The Death of the Traditional Product Launch Plan

Remember when you'd plan (or see) a big product launch?

For those of you that are not intimately familiar with product launches, let's use the movie and video game industries as examples.

After all, these two industries do typically have some of the large marketing budgets when it comes to product launches (new movies and new games).

Let's briefly review the typical process and timeline.

Pre-Launch 
Seeding efforts
Build excitement
Tease a bit.
Preview a bit
Perhaps a demo
Perhaps a beta

Launch! 
Big splash
Pent up demand is released

Post-launch
Bask in the glory of the momentum created
Sales
Follow on

Well guess what? This is over. And for the most part, you can use social media for this.

Dwight vs The Computer: An Unfair Fight

In one particular episode of The Office, that I've seen many times, I realized something after recently watching (I'm going to continue assuming you are familiar with the TV show, The Office).

Without getting into the details, in this episode Dunder Mifflin launched their very first website and e-commerce platform. Much to the chagrin of the Sales team.

Not to be out-shined by this new e-commerce enabled website, Dwight decides to attempt to beat the machine by out-selling the website on the initial day of launch. Truly a business battle of human versus machine.

However, Dwight was fighting a losing battle. Not because the machine was superior, but because the fight was unfair. It was unfair because it actually wasn't human versus machine but, because it was a battle between the impact of being proactive versus reactive in sales and marketing.

In business, specifically marketing or sales, ready to receive attention is different than actively attracting attention. Depending on your business, the difference between these two can be enormous in volume and scale.

In Dwight's case, he is representing proactive efforts to reach a customer on a 1:1 scale and the Computer represents the reactive efforts, where customers reach the business on their own on a 1:Many scale. This should not have been a battle. This needed to be a cooperation. With the right cooperation, brand affinity, and business momentum, this cooperation yields much higher results than the battle that might ensue.

Just as it didn't need to be Dwight vs The Computer, it doesn't need to be outbound versus inbound efforts. Grabbing attention and receiving attention are different, but should work together.

Go team!

Product Acceptable Time to Market = Consumer Acceptable Time to Wait

Often you hear the term "time to market." This usually refers to how long it takes a company to get their product from development to customer purchase availability. Of course, companies want their time to market timelines to be as short as possible. The faster someone can buy something, the faster a company can make money from the purchase. Not to mention other competitive factors, like being the first to market with a brand-new amazing feature, and so on.

However, like all equations, there is an opposite side that must balance. In this case, the other side that equals an acceptable time to market is the consumer's acceptable time to wait.

Product Acceptable Time to Market = Consumer Acceptable Time to Wait. Let me explain.

If you (as a consumer) are perfectly fine waiting another year for a new coffee mug, then your time to wait is not putting pressure on the coffee mug industry to accelerate their time to market. Therefore, the coffee mug industry must first alter the perception of the consumer time to wait before accelerating their time to market timeline to no avail. Hint - marketing can help with this.

In contrast, where the current consumer acceptable time to wait for safer vehicles that drastically reduce car accidents is immediate, this does put tremendous pressure on the automotive industry to accelerate their time to market timelines. This is where the consumer market can unbalance the equation and could shine a negative light on a single company while opening a new opportunity for another company due to this time to market = time to wait equation.

So think about it... How long are you willing to wait for a new coffee cup? How long are you will to wait for vehicles to stop polluting the air we breathe? Your answer will impact more than you realize, on both sides of the equation.

If you can't articulate your thought, then does it even exist?

You've heard the saying, "if a tree falls in a wood but no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Well, does it? ...OK, now read on.

I believe that the same conceptual argument applies to articulating thoughts and ideas. So, if you have a thought or an idea but can't articulate it, does it even exist? Well, does it?

I would say no, it does not.

Your thought or idea is like that lone tree falling in the woods. A tremendous fall with no one around to hear, doesn't make a sound (or perhaps makes a sound but, is not heard). Just like a tremendous idea, with no one around to adopt, to leverage, or to drive, does not exist.


There are numerous articles and books written about ideation. There is no shortage of books and articles espousing processes on how to spark the creative process. Read those but, do not stop there. Make sure you read the books, articles, and blogs that explain how to best convey your idea.

This all reminds me, I had a pretty neat thought pop into my head just now. Wanna hear it? Once you hear it, then it will become real.

PS - A great book I would recommend on how to communicate and sell your ideas/thoughts is from a professor I used to work with, John Daly at the University of Texas, at Austin. Advocacy: Championing Ideas and Influencing Others.

Awaiting the Reply Anxiety (try to not panic - and then teach us how)

Did they get the message? Yes, they did because you can see it has been read. Good. Now you can move on to...wait...

wait...there it is. The "they are typing back" notification. You wait for the reply... .... .... .... you wait for the reply... ... ... ...

...they are still typing back. Should you type something more?  Do you just wait it out? .... .... .... ....

Oh my...they are STILL typing. They have a lot to say... this seems pretty serious. It must be!

Now the anxiety sets in. Anxiety eventually leading to potential world-altering assumptions.

This is not anxiety stemming from what the reply is. This is anxiety stemming from what the reply might be or might not be.

Perhaps the old saying, "if you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all," should be updated to, "if you have nothing to say, then don't attempt to say anything."


This would save us all the anxiety of awaiting the reply, of not knowing, and then dreading the typing that never will end, attached to the message that just won't send.

Try to not panic. It probably isn't too serious. It is probably nothing. No reason to get worked up.

Never mind, they stopped typing. I guess it wasn't important.

... ... ... ... Or was it?

OK, now I'm worried. 

Not afraid of change, just uncertain (maybe anxious)

2019 is here and change is coming. Now hold on, I'm not talking about all kinds of change across all categories. I'm specifically talking about technology change. Lifestyle-altering technology change. Don't believe me? Check out all the buzz at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.

So are you ready to sit back and relax in a driver-less vehicle? Are you ready to have bio-engineered children or grandchildren? Are you ready to integrate AI into your life? Have AI make decisions for you and your loved ones? Well...are you?

Did you hesitate a bit answering "yes" to any of these questions? Why did you hesitate? Have a few more questions? Not sure? A bit uncertain?

You might say you welcome change but, all change all the time? It is alright to admit that you get nervous about change.

2019 might be a year where the pace of technological change moves faster than your or any one person's desire to change and adopt, learn, and embrace all that is technologically new and life-style altering. Regardless, change is coming.

By the way, wanna take a ride in my flying car?
Don't worry, it drives itself!
No?
Well..maybe next year I can ride in yours.

It is not a resolution. It is just a good starting point.

I don't like New Year's resolutions.We should encourage these behavioral changes throughout the entire year and not just based on an arbitrary annual reflection period. Agreed? Good. Oh, but when to start? Now, today, tomorrow, this weekend, next month? The power of procrastination reaches us all.

So let's be honest with ourselves, the start of the new year is not about making any formal resolutions. It is not a single point in time that forces reflection, bringing clarity to your faults and future that guide your actions. You've known for some time what you will (or need to) start doing. Maybe you've known for a short time - maybe a long long time. Either way, January 1st is that good starting point. What will you start doing?

Notice I didn't ask what will you change? Don't change. Don't create new year's resolutions that imply you need to change. Instead, start doing something new.

Now I realize I said I don't like new year resolutions but, here I am on the cusp of a great starting point to get back to writing this blog again. So here I a go. Thank you January 1st. You sure make for a good time to start doing something (again).

Happy New Year!
(I think I will start saying Happy New Year a bit more, also)