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Should I send a press release for my new product launch?

When launching a new product or service, a question that comes often is: should I send a press release. Ou answer is definitely yes. Read why here.

Maybe you're wondering: should I send a press release for my new product launch?

Hell Yes! And here is why. A good press release announces news. News is anything journalists want to write about and their readers want to share. New Products and their launches if done right have four important features that make them instantly news worthy.

 

Improving life experience

New Product launches affect users’ quality of life if they’re genuinely new products and not just “me too’s” aping other products already on the market. 

If there is something unique and distinctive about your product it's instantly news people want to read about for the impact it will have on the way users live work or play. Sometimes users don’t even know they needed the product till you tell them about the needs its satisfies , then suddenly they realise it’s the answer to an irksome problem they’d never identified as such.

Hannah McDuffus quit her career in fashion to launch innovative food service company Bed N Breakfasttt which has grown rapidly. Her idea was to send piping hot cooked breakfasts to working execs straight to their offices as many had no time to down more than a fast coffee to get to work in time after school runs and other early morning distractions. 

Good nutrition in the first meal of the day was huge lack for working people especially with families. It was news and the launch was well accepted. She made users time to have breakfast.

 

Timing is key

Timeliness is another feature that makes product launches great news. If done right the product will respond to an emerging trend, a new zeitgeist, that grabs people’s attention and responds to an emerging need in the market place. 

With the launch of Bed N Breakfasttt, Hannah responded to the constantly growing consciousness of the need for nutrition and high quality in the first meal of the day providing energy and vitamins, that sets up the eater for a busy schedule. That the food was home cooked and delivered just added to its credentials in quality of content as well as taste. 

Again, the timing was crucial. People were ready for the idea they never knew they needed so it made the business news worthy.

 

Innovation

Every new product will have some element of innovation. Doing old things in new, better, more efficient more sustainable ways always gives users a bigger bang for their buck. Who isn’t looking for new hacks to old problems?

Newly graduated Feyi Ogunyeye’s Solar dock, from his start-up  BrighThinking , charges mobile devices including tablets using solar energy. It is highly economic, uses renewable energy, and meets our environmental concerns. The news in this is the application of renewable energy to our working lives in a way that meets our conscience and our budgets. The technology is what enables this. A new hack for an old problem.

 

Life story

Any product’s persona is assisted by the life stories of the staff who work with it and especially of the founder who launches the product. There will be millions of products out there but only one YOU. 

Your experience, the challenges you faced to bring the product to market, the highs and lows preceding success are among the most inspirational and dramatic stories in life and business. People want to read them and take guidance or just inspiration from them. 

A launch is always a great time to share such life stories. What is more, by their inclusion in press releases they distinguish your product or service, give it a persona like none other. This is useful when it comes to promoting the brand in a crowded market place.

Organic skin care specialist Toulou Organics  started in 2006 with Andrea Lawrence's quest for solutions to her own dry skin problems.  She researched plants and their effect on the skin, created new products and relaunched Toulou Organics in 2012.  By 2014 they’d won the Gold Free From Skin Care Award for their Nourishing Body Crème, followed by the Natural Health International Beauty Award in 2015 for their ‘Youthful’ Face Oil.  They've since been shortlisted in the Free From Skin Care Awards for their Organic Daily Cleanser and ‘Rejuvenating’ Face Crème in 2015, and ‘Super Rich’ Body Butter in 2016.

Clients identify strongly with founder and Aromatherapist Andrea’s personal journey which motivated her passion and search for solutions to skin care problems. When they see her, they know she has “skin in the game” and its been great for the growth of her brand.

 

Product launches are a natural subject for Press releases, perhaps the best opportunity to send genuine news that is interesting. Don’t lose the opportunity to garner the publicity such a press release can generate for you.

 

 

Written by: Tetteh Kofi, Brand Ambassador for JournoLink

Tetteh is a broadcast journalist with credits on the BBC, ITN, LBC and Colourful Radio in news and current affairs. He published newspapers and has run training and crisis management programmes for multinationals and government agencies across Europe.

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