How to Launch a New Brand: 4 Tips that Work Generous advance time, comprehensive branding and a hint of mystery are important ingredients for ensuring a terrific launch day.
By Syed Balkhi Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
A new brand -- your new brand -- has got to make a splash in the market if it's going to be successful. You've got to stand out in a crowd that's oversaturated with brands that people are already invested in. So, how do you get people interested in what you've got to say and offer if you're the new kid on the block?
Related: The Foolproof Formula for New Brand Launching
The answer is that you've got to create an awesome launch for your new brand. You've spent countless hours creating your business and your brand, so you need to spend time planning an exciting launch, as well.
A well-developed plan will help your grand opening or your product launch go off without a hitch. Here's how to launch a new brand and four tips that work whether you're starting from scratch or re-branding.
Give yourself enough time.
Your brand launch is an important event. People usually spend six months to a year planning their weddings, so treat your brand the same way. Don't launch your entire company in just a couple weeks; give yourself more time. Your rollout should begin in the very early stages of your branding process.
Giving yourself more time also helps to develop hype for your brand while giving you ample time to make sure all the moving pieces are in order.
Ted Baker used a countdown timer for a launch for its men's and women's clothing; and as can be seen, the countdown is over 30 days away.
Ted Baker Countdown to Launch. http://jennieclare.blogspot.com/2013/03/one-giant-leap-for-ted-baker.html
Tip: Let this idea inspire you; just give yourself lots of time to get all your ducks in a row.
Know your audience.
Your goal is to develop a strategy for your launch that will get your company in front of as many eyes as possible, but you also want to make sure those eyes belong to your target audience. It's no use promoting your business to people who aren't going to be remotely interested in it. So, get to know who your potential buyers are, and what's important to them.
Related: 7 Ways to Build Hype Months Before Your Business Launches
Research what your competitors' audience is like, as well. Find out whom they're targeting and how they're promoting their business: Your goal is to get an idea of how you can capture some of that attention, or on the flip side, find out what niche they might be missing out on, then go after that market.
Pabst Blue Ribbon has been known for many years as an inexpensive working-class beer, which has also made it popular with college students. PBR didn't have to rebrand but it did develop a fitting marketing strategy to reach its new audience.
Tweet from Pabst Blue Ribbon https://twitter.com/PabstBlueRibbon
Tip: When you know who your audience is, it's much easier to determine when and how you should market your company to those people.
Brand everything.
After deciding on the name of your business, creating a logo and designing your website, you need to continue branding every other aspect of your business, as well.
You can't develop brand recognition if your brand isn't consistent across all of your platforms. So don't forget to brand your social media platforms, business cards, emails and anything else that connects back to your business. You want your brand to be instantly recognizable when someone stumbles across it.
And choose colors carefully: A signature color can boost brand recognition by 80 percent, according to Color Matters, so put your brand colors everywhere and anywhere you can.
Airbnb, for example, changed its signature color and created a new logo as part of its rebranding:
Airbnb logo before and after. https://co.agencyspotter.com/branding-unicorn-superbrand-status-airbnb/
Tip: The way your brand looks is one of the first things people will notice when they're introduced to your business and will help people see you as a well-established company.
Build anticipation.
If you make your brand launch an exciting, can't-miss event for your audience, people will be counting down the days until they get a peek. When attempting to build anticipation for your brand, build in a little mystery; it goes a long way, so don't give away too many details about your product before the launch.
Teasing your followers with subtle hints on social media, creating videos that stir up excitement and creating a countdown timer to the launch of your website are just some of the tactics you can use to build anticipation.
Apple uses videos to tease its audience about the launch of it latest products, revealing just enough to pique fans' interest.
iPad Pro Reveal Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaWkgg5l9sg
Tip: The more excited people get about your business, the better. You'll have a swarm of activity on launch day, with people coming to check out what you've been hinting at for months.
Related: 3 Memorable Ways to Launch a Product to Wow Customers
Launching a new brand doesn't have to be scary: With a brand launch strategy, you'll make a powerful first impression and gain new loyal customers quickly. Using these tips, you'll be able to present your business as a rock star in your industry, even if you're a newbie.
