Countdown to New Product Launch Success

Countdown to New Product Launch Success

by JoanSchneider

Let's face it--2001 was not a banner year for the economy. But consumer packaged goods companies didn't let a little thing like a recession slow them down. More than 32,000 new products were introduced last year, which represented a 2-percent increase over 2000. With all these new products being introduced among the numerous category extensions, line extensions and existing brands on the shelves, how do marketers differentiate their product from all the others?

Even in a thriving economy, it's not easy to launch a new brand successfully. The "build it and they will come" philosophy no longer applies in today's saturated marketplace.

Considering the short purchase cycles of many products, new products have a surprisingly small window of opportunity in which their fates are sealed. If a product's success is defined within the first six months after introduction, the launch process must be a well-oiled machine that generates excitement for a brand at introduction and sustains it over time in the marketplace.

Schneider & Associates (S&A), a Boston-based public relations firm, partnered with Michael Elasmar, Ph.D., executive director of the Boston University Communications Research Center, and Susan Fournier, Ph.D., from Harvard Business School, to investigate the product launch process and its impact on new product success. Nearly 100 senior marketing executives from major consumer packaged goods, sporting goods, apparel, shoes, and health and beauty companies were surveyed about what did or didn't work in their own new product launches. The resulting Schneider & Associates/Boston University New Product Launch Report characterizes launches into highly successful and less successful campaigns.

Based on the characteristics of the highly successful launches detailed in the report and S&A's own launch experience, we've developed 10 tips that can improve a new product's performance in the marketplace and provide an ample platform upon which to build the brand.

10. New Products Reach the Moon Faster

While many consumers tend to be brand loyal, research conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide found that 46 percent of Americans crave the latest, greatest, fastest and coolest. The study revealed that "newness" was a key factor in influencing the ultimate success of a product launch. Products entirely new to a company or that have major technological breakthroughs have greater odds of success. Of the highly successful products studied, 63 percent were entirely new to the organization, compared to 46 percent of the less successful products. In addition, highly successful products were four times more likely to feature breakthrough technology than less successful products.

9. A Flight Plan is Essential

It sounds simple, but, through our research, we discovered that many products (both highly and less successful) were launched without a written plan. Seventy-two percent of the highly successful products were launched with a written plan versus just 46 percent of the less successful products. Since it is likely that unforeseen issues such as delays in production or the launch of a competitive product may crop up that will require adjusting the plan, following the plan precisely is not as important as having one. In fact, only 65 percent of the launches for the highly successful products went extremely or very close to plan. In our interviews and through our own experience, the ability to remain flexible is a success factor. In fact, in some cases, companies that deviated from their launch plans were more successful than those that followed the plan closely.

8. Determine the Mission Early

Consumer product companies tend to devote an inordinate amount of time on the new product development phase, while the launch phase oftentimes is given less than a year. Based on our research and experience, beginning the launch plan early when a prototype is complete allows for an integrated approach to marketing communications and an opportunity to develop brand identity. At this point, companies can bring in their advertising, public relations and promotional agencies to begin planning the launch. The study showed that highly successful products begin communication and involvement with external audiences such as distributors and consumers far earlier than less successful ones. Getting marketing messages out early and thereby generating pre-launch excitement about a new product may be a key factor in success.

7. Expect Flight Delays

No matter how much planning was done, participants across the board reported delays in their launches. Seventy percent of the participants reported they had at least one change in launch timing. As a PR professional, this was not a surprising revelation, but what was interesting was the fact that the delays and subsequent hurdles did not change launch success rates. Remember, if the schedule changes, it doesn't mean disaster; it means the schedule changed and you have to adjust the launch program to accommodate the delays.

6. Brand/Product Managers Make the Best Pilots

Who better to launch and build a brand than the brand or product manager? Our research confirmed the leader of the launch team greatly impacted success. Highly successful products were far more apt to be managed by brand or product managers than less successful ones (36 percent vs. 6 percent). Less successful products were also more apt to be under the direct responsibility of senior management (CEOs/presidents) compared to more successful products. Of the less successful efforts, 23 percent were managed by CEOs/presidents, compared to 16 percent for highly successful products. Similarly, of the less successful products, 66 percent were managed by senior marketing personnel (vice president of marketing, marketing director or marketing manager) compared to 43 percent for highly successful products.

5. Assemble an Expert Flight Crew

When launching a new product and communicating brand identity, it is essential to assemble early the team members who will be delivering the brand's messages. Even though our research revealed that a majority of the new product launch teams included external suppliers (ad agencies, PR firms, package design firms, promotion firms) as secondary team members, our experience has been that when included on the core team, these suppliers can craft an integrated marketing communications strategy that will greatly impact the product's success. Clearly, the earlier outside agencies can be involved in the launch, the more successful it will be.

4. Multiple SKUs Fuel Success

How better to establish a brand than to command a substantial portion of the category's shelf space? Our research revealed that launching a product with more SKUs impacted its success. One-third (34 percent) of highly successful products rolled out with more than ten SKUs compared to just 15 percent of the less successful efforts. Over half (61 percent) of the latter segment had only one to four SKUs.

3. Target the Consumer

Companies often feel compelled to spend a large portion of their marketing budget geared toward the trade. Marketing efforts that include marketing to the consumer, whether using advertising, public relations, promotions, guerilla marketing or the Internet, all yield better results than solely embarking on a trade campaign. The study detailed highly successful products were more apt to belong to the consumer-focused segment (35 percent) than less successful ones (22 percent), while the less successful tended to fall within the solely trade-focused (25 percent versus 14 percent for highly successful).

2. PR Delivers a Better Lift-Off

Executives with highly successful products reported significantly greater returns across all PR-related activities. PR was seen as having far more impact for highly successful products (61 percent) than less successful ones (41 percent). In rating the impact of PR activities, those with highly successful products were more apt to indicate greater impact across most PR activities than those with less successful ones (76 percent for highly successful products vs. 56 percent for less successful ones). This suggests that more comprehensive public relations programs are likely to provide greater overall impact.

1. Launch is a Process ... Not Just a Date

Perhaps the most important tip is to consider a launch as a process that doesn't begin and end on the shipping date of the new product. Take the opportunity to continually modify the plan instead of sitting back and waiting to see if the product takes off based on the introductory campaign. Carefully targeted brand-building initiatives such as promotions, advertising and PR programs that take place following launch can sustain interest and generate renewed excitement in a new product. A product launch is a process, not a date, so keep the product's name in the mind of the consumer to ensure success. 

Joan Schneider has launched numerous products and services for her clients over the past 22 years. Her Boston-based public relations firm, Schneider & Associates, can be reached at (617) 536-3300.