How to Broadcast Live Your Product Launch with Streaming Video

One of the most popular modern business uses for streaming is to broadcast live product launch videos. As many corporations are discovering, this is a great way to build buzz around a new product release. A live streaming release event can also be a great boost to the sales and momentum of a product and can become a social gathering in its own right.

In this article, we’re going to discuss how to broadcast live product launches. This process involves multiple steps. First, we’ll look at the business case for these events. Next, we’ll discuss a case study, and then turn to a discussion of planning and marketing your event. Finally, we’ll discuss some technical details. Let’s get started with a look at the business case to stream live product launches!

The business case for live product launches

Why would a business choose to put on a large, expensive event to launch its product? It’s all about standing out, of course. We live in a world of new product inundations on a daily basis. Every single day hundreds of new product designs are released. Some of these are fantastic products, and yet they still fail. The reason? Marketing.

It makes sense to spend lavishly to broadcast live a product launch because, if done right, these events can build invaluable buzz around your products. Thought leaders will extol your new design. News agencies and blogs will cover it. Friends will discuss it. That’s all free advertising, and it’s much more valuable (and believable!) than the paid kind.

The benchmark: Apple live events

Let’s take a look at a case study of live product launches. For the past decade or more, Apple has set the standard for effective live streaming product launches. Their iconic events, held in the Bay Area several times per year, attract the top tech journalists from around the world. The day after these events, front-page news coverage (at least in business papers) is almost inevitable.

This is partly because Apple is the largest tech company in the world. Still, the success of their broadcast live product launch events is due, in large part, to their incredibly effective marketing.

For example, take a look at this TED Talk from Nancy Duarte. She models her method of effective public speaking on two figures: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Steve Jobs. That’s how legendary these events have become. They’re the standard to which all other live streaming product launches are compared.

What makes an Apple product launch so effective when broadcast live?

Three elements make Apple’s product launch streams so effective.

First, the product is excellent. That’s their foundation and beyond the scope of this article. Second, the delivery is scripted and masterfully crafted for maximum impact. Crucially, the focus is on people. For example, the big question they always tackle is, “What can this product do for you?” Thirdly, the marketing around the event is carefully managed to create hype. Leaks are contained, the mystery is encouraged, and excitement is cultivated. Teasers abound!

How to broadcast live product launch via streaming

Apple may be larger in scale than most operations, but companies of any size can benefit from live streaming product releases. It does, however, require some effort. After all, your products aren’t going to sell themselves. Let’s look at a few elements of broadcast live product launch videos that make them highly effective.

Planning out your event

For starters, live product launch events must be well planned. You want to choreograph the entire event. We recommend scripting your event thoroughly.

Part of a successful event is what happens before the cameras even start rolling. How professional does the event appear? Are there excited, engaged company spokespeople willing to engage with the crowd? Can you bring in guest speakers to advocate for your brand?

To take a page from Apple’s book, incorporate different people from the different aspects of the product process. Software, engineering, and design staff can each speak to their philosophies and the work that went into the product. Business leadership can talk about what this product can do for you.

Test out your scripts beforehand on a small trial audience to get a real sense of your presentation’s effectiveness. Plan to revise at least three or four times.

Another element you can plan out beforehand are pre-recorded videos. Apple uses these very effectively in their events. Pre-recorded content can stand alone, serving as advertising material in its own right. In the flow of a live event, however, a video can spice things up. Professional production quality can truly make your product stand out.

Event flow

All of the previous considerations can fall under the heading of event flow. Experienced event planners will consider every portion of the event. From the moment participants walk in the door (or visit your event web page), they’re in your purview. Every detail, from color-coding to the comments section, should be planned in advance to ensure a smooth flow.

Marketing and building buzz

Building excitement around your event requires a plan. For effective product releases, consider developing a content marketing strategy. You should also consider visual elements, such as decor and pre-event marketing.

Additionally, you should develop a visual theme. Bring in your graphic designers and select colors to accompany your marketing and events. Stick to this theme in your social media, email newsletters, websites, and physical event spaces. Mirror this theme in the UI or theme of your product.

To further build buzz around your live event, consider the following ideas:

• Tease your release on social media
• Release selected rumors to industry journalists or thought leaders
• Consider advertising for your live event or release date
• Send direct invitations to influential individuals and journalists

Product demos and pre-orders

After your live event, one of the most important considerations is how to capitalize on the excitement you generate. Ideally, products should be available for actual purchase at the time of the event. This is a great way to make your audience happy.

Arguably, the second-best way to do this is through pre-orders. Pre-orders are a win-win. They allow customers to satisfy their immediate urge to take action. At the same time, pre-orders help you to capitalize on that excitement and maximize revenue. Pre-orders are an essential element of effective live events.

We also recommend holding a few hands-on product demos for attendees at your physical event. Consider live-streaming some of these interactions and tests as well.

Additionally, you should create a dedicated landing page for your new product. You can host this on your own website, or you could use professional services to help you create a new dedicated site.

To further stimulate sales, you can send promos to everyone who watched your live event. This is especially easy if you gather email addresses during the broadcast with some sort of registration form, pop-over, or other prompt.

Technical implementation to broadcast live product launch videos

Beyond a great product, revenue stream, and marketing plan, you’ll actually need a live streaming setup. Broadcasting live video stream does require at least a bit of setup time and investment. Today, however, live streaming is easier than ever before. Most professional-grade venues have sufficient internet speeds to stream in full HD quality. Beyond this, you’ll need a software or hardware encoder and the staff to operate it. You can also check out our articles on the best encoding software settings if you’d like to learn more. Finally, you’ll need some cameras and the necessary audio equipment to record excellent audio quality.

This is an extremely rapid overview of the technical needs for live streaming. Consult the Dacast blog to learn more about live streaming. Our archives include hundreds of topics and tutorials, and we add new material often.

Selecting a live streaming service provider

Another key element of live streaming is an Online Video Platform (OVP). YouTube is one example of an OVP, but it’s a consumer-grade platform. Live streaming with YouTube is possible, businesses will generally need to choose a professional Youtube Live alternative to meet their needs. Facebook live streaming is similarly deficient, particularly for businesses and larger-scale operations.

A better alternative is professional, dedicated video streaming platforms such as Dacast. Platforms like this make it simple to enact security measures, restrict access to live streams, monetize your content, or simply embed streams with only your branding in the video. And those are only a few of the features you can access with a professional streaming solution like Dacast.

Conclusion

Streaming product releases can be a great business decision. It’s possible to generate buzz and excitement with streaming that just isn’t possible to create with a simple press release or web post.

However, it’s not an easy process. An effective product launch stream requires planning, preparation, a good product, and technical know-how. Our goal in this article is to introduce you to the topic of streaming video for product launches, and to the equipment and services necessary for this undertaking. With this in mind, you should be able to live stream relatively easily—and hopefully boost your business operations as well!

Have you ever done live streaming in business? How about live streaming for product releases or demos? We’d love to hear from you! We welcome any comments, questions, or feedback on this article. It’s great to engage with the video community around these subjects and further our knowledge as well as yours. For regular tips on live streaming, as well as exclusive offers, we also invite you to join our LinkedIn group.

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Thanks for reading, and good luck with your broadcast live product launches.

By Max Wilbert.