Launching a New Brand in the Marketplace

The planning of a new product launch is always exciting and lucky for us, we’re currently in the middle of new openings for a number of clients. While there is a great amount of anticipation, it’s our job to make sure our clients come out of the gates without any problems. We at Fort Lauderdale PR firm Durée & Company have put together a list of the five main steps to successfully launch a brand, concept or product in the marketplace.

Identify the Audience – This is the first crucial step in the process. All internal and external audiences need to be identified. This can be everyone from an internal board of directors and employees to partners, vendors, media and the greater community. Different audiences may require a different approach.
Develop a Brand Story and Launch Idea – Once the audience has been identified, think about how to tell the brand story in a way that will engage audiences and demonstrate value. The message needs to be for and about the target audiences and the value your brand brings to them. It’s best to develop a single idea that can carry through all launch communications, but be customized for target audiences and platforms.
Design a Communication Plan for Each Audience – With the target audience and priorities clearly defined and the brand story and launch idea in hand, it’s time to plan out the launch campaigns for each audience. Each audience should have its own communications plan with release dates to ensure adequate time to create all communications. The deliverables may include writing formal press releases and position statements, designing email e-blasts, writing social media posts – everything that has been outlined in the detailed communication plan for each audience.
Prepare All Brand Touchpoints – Before you can introduce your brand, concept or product to the world, all the marketing communications, sales materials, print and digital templates, signage, press kit materials, promotional and outreach materials and more – everything that is needed to communicate internally and externally at every brand touchpoint – needs to be finalized.
Timing is everything! – Based on the communication plan for each target audience, plot out all launch deliverables on a single launch timeline – including every step of the communication process for each audience and the exact communications being delivered. Remember, brand rollout campaigns have lots of moving pieces, and many components of public relations require significant lead time. Rollout planning should begin at the very early stages of the rebranding process so there is enough time both to strategize and execute.