ideas for a product launch

Buzz building ideas for a product launch with impact

When looking for ideas for a product launch, brands have come up with many innovative ways to get attention. These strategies include hiring well-known spokespeople, starting an augmented reality campaign, or partnering with a shopping app. Gaining recognition for a new product requires the ability to approach consumers uniquely, so your brand’s message resonates.

Much of this is accomplished through partnerships. Connecting with influencers can help to drive your brand’s message while exposing it to new audiences. Third-party app partnerships can provide the ability to leverage new technology as part of your campaign while also improving the customer experience. In either case, your brand stands out through these connections.

Using Influencers to Spread Your Brand’s Message

When it comes to getting consumers to try a new product, earning a consumer’s trust is paramount. The Instagram influencer marketing segment alone is expected to reach $2.38 billion in value by 2019 because, for brands, influencers provide:

  • Trust: Consumers have confidence in the influencers they follow and take their recommendations seriously. When you partner with an influencer, that trust extends to your brand.
  • Content: Every review, blog post, tweet, video, and Instagram photo created by an influencer is a piece of marketing material for your brand designed to receive shares, comments, and reactions from consumers.  
  • Social connections: Influencers are typically active on social media and have hundreds of thousands of followers. Through a partnership, your product will be exposed to the influencer’s audience.

Brands need to identify influencers within their product category and then find ways to market to those influencers. A cosmetics company, for example, may send a popular YouTube makeup artist free samples of a new line of lipsticks to review. This partnership helps to expose the brand’s products and build a buzz ahead of the official launch.

Gain Attention With Interactive Ideas for a Product Launch

ideas for a product launch that worksAnother buzz building opportunity for brands lies in using innovative technology. Augmented reality (AR) offers brands the option to create interactive marketing campaigns that are memorable. AR is a way for consumers to test out products or enjoy branded content virtually.

AR is something Cover Girl recently used with its launch of the Try It makeover tool, which allows users to test out various makeup looks using their phone, laptop, or tablet camera along with an AR overlay. With this tool, the brand was able to feature the products and link consumers directly to where to buy them.

Interactive tools are an excellent way for CPG brands to stand out when looking for ways to market a new product. By getting consumers to engage with specific products, the brand draws attention to that product. That leads to increased sales once the product reaches potential buyers.

Create In-Aisle Engagement With a Shopping App

Another option brands can leverage in gaining attention for a new product is a shopping app. Shopping apps offer brands the opportunity to connect with consumers in the shopping aisle, where they’re more likely to make a purchase. Shopping apps provide a few ways to engage with consumers, including:

  • Location-based marketing: Location-based marketing comes from geo-tracking, beacons, or a combination of the two. The technology allows a brand to guide consumers to their products in the store as they’re shopping. For example, with Shopkick, a consumer may receive a notification that they can earn kicks (rewards points) for visiting a retailer. When they visit that retailer, they’ll be able to view a list of deals in the store, which they can then seek out for more kicks.
  • In-store interaction: Another benefit of Shopkick is that it encourages the consumers to handle the product, which improves sales likelihood. The consumers will pick up the product, scan its UPC, and receive kicks. They’ll also receive a notification as to how many rewards they can gain with a purchase.  
  • Rewards driven incentives: One of the benefits of using Shopkick is its use of rewards rather than discounts. This rewards-based approach eliminates an immediate cost to the brand. Also, rewards are often perceived as having a higher value than their dollar amount, as reaching the right consumer is more valuable to a brand than the reward being offered.

Shopping apps come with a following, allowing a brand access to a new group of consumers who may not be familiar with their offerings. As the individuals who use these apps are active shoppers, that audience exposure provides enhanced conversion potential.

When developing ideas for a product launch, brands should take into account strategic partnerships that allow them to gain access to broader audiences.

When developing ideas for a product launch, brands should take into account strategic partnerships that allow them to gain access to broader audiences. Influencer marketing is ideal for this, as it helps a brand establish trust with consumers. Shopping apps and other innovative marketing technologies also increase product interactions, which increases sales. Bringing a new product to market is a challenge, but with the right support, a brand can ensure an auspicious debut.   

Shopkick works with our partners to build buzz for new products through a fun, interactive shopping app. For more information on how this app can improve your product launch, contact us.

Image courtesy of Rawpixel.com

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Dima Volovik

EVP of Product and Engineering

Dima Volovik is the EVP of Product and Engineering at Trax Retail — Shopkick.

Dima Volovik is the accomplished product and engineering leader who led teams to deliver innovative and commercially successful e-commerce products, marketplaces, and enterprise solutions for Amazon, Comcast, Fandango, and Universal Music. Before joining Trax, Dima was the Director at Amazon, where he led product development and Engineering for Amazon Appstore and Amazon Prime Video, CTO at Fandango, and Paciolan, head of technology at Golf Channel/Golf Now, and Global VP of Direct to Consumer Technology at Universal Music Group. Dima’s expertise includes developing consumer products, marketplaces, and enterprise solutions.

Dima grew up in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he received his MS in Electrical Engineering from Azerbaijan Oil Academy, and he currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with his family.