Product launch events are an integral part of any brand or business to showcase the latest offerings to audiences, investors, and influencers. Months after working on the final product, your product gets ready to launch in the market. Product launch events are organised to create a buzz and hype around the latest offerings & boost initial sales. Every other brand, organise an exciting and flashy product launch event to display the latest new product offering. The motto of a product launch is to make the new product slide into the hearts of the potential target audience.
Hybrid Virtual Product Launch
With the change in scenarios due to the impact of COVID-19, events that involve large gatherings have come to a stop. Restrictions have been imposed on social gatherings to ensure health safety. Bans on travelling have been imposed by the government to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. Leveraging online event technology is the only option left with organisations and businesses to keep going. Organisations and brands that have never thought about moving their events online are hosting virtual events. There is no doubt that the percentage of virtual events have spiked up exponentially in 2020. Today, a wide range of virtual event software and platforms are available in the market. Selecting the right one depends entirely on the needs and requirements of your business. Going with the platform that offers engaging and interactive features along with the ability to set up a customisable virtual booth is the right bet. Right from organising virtual conferences, trade shows, exhibitions, virtual product launch, etc. a comprehensive virtual event platform serves all.
Moving ahead with time, planners realised in the past few months that face-to-face interactions hold their own significance. No matter, the perks offered by virtual events are phenomenal, but face-to-face interaction will always be part of robust program management. Here a different event format came into play known as hybrid virtual events. It is a mix of both virtual and physical events. Hybrid events bring the best of both the event worlds together. As lockdown restrictions started uplifting, hybrid events became immensely popular.
Like any other event, hybrid virtual product launches are organised at a physical venue paired with virtual event software. It offers the flexibility to attendees to attend an event either in-person or virtually from their remote locations. Recently, many big brands like Apple, johnsons & johnsons, etc. have leveraged online product launching to showcase the latest releases. In this post, we have listed a few steps to host an engaging and impressive hybrid virtual product launch. Let’s get started!
Steps to Plan a Successful Hybrid Virtual Product Launch:
1. Determine the goal of the event
Firstly, understanding the purpose of organising online product launching is a must. Whether you are releasing a new product for an existing brand or launching an entirely new brand with a new product. If your brand is known to your attendees, you need to focus completely on showcasing the product to investors, audiences, and influencers to boost revenues. If your brand is new, you need to make your audience aware of the brand by working on a brand awareness strategy. Once the goal and theme of an online product launching event get determined, you can work on creating an effective virtual product launch strategy.
2. Create a game plan
Once the purpose of organising a product launch clears out, create an effective game plan. Know your target audiences, what they like, and what evokes their interest to manage your virtual product launch accordingly. Decide beforehand whether you want your hybrid events to be gated which can be accessed by registered or VIP attendees or it should be free. Apart from it, decide whether you want your event to be live or on-demand or both for virtual attendees. Figure out such questions, to create an effective virtual event strategy.
3. Select the right technology
Selecting the right virtual event software or platform is a must to ensure a successful hybrid virtual product launch. Technology plays an important role in hybrid online product launching events. As hybrid events divide the attendees into two parts i.e. virtual and in-person, the task becomes even more critical. The hybrid product launch should keep both the attendees engaged with the event. Here technology plays a crucial role in keeping the virtual attendees engaged with the event.
In-person attendees are surrounded by other people whereas virtual ones access the event from a screen. Looking at the screen for long hours is not as stimulating as attending in-person events. Look for a platform that offers engaging and interactive features to keep attendees engaged throughout the event. Go with the platform that offers the ability to customise 3d virtual booths suiting the brand image the same as in-person booths. Virtual booths allow remote attendees to communicate with the booth representatives in real-time via live audio/video chat functionality. The right platform offers a detailed report of every digital attendee footprint, that helps in measuring performance metrics. Keeping an eye on every attendee move is not possible with a physical product launch event. However, selecting the right technology is the key to host a successful hybrid virtual product launch.
4. Keep the event engaging and entertaining
Keep the online product launching event engaging by incorporating live polls, surveys, chat rooms, Q&A sessions amid events. It helps in keeping your virtual attendees engaged with the event by enabling them to participate in the same. You can even introduce games such as spin the wheel or quizzes revolving around your event theme to evoke an element of fun. Offering virtual brand goodies to attendees is one of the brilliant moves to keep attendees engaged and make them feel valued by the brand. You can even opt for photo ops that offer the chance to virtual attendees to get clicked with branded frames. However, it results in creating brand awareness and making your latest release reach people in the most memorable way.
5. Market your product launch right
Marketing and promoting an event is a must to ensure success. Once you decide to host a hybrid virtual product launch, start doing the promotions. Leverage social media channels, direct mails, public relations, and so on to make your audience aware of the upcoming product launch. It is a must-do thing to maximise the attendance at your hybrid virtual product launch and reach millions.
6. Do not forget to follow-up
Do not forget to send a follow-up email survey to your attendees. Ask them what they enjoyed and liked at the event and whatnot. It helps in converting warm qualified leads. Apart from it, it helps the planner understand the mistakes to look upon for the next event.