PR Pop Quiz: When is a Product Launch Not a Product Launch?

This week’s launch of Microsoft’s long-anticipated Windows 10 has sent us down memory lane. In the last two years, we have been asked to help four or five companies either launch their new business or introduce a new product.

With the exception of one (more on that in a minute), these “launches” truly didn’t deserve to be called that.

Yes, they technically met Webster’s definition of a launch (“the act of starting or setting in motion an activity or an enterprise.”) And, they certainly qualified as a launch in Business Land, where the bar for launching a new company was set alarmingly low during the Internet bubble. “Hey, I’ve got a great idea for a start-up! What? No, no customers or revenue yet – but it’s a really great idea!”

But in the world of PR, where the commodity we offer in exchange for media coverage is the newsworthiness of the stories we share, the bar must be considerably higher than just a strong idea alone.

We’ve counseled countless clients over the years on the optimal time to introduce their new company or product to the market (and, sometimes, even if it should be introduced). Here are some tips to assess whether your company or product is ready for prime time:

Have some customers – preferably delighted ones. Nothing validates a new company or product for a reporter more than hearing that it already has customers. Clients don’t always want to hear this (they want media coverage to help attract customers, after all), but trust us on this one: your launch will be much more impactful if you can report customers, and, better yet, share some customer names and offer to put a reporter in touch with several of them.

The exception to this is the entrepreneur or brand that is already recognized and successful. When Yuengling’s Ice Cream announced it was (re)launching an ice cream company that had been dormant for 29 years, reporters were instantly intrigued to learn that another branch of the fabled beer family planned to revive a line of premium ice creams. That name recognition, coupled with a modest-budget media relations and social media campaign, fueled an early sell-out of product from grocery store shelves.

Work the kinks out before you go public. Take a lesson from the restaurant industry, which makes a practice of opening a new restaurant with a “soft launch” for friends and family. During that period, delays in the kitchen and wait staff fumbles can be identified and corrected, before the restaurant opens to the public.

Make sure your marketing materials are complete. One of the first things a reporter or prospect will do is visit your website. You want it – and any other collateral materials – to be up-to-date and complete. It’s often worth delaying a launch until the website reflects the new company or offering.

Be sure you can clearly explain the benefit that customers will enjoy from the new company or product. In order for you to announce something is “new,” be prepared to explain what’s different or better for customers. Sometimes a product upgrade is nothing more than a tweak – but if that tweak dramatically decreases the amount of time your customer needs to spend completing a sales form, that is probably meaningful to them.

Recognize that content sharing can be powerful without media coverage. A good PR counselor will be honest in helping you assess the chances of media coverage for your announcement. But even if your product upgrade isn’t worthy of a review in WSJ.D or Re/code, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t meaningful to your customers and can’t be shared with them through your blog, a white paper, social media and more.

So, when it comes to launching your new product or business to the media, taking the time and necessary steps required to do it the right way is definitely worth the wait.