Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

The strategies will be different based on the industry and the product category. The strategy for a brand of bath soap won't be the same as the strategy for a railroad locomotive or for a motion picture studio. We'll need a lot more information if we're to provide useful information. And we'll need to know how the brand was regarded by its target audience when it closed.

If you are concerned about disclosing more information on this public forum, you can hire a consultant for confidential assistance.

Assuming a few things there, like the closed product/service has been improved in some way or brought back by consumer demand, the strategy for relaunching a closed product is not unlike launching a new product. You want attention and lots of it; free advertising is always welcomed even if money is no object.

A few things to get you started: Start the discussion early. Reporters/bloggers can’t write about what they don’t know. So if you want them to know your product is coming back from the dead, tell them. But make sure you give them NEW information. Everyone wants to know what the value benefit will be for them and reporters are no different. No one wants to write a run of the mill story or rewrite a boring press release. There is too much work and too few people to do it. A rolling launch is the best approach to keep the conversation going. Give them just a little bit of new information at a time and then keep it going until the launch date and beyond.

Here is where being product specific in your question would be helpful. If you are relaunching a financial product, you might be able to tie into current events. That’s not likely to be the case if you are resurrecting a beauty product; unless of course it’s a trend for the new season. Still, there are subtle differences.

First things first, though. Give key influencers a heads up by making the product or service available to them. These people can be reporters/bloggers (local, regional or national depending on the product); VIP customers, online brand ambassadors, and prospects. Use their feedback to tweak whatever needs tweaking before the big reveal.

Depending on the product, this information is also a great resource to speak with analysts about your product before it launches. Brief industry analysts by scheduling calls and writing compelling briefing requests (same approach here as with reporters/bloggers).

Pick the social media platforms where you’d like to “leak” information and target people who you are confident will want to learn more about your product/service. Tease with coming soon or “leaked” images but don’t do it so often that your product/service becomes irrelevant.