Tiffany Nels is a visionary in the world of marketing and communications with experience spanning from dynamic start-ups to Fortune 500 giants. During her 20-year career, she has established herself as a trusted expert in crafting strategic communications, building powerful brands and driving revenue through innovative marketing programs. Her portfolio features contributions to renowned brands such as Miro, SolarWinds, Lifesize and pcOrder.com.
With so much talent to draw inspiration from, I couldn’t wait to interview Nels for our Marketing Insights from Executives series. Throughout our conversation, she graciously guided me through the strategies she loves, likes and those she advises against when it comes to leading a successful product or company launch through a communications lens. In the following sections, we’ll explore valuable insights that can serve as your guide to replicating Nels’ accomplishments.
Love It: Use the Triple D Framework – Drive, Define and Derail for Powerful Campaign Messaging
One of Nels’ favored strategies revolves around her distinct perspective on shaping conversations in the marketplace. She understands that echoing the same message as everyone else won’t capture your audience’s attention. To stand out, she advocates focusing on what she refers to as the “Triple D Framework” a trio of strategies to create significant marketplace attention.
When embarking on a product or company launch with her team, Nels poses these three questions:
- Can we define the conversation? Nels challenges her team to explore whether they can initiate a new discussion where none currently exists. By pioneering fresh conversations, they can cut through the noise in the market and garner attention.
- Can we drive the conversation? Nels and team look for opportunities to push forward existing conversations. If a conversation is stagnant at its starting point, they aim to advance it significantly. The key here is introducing something truly distinctive and game-changing, propelling the conversation forward in a substantial way.
- Can we derail the conversation? She encourages her team to identify areas where they can introduce controversy into an existing conversation. By redefining traditional thoughts, opinions or approaches and proposing innovative ways of thinking about the problem, they aim to disrupt the status quo.
Importantly, Nels and her team adhere to a critical rule: If they cannot articulate how their current storyline aligns with one of these three conversation-shaping strategies—defining, driving or derailing—they return to the drawing board.
As a case in point, Nels has applied this strategy at Miro, where they aimed to create fresh positioning and messaging centered around the concept of driving innovation by helping companies become more agile, intelligent and efficient in their product and service development processes.
The process included an in-depth evaluation of the existing conversations about innovation:
- Define: Nels and her team ruled out this angle, recognizing that the marketplace was already brimming with discussions about building innovative organizations and cultures.
- Derail: When first discussed, it seemed that there wasn’t much controversial terrain in the realm of innovation.
- Drive: Initially, Nels and her team opted for the “Drive” angle.
They engaged 10,000 information workers and 2,000 decision-makers in a survey to explore the impediments to innovation within companies. The survey unveiled a significant undercurrent of fear surrounding innovation. Armed with this critical insight, Nels and her team switched gears to “derail” the conversation by asserting that while many champion the virtues of innovation, they do not embrace it due to a fear of failure.
This compelling narrative was bolstered by regional market data extracted from the global survey, which they used in press releases. The concept garnered substantial media attention, resulting in bylines, and contributed articles. To further the message, they developed a presentation for a roadshow, shedding light on how Miro addresses the issue of fear and organizational hurdles in innovation. Nels and her team continued to fuel the momentum with eBooks and nurturing campaigns, maintaining the message’s presence in the market.
Nels’ expertise in shaping and driving conversations in the marketplace has significantly impacted her product launches, creating compelling narratives that resonate with the target audience and drive success.
Like it: Embrace Data and Research to Reinforce Your Narrative
Nels suggests integrating data into messaging. This strategy shows audiences how they are connected to the problem your product addresses and emphasizes the product’s significance in offering a solution.
The method of data gathering and research could involve collaboration with a third party or an internal initiative. Internal stakeholders can formulate pertinent questions, which can be distributed as polls or surveys for the community to participate in online. The advantage of incorporating a third-party analyst is the added layer of credibility and weight to the significance of research results. This external validation reinforces the legitimacy of the findings, making them more compelling. Ultimately, the method chosen for data gathering and research should align with your objectives for the product launch and the specific data you wish to compile.
Once compelling data is ready to share, turn to a group of “defenders.” Defenders are influential figures in your target audience who resonate with the company’s message and product positioning. These influencers can significantly amplify the product launch narrative. Collaboration with defenders can take various forms, ranging from a simple quote for a press release to more significant participation in presentations for tradeshows or webinars. By harnessing their authority and credibility, you extend the reach and impact of the research findings.
Leave It: Avoid Distracting Your Audience from the Product’s Value with Short-Term Sparkle
There’s a fine line between sparking immediate attention and fostering lasting value. Nels shared a cautionary tale from a previous launch that serves as an example of the challenges that can arise when short-term spectacle overshadows long-term product value.
With the goal of driving tradeshow foot traffic to highlight the latest version of a product, the team decided to spice things up by auctioning off a coveted Harley Davidson motorcycle. The result was undeniable – it generated an enormous amount of interest and leads. Yet, as the dust settled post-launch, reality set in. Despite the tremendous awareness and attention gained at the tradeshow, the revenue targets were not met.
Nel’s key takeaway from this experience was crystal clear: avoid incorporating spectacles that distract from the core value the product provides. As she puts it, “When there is a big-ticket giveaway item that has no connection to the value that product provides, it’s just there for spectacle and tilts the launch away from the long-term value of the product.”
Nel’s wisdom extends to a common pitfall in marketing – the tendency to overemphasize creativity in a bid to capture attention, often at the expense of the fundamental goals that underpin the launch. As she emphasizes, “As marketers, we sometimes over-index on creativity trying to get attention and lose sight of the core outcome that we are trying to achieve.”
Nels’ experience reminds us that while catching the audience’s eye is important, it should not come at the cost of overshadowing the enduring value that your product promises. A compelling product launch should strike a balance between short-term sparkle and long-term substance, steering clear of distractions that might compromise the overall success of the endeavor.
Product Launch Lessons Learned: Insights to Takeaway
Nels’ extensive experience in marketing and product launches unveils a blueprint for success. Her insights emphasize the importance of shaping conversations, leveraging data and influencers, and avoiding short-term distractions. With Nels’ insights, product launch teams can set forth with renewed confidence, knowing they have the tools to captivate, inform and succeed in the competitive world of new product introductions.
With 20+ years of expertise and a history of orchestrating 60+ successful launches, we excel in developing marketing strategies that boost demand, engage prospects and drive revenue growth. Don’t miss the opportunity to benefit from our seasoned team’s insights. Schedule a consultation today and unlock the path to achieving your launch objectives.
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