BUILD A CATEGORY 🛠️ OR FIND YOUR SPOT IN ONE📍
Your launch story can change the status quo, establish a new market or modernize an old one, and even lead an industry. To get quality, on-message coverage around the launch and in the months to come, you need to:
✍️ Define why this space matters & tie it back to your meta-narrative. Focus on why this matters now. What problems are you solving? Why should people care? Simply showing up is not enough. And if you start with products, you’ll lose interest. Launches are a chance to tell a broader story about the company. What’s the founder’s background? How did this breakthrough technology come about?
🏆 Add superlatives but drop the jargon. It helps if you’re the industry's first, best, fastest (as long as you can back it up). Avoid terms like innovative, revolutionary, next-gen as they are meaningless and overused — and turnoffs for reporters.
🛁 Pull back the curtain. Focus on tangible impact and behind-the-scenes access. Expect to share real metrics about your business. “We’re amazing” (take our word for it) doesn’t fly.
📣 Harness advocates. Lean on people other than you to validate your space. Evangelists, from customers to investors to partners, will help create a new category or position your brand in a crowded one. It’s not enough to have press release quotes: you need people willing to go on the record with reporters.
📰 Pitch under embargo. For many launches, broader embargo pitching works well. If it's a B2B product launch, consider pre-briefing industry analysts ahead of time so they can lend their voices. Let reporters know they're available to provide perspectives. Or…
👑 Go exclusive. In some scenarios, one strong, well-timed story with a truly targeted audience will have the greatest impact.
🤔 Think beyond earned media. Earned media is important, but you also need to build your own audience. Consider hosting a Clubhouse event to kick off the launch or sharing a special newsletter with key stakeholders. Videos are often important for short attention spans on social media.
🔭 Take the long view. The launch is one way to grab the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean your story should stop there. Lay the groundwork for an ongoing PR drumbeat: post-launch news, rapid response outreach, data and thematic campaigns. Use the launch to build relationships with reporters or other influencers who may not be interested in covering day-of news but who are good candidates for trend pieces and company profiles down the line.