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One of the most exciting elements of PR is the process of launching a new company: formulating the company's main message points and then selling that message to the media for the first time. With a new company, you want more than just a public unveiling, you want to dive in headfirst and take the market by storm. This is where a Connors PR campaign can make all the difference. A good PR plan is the best means of accomplishing this because it offers the most cost-effective way to validate a new product or service to the most people possible. It is also a great way to get the word out and generate interest because to the consumer, media coverage is an unbiased, third-party opinion.
After developing the company's messaging, the first step to launching a technology product or service is gaining analyst support. Analysts are vitally important to any launch because they can provide crucial third-party support for your message. Analysts specialize in a particular industry and follow the competitive landscape, trying to predict where the market is headed. An analyst's support helps a B2B technology company in two key areas: many large companies hire analyst firms to recommend the best vendors for their tech needs, and more importantly, reporters regularly interview analysts to get expert commentary for their articles. The public looks to the media for information, and the media in turn is looking to the analysts, making them pivotal in setting the stage for a successful launch.
Once analyst support is gained, the next step is to sell your story to the media. For a company launch, the best way to make your presence known is a media tour. In-person meetings between company executives and key reporters prior to the launch helps personalize the story for them, and greatly improves chances for positive coverage. The meetings also give reporters advance notice of the upcoming launch, and everyone knows reporters love a scoop. After the key reporters have been notified, the press release is sent out on the news wire, and the news begins to roll in. It's a great feeling to see your client, a nobody in the industry just yesterday, suddenly dominate the headlines of trade press on the week of the launch. If you make a big enough splash, the general business press will also take notice, and it can quickly snowball from there.
So what makes PR more valuable than other forms of marketing in introducing a company? Because this type of coverage literally cannot be bought. Think of how much a company would pay, if it was even possible, for an ad on the front page of the New York Times' business section. And what makes a better impression on a prospective customer: seeing an ad proclaiming Company X is the best, or reading it in an article written by their favorite trade publication? Readers have learned to tune out ads, but not headlines.
With the right execution, a PR campaign can be shockingly effective. At Connors, we have crashed clients' servers multiple times from the sudden spike in traffic to their site following a launch. And yes, the launch is just the first step, and a long-term strategy is equally important. But nothing beats seeing your client in the news for the first time; the culmination of a successful PR launch strategy.
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