were automatically entered to win an all-expenses paid trip for two to the NYC event. Casio also created two, limited edition pink TRYX cameras for Minaj, which she used, signed and auctioned off to help victims of Japan’s recent earthquake.

The event and giveaways were promoted via Casio’s Facebook and Twitter accounts,while event and product videos were featured on the company’s TRYX-focused YouTube channel.  

TRYX faces a challenging market for personal, portable technology devices, plus competition from improving cell phone cameras. Who knows, this product just might be funky enough to replicate the success Polaroid had with their i-Zone sticker camera.

Talbots Aims to Turn Classic into Trendy with Revamped Clothing Line

For nearly five decades, Talbots, a leading international specialty retailer, cataloger and e-tailer of women's apparel, shoes and accessories, has been recognized by their classic, conservative and slightly dowdy clothing. In the fall, Ms. Proper gets a makeover to Ms. Posh as the image evolves from outdated and drab to modern, stylish and made for all body types and tastes.

The fall 2010 collection from Talbots, tailored towards women who want classic items with more modern silhouettes, will launch with a new, invigorated repertoire of brightly colored prints, tailored pants and coats, and an impressive array of accessories including handbags, “to-die-for” shoes, and jewelry. The upcoming launch aims to draw a more fashion-forward customer base of women age 35-plus, while retaining appeal to Talbot’s loyal, conservatively dressed shopper base.

After a difficult financial period lasting several seasons, Talbots is making a formidable return to the fashion world. With the help of a merger with BPW Acquisition Corp, a successful month-long pants promotion last fall, and the help of First Lady Michelle Obama (who donned the brand’s floral dresses on two separate occasions), Talbots new fashion relevance is proving it’s not “your mom’s” Talbot’s. But the question is: Will you make it your own?  

If you would like help planning your next launch, contact us at launch@schneiderpr.com or on Twitter @SchneiderPR

In a world full of cords, Powermat offers space age freedom

Having more than one technology device means living in a world full of chargers and cords. Now, imagine a device that eliminates cord-dependency. That’s exactly what Powermat is - a wireless charging system that p0wers up three devices simultaneously, mess free. The Powermat sets itself apart with its slick design and adaptability to charge a diverse range of devices, like the iPhone, Blackberry and the Nintendo DS, to name a few. The launch story for this revolutionary product, which began in October, 2009, is clearly aimed at early adopters. 

In the fall, Powermat launched an integrated marketing campaign incorporating television, radio, internet, out-of-home and social media around the slogan: “Lose the cords”.  Their television and radio commercial campaign named “What the bleep?” used humor to demonstrate the product benefits.  The spots portrayed astounded consumers who were unable to contain their amazement about the new product, by blurting out remarks that had to be “bleeped” by censors. On the internet, Powermat advertised heavily on technology Web sites such as Gizmodo, and even placed out-of-home ads on automatic doors in major airports to reach business travelers.  Lastly, Powermat used social media including Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.  Within these platforms, they showcased their ads and presented contests like “What the Bleep?” (where consumers submitted their ‘what the bleep’ moments for judging) and the Powermat slogan contest (where consumers submitted slogan ideas). 

 

Since the launch in October, Powermat was named to TIME’s Top 20 Tech Buyers Guide 2009. Selling at $99.99, plus $40 per receiver, this product is an expensive commitment to convenience; but nevertheless sold more than 750,000 devices by the beginning of January 2010.  What will Powermat do next? How about furniture that charges? This innovative and unique furniture product should be on sale soon if Powermat meets its projections.  We’re interested to see the wide range of applications for this groundbreaking product – we’re also interested to see how long it takes to gain mass adoption. Could a cordless Star Trek world arrive at light speed?

 

If you would like help planning your next launch, contact us at launch@schneiderpr.com or on Twitter @SchneiderPR.

 

Picture courtesy of http://www.powermat.com/us/mats/home-and-office-mat.html#

Ten Axioms for Product Launch Mastery from Apple’s iPad Introduction

 

By Joan Schneider and Julie Hall

There were parties outside Apple stores all over the country Friday night and into Saturday morning. Customers who pre-ordered iPads waited patiently, excited to be the first to try this revolutionary new product.

In all the discussions about what the iPad does or doesn't do, people forget that Apple makes products for what people want to do, not always what we think we need to do - but that's why we want them. At best, the iPad will become the ultimate media consumption machine - where apps, magazine content, news, books and multimedia become more enjoyable to experience than on any other device. But beyond the features and utility discussion – what’s clear is the iPad launch is already another successful, profitable marketing coup from Steve Jobs, who made an appearance at the Palo Alto store, and Apple's product launch masters. Early reports show weekend sales doubled analyst estimates, reaching 700,000. So how does Apple make consumers crave? They follow a formula for excellence.

Here are Apple's 10 Axioms for Product Launch Mastery:

1. Creating a superior, revolutionary, market leading product, with a customer centric design and exceptional functionality, so the product becomes the ‘star’ in advertising and the consumer’s mind.

1. Enveloping the product in secrecy so there is a mysterious element to the launch.

1. Creating drama when information is revealed to generate multiple bites of the news apple.

1. Using a high profile spokesperson sparingly so when he appears, everyone listens.

1. Establishing exclusivity through an initial high price point to attract early adopters who establish the ‘cool factor.’

1. Motivating a large base of loyal brand aficionados and ambassadors who serve as an army of influencers and spread the word (and viral video) about the product.
   

1. Staggering product availability to give word-of-mouth about the product a chance to build while managing the supply chain so that planned releases spike increased demand and drive traffic.

1. Finding, sticking to and reinforcing brand positioning so that everything the company does illustrates the product’s simplicity and coolness.

1. Developing the product with exclusive features so that others cannot copy the design and functionality, and even if they do—the original product is perceived as better.

1. Keeping the details about the product under lock and key so that even developers have no idea how it really works until the launch.

Now that you know what they’re doing, does it make you want one any less? We look forward to watching the rest of Apple’s launch plan unfold, as the iPad becomes yet another product to demonstrate their launch mastery.

If you would like help planning your next launch, contact us at launch@schneiderpr.com or on Twitter @SchneiderPR.

Can Apple Shake Up Digital Device Market with the iPad?

 

Apple seeks to once again revolutionize the digital world with the launch of its new iPad in March.  Apple’s website describes the tablet computer, which includes a 9.7-inch touchscreen display and iPhone operating system, as “the best way to experience the web, email, photos, and video.”

 

With the iPad, Apple has created the first product to close the gap between the laptop and smartphone. Apple’s iPhone and MacBook models are on top seller lists and have contributed strongly to the company’s revenue growth. With demand for both the iPhone and Apple’s line of laptops going strong, this may be perfect time for Apple to introduce a product that combines the features of both devices.

 

How will the iPad be differentiated from the iPhone and MacBook?  First, it will tap into the e-book market.  Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs announced that iBook apps have been developed for the iPad, which will provide access to e-book content from several major publishers, creating competition with other devices like the Amazon Kindle.  Second, it will create an even more personal and portable experience than working on a MacBook or an iPhone. Consumers will be able to flip through a photo album, browse music, read an e-book, and surf the web—all with their fingertips.

 

The iPad will be available in two models—one with Wi-Fi and one with AT&T 3G coverage. Models will be offered in three sizes (16, 32, and 64 GB) and range in price from $499 (for the least expensive Wi-Fi model) to $829 (for the most expensive 3G model).

 

Apple’s target market for the iPad seems to be anyone and everyone—from children who play games, watch movies, and read books, to business men and women who peruse the news, check stocks and write emails. The device has been met with some criticism, with comments centered around the device’s inability to run flash video and multitask. The real question is: How will the mass market respond to this new technology? Is it another revolutionary success for Apple, or will the hot streak finally end?