How to Organise a Product Launch Event that Guarantees a Good Reception

It’s a well-known expression that has much truth to it: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The first impression of your new product or brand is your product launch event. 

There’s so much potential resting in a product launch event, but there is a lot of pressure to make sure the first impression is a resounding success. With proper event planning, savvy marketing, and a creative, experienced, and talented team, you can produce an outstanding product launch event. 

Organising a Product Launch Event 

Congratulations! After weeks, months, or years of hard work, testing, production, and planning, your new product is ready to be released to the public! To launch a new product is almost as important as developing it. 

The product launch event gets the word out to the public that your product or service is available on the market. If you don’t release and publicize it properly, your product risks being doomed to fail. 

Develop a Strategy

A product launch event is your chance to present the new product or brand to your current and potential customers, investors, influencers, and the general public and generate sales.

To get your new product out on the market, gain publicity, build anticipation, and generate the attention and buzz it deserves, it is crucial to have an event plan in place. Your party plan should include a soft launch which releases your product to a small, select group to gauge their feedback and give you the opportunity to tweak the release before bringing it out to the general public. 

When you present your new product to the public, prepare a launch story, which sends a message of why your product is important and how it will be beneficial to them. Include a description of what your product is, what it accomplishes, its essential features, and how it will make a difference.

The Steps to Organising a Product Launch

A coordinated and well-thought-out launch event plan is critical. The better prepared you are for your new product’s big showing, the greater chance it has to be a success, and the better you’ll be able to handle any unexpected bumps that may come up.

Eclipse’s Event Planner Checklist will help ensure that you are well-prepared. Their experienced team can offer you creative and original product launch event ideas for a unique and impressive launch event.

The Planning Process

• Determine the goal of the product launch event. Are you looking to publicize your company in general, or want to promote a specific new product or service? Is the event a private showing to display the new product to your company’s backers and select guests, or is it a party for the general public and you are looking for media coverage to help promote it and generate sales? 

• Set a budget for the product launch event. It’s all too easy to get taken in by the unlimited product launch event ideas. Setting a budget first will help you stay realistic and determine the number of guests you can host, the party theme you can execute, the venue you can rent, the food you serve, and the entertainment you can afford to hire. 

The triumph of a product launch is not determined by the money you spend. With savvy planning, you can have a wildly popular event while sticking to your budget.

If you have a minimum budget, consider hosting a virtual product launch event for free! A virtual event means you save money on a venue, food, and entertainment and can have a larger reach of guests! Eclipse has extensive experience in running virtual events.

• Who is the target audience you’ll be hosting? Before you can plan a launch event, you need to know the type of crowd you’re trying to attract and the purpose it will serve.

Is the new product for parents of young children? Working professionals? A new software for a tech-savvy audience? Senior citizens? The audience who will attend plays the biggest deciding factor in the type of event you plan and the message you want to send them.

• Where will you be hosting the product launch event? Is the event live or virtual? If you’re launching a new store or service, such as a bar, beauty salon, or toy store, you will want to host the party on-site to show your guests what you have to offer. If you’re releasing a particular new product, you may choose to host the event in a venue that fits the target crowd rather than the product. 

For example, if you’re launching a new line of baby gear, you may want to find a large ground-floor venue that can accommodate strollers and have a play area and entertainment for young children who may attend with their parents.

Keep the number of guests you expect to attend your event in mind when you book a venue. You don’t want it to be overcrowded with too many attendees, but you also want to avoid booking too large of a location and having the party look and feel empty. 

• Decide on a date and time for the product event launch. When selecting a date, keep in mind religious and legal holidays which can affect the attendance of your event. If the event is virtual, take the time zones of your expected attendees into account. And always book a backup date for those inevitable bumps that are bound to come up. 

• Create a theme or vibe for your launch event. Your brand, audience, and product should determine the theme of your party, so keep that in mind when going through your product launch event examples and ideas. Will you have entertainment? What style of music? Choose the menu. Will it be a mixer finger-food event, a casual buffet-style luncheon, or a formal sit-down business dinner and presentation?

For example, if you’re launching a line of camping gear, a casual location, outdoor-themed event with barbecue and grill stations would be more appropriate than to serve an elegant five course dinner. 

On the other hand, if your target crowd is sophisticated upper-class guests and you expect social influencers and celebrities to be in attendance, an upscale, classy event would be right on track.

No matter what theme you decide on creating, remember that your guests are coming to attend a product launch. Don’t let the venue and entertainment overshadow the focus of the event, which is to demonstrate and publicize your business, brand, product, or service and make some sales!

• Set an event schedule. A key factor to a memorable and successful product launch event is making sure the event runs on course and has points of interest scheduled into the itinerary. 

Whether you feature a keynote speaker or are showing a video with examples of the product in action, ensure your attendees enjoy the launch event and gain insight into your product and business.

• Publicize your launch! You need an outstanding marketing strategy to generate buzz and hype around your launches and build anticipation. Whether you’ve already released the details of your product or are keeping it under wraps until the launch, get your prospective audience excited for its release. This includes using social media, print ads, email blasts, and videos.

• Follow up and keep in contact post-event to gather feedback from your team, the vendors, and guests and evaluate your sales after it’s on the market. Their feedback will help guide you on fostering your business relationships with them and be beneficial on what to do for future events. 

What You Will Need for a Product Launch Event

You have determined the goal of your product launch, the location, the menu, and your target audience. What’s the next step? Eclipse Event Management Agency will guide you through the process and ensure that everything that you need – and want –  is ready for the most memorable product launch. 

• Furniture and Entertainment Props 

 Whether you’re having a band, fashion show, product demonstration, awards ceremony, or a magic show for children, Eclipse will make sure your venue is set up to accommodate your event. Eclipse’s in-house construction and set design will take care of and create stages, booths, lighting, presentation screens, podiums, tables, and everything in between. 

• Decor 

You’ve settled on a theme and style for your product launch event – now make a list of all of the decor needed to fulfill the image. From backdrops, table linens, flowers and candles, and props, Eclipse is an expert at creating a party that will bring your vision to life at any location. 

• Music or Entertainment 

 Book or set up the entertainment for your product launch event. Whether you’re going with pre-recorded music, a live band, dancing, a software presentation, or workshops, make sure to book any entertainers or purchase the essentials for your event. 

• Photographer, Media, and Publicity 

You’ve worked so hard on your product and launch – make sure to maximize its coverage. Whether you hire a photographer or are doing it in-house, plan a list of photo opportunities you want to get.

For example, take pictures of popular attendees and influencers at the party with your product. Remember to post it on social media or follow up with a marketing campaign for coverage of your product launch.

How to Make your Product Launch Event a Success

The best way to guarantee an exciting product launch is to hire an experienced event planner who will make sure you are well-prepared for the event. 

A good event planner, such as Eclipse, will take you through the planning stages, develop a strategy, advise you on what product launch event examples and ideas work best for your industry and target audience, arrange the necessary props and gear, and support you in every step of the way. 

Some important factors that to ensuring that your event is well-received and memorable are:

• Organised strategy planning and attention to details
• Gearing your launch and venue to your target audience
• Providing music or entertainment and food to draw attendees to your event
• Publicity and an excellent marketing plan to hype up the launch 

Building Up Hype for Your Product Launch Event

Building up anticipation for your product launch is a key factor. How can you best generate interest in your prospective audience for your product launch event?

• Exploit Social Media

Generate conversation and buzz around your product launch across all social media platforms and online for free. If your company isn’t already taking advantage of social media, make sure you get started well before your event so you can build up a large following. Use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at the minimum to post hints about your launch in the weeks leading up to the event. 

Create a unique hashtag that will grab the attention and create interest for your upcoming product launch and use it across all the platforms. Tag your venue and vendors to reach a larger audience, invite more customers, and make more sales.

• Pre-Launch Interest

Start a pre-launch contest or raffle online to gain free publicity, build anticipation, and invite potential customers to spread the word about your upcoming product launch event and product. 

Ask for comments or relevant opinions to engage in conversation and generate more interest and hashtag your product. Post some examples of how your product can be used.

• Pre-Order Discounts

Offer an exclusivity discount for pre-orders to generate early sales.

• Video Clips

Create exciting video clips to give a sneak peek of your product and brand, or give tantalizing clues of your event theme to generate hype. Give a product demonstration to show it’s relevant to your customers’ life, or show the behind-the-scenes clips of the product in different stages of development and hashtag your product.

• Countdown

Start an event product launch event countdown! Countdowns generate excitement and give your audience a steady reminder of the product launch date. Send an email blast with intriguing content each day or post the countdown online and on social media to keep the excitement going.

How Eclipse Can Help You with Your Product Launch Event

Creating an exceptional and successful product launch event takes experience, talent, expertise, good marketing, superb organisation skills, and attention to detail. Eclipse has over 30 years of experience in event planning, providing full-service for every aspect of an event’s planning and execution.

From small intimate events to large-scale corporate product launches, let Eclipse’s talent and expertise help you. Eclipse’s clients span the globe and there’s no job too big or complex at any location for them to produce. 

• Creative event design and coordination for live, virtual, small, or large events at any venue and in any industry.

• Innovative content creation and themes for live and online events.

• 3D space planning software to digitally map out the venue for your product launch event.

• Video production, graphics design, and animation for your conference or party.

• Audio and visual productions with their professional technical team, available 24/7. Eclipse’s AV team has worked with venues across locations in Europe to coordinate and set up their audio and visual for events.

Their tech team can set up screens for your presentations, virtual meetings, online events, or entertainment for any production you host.

• Stock and custom furniture and props to design the product launch events of your dreams. Talented in-house carpenters are available to create customized props to fit your event’s theme and style. Whether you need a stage in the venue, booths, or unique furniture, Eclipse will create and build what you cannot find.

• Virtual Event Studio for hosting virtual events that can connect your company to customers around the world. You can use the Virtual Event Studio to host pre-launch product previews and demonstrations or entice potential customers by providing remote training and support for the new product. 

Virtual Events online are growing in popularity with companies in every industry. Participants love the convenience of being able to attend events and conferences despite their busy schedules as there’s no travel time involved, leaving them with more free time.

Organisers love saving money by not needing to book a venue or to serve food. They also appreciate the ability to record their virtual product launch events. Recording the event allows for unlimited people to participate online at a later time at their convenience, maximizing the exposure of the product launch. 

• Excellent vendor relationships and communication. With over 30 years of experience in product launches and events across the spectrum, Eclipse has cultivated invaluable contact with prestigious companies, vendors, brands, venues, and has a sterling reputation in working with clients and vendors alike. 

Eclipse’s experience and knowledge of the industry give them an edge on coordinating and communicating with the vendors to ensure smooth, memorable, and successful product launch events so you can focus on your business. 

Conclusion 

A product launch party has the incredible potential to make your product and company a popular hit. However, it takes meticulous organisation, savvy planning, experience, talent, and knowledge to maximize its triumph.

After investing so much time, capital, and hard work to bring your product to the market, give its product launch event the attention it deserves to ensure it’s as successful as it should be. Use an experienced and talented event planning agency such as Eclipse to help you create your event and bring your vision to life.