Act One, Scene One: Planning the Product Launch
It’s two months to the breakdate when our technology company will announce its new, innovative, ground-breaking, leading-edge, first-of-its class product. Engineering, Sales and Marketing have committed to the date and the rollout planning begins.
It’s a big deal and Marketing needs to get it right. Otherwise, heads will roll. A Public Relations firm has been retained, chosen for its skill, agility, persistence and network, to work out the logistics and implement the rollout plan.
PR can be an incredibly effective marketing tool for image building, visibility and creating buzz, just what this company needs. The company can rely on the firm to take charge of the public product unveiling and know that it will be done correctly. PR will build the rollout plan outlining goals, tactics and deliverables, and develop a comprehensive list of influencers to approach about the new product.
The PR team chosen by our company has well-honed writing and communications skills. Because any one of them will need to take abstract technical or obtuse jargon and boil it down to understandable language, the team has been trained to listen and ask questions to clarify technical information. Our company should not expect technical proficiency, however.
While this may be a sweeping generalization, most people in the PR field do not have technical backgrounds and this is not a deterrent. PR firms are selected for their strategic abilities, as well as their skills in producing targeted pitches, proposing article ideas, developing positioning and messaging, and their network. Members of the PR team assigned to our company have been trained to work with executives on strategic planning and write the time-honored news release. Many on the team are adept at writing high-level viewpoints and have a good understanding of the journalism/reporting process.
Act One, Scene Two: The Launch Team
The rollout team consists of the vice president of Marketing, several product marketing managers, the manager of marketing communications, and the PR firm. The PR plan has been reviewed and accepted, and implementation has begun. Everyone knows their role and is feeling the stress, realizing they have one shot at getting it right. Shortchanging the technical aspects of the rollout is not an option, though the product marketing managers are juggling numerous responsibilities in order to get the product ready for first customer ship.
The savvy PR firm has recognized this and has recommended adding a technology writer( not to be confused with a technical writer who produces manuals). PR firms often form partnerships with skilled technology writers to get a more technical perspective, an important consideration when the influencer network is technical.
Act One, Scene Three: Developing the Launch Materials
With time slipping away, a PR firm and technology writer partnership can be invaluable, especially in the early-stage planning when whitepapers and product presentations need to be developed. They can offload many tasks from the overworked and understaffed Marketing group affordably and efficiently because this is their area of expertise, and they know how to use their time wisely.
In one sourcing session, for example, the technology writer will know the questions to ask and understand the details. He can get enough information to draft a lengthy technical whitepaper, while the PR firm may be able to produce the outlines of a news release and write a high-level opinion piece. This opinion piece, authored by our company’s CEO of vice president of Marketing, can be placed ahead of the product launch as a foreshadowing of what’s coming.
Meanwhile, the PR firm will finish the news release with the aid of the whitepaper and will rely on the technology writer to review it for technical accuracy. It will continue to work on the rest of the deliverables list, also known as press kit, enlisting the technology writer to review the two-page fact sheet, biographies of the company spokespersons, illustrations, and captions.
Act One, Scene Four: The Product Launch
The product launch is a success. Our company is pleased with the coverage and interest from the designer community because the PR firm took firm control of the rollout and met each goal, with assistance from the technology writer. Without him, many of the technical details and interesting aspects of the product that the influencers honed in on might have been overlooked.
And the Marketing group was able to focus on the varied internal aspects of the product launch.
Act Two, Scene One: The Whitepaper Lives On
The whitepaper serves as a useful document for the influencers who are approached during the product launch. The news release will offer a broad overview of the product –– influencers are often hungry for more technical detail and illustrations outlining how the product works and the markets it will serve.
Additionally, the versatility of a good whitepaper often is underrated –– it can be rewritten various ways for viewpoints, case studies, technical contributed articles or blog posts. With the explosion of blogs, onlines and other communications channels in the electronics area and with fewer and fewer journalists, many of these channels are eager for content and would willingly accept a reworked whitepaper.
For a company in search of programs to build visibility, awareness, and a reputation as a thought leader, this is a great opportunity and a way to keep repurposing an existing whitepaper.
Of course, the whitepaper and the other press kit materials have been posted already on our company’s website.
Act Three, Scene One: The Finale
The Marketing Team recognizes that, while the internal team ensured that the new product would be successfully launched, the successful launch itself and the market acceptance can, in large measure, be credited to the PR firm and technology writer who helped build the product image, visibility and buzz. They proved that they can come into a situation, take charge, and quickly add value. The time and energy they saved the internal team proved an unmatched return on investment.
Moreover, the technology writer now is in the process of drafting more technical articles for the PR firm to place because he’s not just a resource for a product rollout. And the PR firm continues its outreach efforts to ensure our company is a visible, credible, and influential industry presence through all available communications channels.
Nanette Collins
Principal
Nanette V. Collins Marketing and PR
Boston and San Francisco
www.nvc.com
nanette@nvc.com