Begin with a bang: What do you need for a successful launch campaign?

Launch campaigns can be daunting. You only get one chance to make a first impression and there are so many different directions you could go in, making it seemingly impossible to settle on a final idea. 

The most important thing to do is give your team the time to explore a number of launch campaign ideas fully to be sure you’ve chosen the right one.

Success is in the planning

Like many forms of marketing, a successful launch campaign needs to be planned out carefully, taking all elements into consideration.

Start from the beginning and systematically define your audience, as in-depth research here will help you secure the results you’re looking for in the long run. The data may correlate with your preconceived ideas, or it might not, but either way it shouldn’t be ignored.

Decide what success will look like right from the beginning of your campaign, as every decision you make along the way should be working towards it. Depending on the size of your business, the type of product or service you are launching and having a realistic idea of results you’re likely to get, you should be able to plan your outcomes with relative ease.

Only then will it be appropriate to set your goals, as these will be the result of a logical process and not simply plucked from nowhere. This increases your chances of achieving them and counting your launch campaign as a success.

Attention-grabbing marketing content

Now that all of this groundwork has been put in place, it’s time to think about the assets that will promote your campaign, engage your audience and get your product out there.

Remember that a campaign should not just be based on one element, but a number of types of content that feed into each other. They should give you good coverage over social media, your website and any other area you’re hoping to cover, like TV or radio.

Your hero assets could be a video or an animation, which are easily shareable, but backed up with infographics, testimonials and custom graphics. Never quickly add an element to a campaign at the last minute without running it by the rest of the team first. Decisions made in haste can lead to avoidable errors, like hashtags that accidentally spell out rude words or images that jar with the ethos of your company.

Engage your audience

There are ways to engage audiences with even the driest of products if you just think a little bit outside of the box. Make sure you’re doing everything in your power to build excitement and capture attention.

Humour, wit and ingenuity can all draw potential customers in, just as competitions, interactive elements and a feeling of inclusivity can too. Showing customers that you want their input right from the beginning will help to shape their attitude to the product or service going forward.

A successful launch campaign can put your business in a good position for a long time to come. First impressions matter and the way you position yourself in the market can be hard to adjust once you’ve established a reputation, so be sure to get it right the first time.