What I learned from launching products together with Google at CES.

Before we start, a little primer: This guide is meant for both small and large companies, but not for micro-startups operating out of garages (or living rooms). You need to have some funding or budget to enable what I’ve listed below.

However, you might be on your way there, and it’s always good to be prepared. Since we’ve got that out of the way, please read, comment, and let me know how you can make your CES launch a success! Also, make sure to read till to leave a comment to get your CES project tracker template.

My team and I have launched some of the most innovative tech products at CES and other global tech events, including Google & Lenovo’s first standalone Daydream VR headset, one of the first VR180 cameras, a new generation of Smart Displays with Google Assistant as well as some amazing products together with Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Disney.

Our products have won over 50 industry awards and accolades from major tech publications such as Engadget and The Verge.

I thought I’d share a bit on some essential items to consider when launching a product or technology at CES (or any other major tech trade shows).

It all starts with your objective(s). What are your goals for participating in CES? After all, it’s an investment of your time and money, and therefore comes with opportunity costs. Only once you are clear on your objectives and see a real ROI does it makes sense participating.

Each individual product and company will have its own objectives. But if you are not sure, here’s a primer:

Good: Position XYZ as the world’s first ____

Better: Be recognized as a leader for [fill in your product/ solution] in the [name your industry/ market segment] by [your target audience(s).

Write these down and list them in order of importance. Keep it brief, and don’t try to achieve too much. Ideally, you would have one primary objective and then two to three secondary ones.

All your objectives should have relevant metrics attached to them. Avoid vanity metrics such as the number of likes for social campaigns that you might run during the event, the total number of mentions (only Tier 1 and 2 publications really matter) or the sheer number of sales meetings but track your whole sales funnel and see how many CES engagements let to deals. Once you are clear on objectives as well as how to measure them and have aligned you’re your stakeholders, it’s time to build a plan on how to achieve these targets. Your plan should provide an overview of strategy and tactics, include such necessary details as costs involved, resources needed (including personnel, a timeline, activity calendar that shows the sequence of actions, creative assets (such as product photography) and logistics notes). Usually, this sort of document is referred to as a playbook.

Your playbook is the one and only document that lists all essential details, and it’s extremely important to maintain version control and manage circulation to ensure that every stakeholder always has the latest version at hand.

Ideally, you would put the document on the Cloud and update it whenever needed and only circulate the access link.

You might have a second condensed version that’s for executives only. That’s fine — just make sure that the document is continually updated.

So let’s take a closer look at the items important for your success at CES.

The choice is yours: Venue options

Depending on your objectives and your budget, you may have multiple options to choose from as your CES venue. First of all, you don’t need to have a booth on the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). Quite a few large brands opt out and rent alternative venues:

Rent a suite or meeting room at one of the CES hotels (there are many, but you want to make sure it’s convenient for journalists to get to). A lot of companies use the Renaissance hotel opposite of the LVCC. Other popular choices on the Las Vegas Boulevard (aka The Strip) include the Wyn and Venetian Hotels. Both are more expensive and are about 10 min away by taxi from the LVCC.

Another alternative is to rent out a restaurant such as at the Venetian Hotel. These places can be remodeled to a certain extent to fit your product showcase/demos and meeting spaces, and of course, to host a press event or evening function. None these options are all that cheap (it’s Vegas, after all), but depending on the size of the booth you had your sights on, it could be still more economical than having a presence at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Time is 💰

Another critical item to consider is whether you need to have a presence (outside of the LVCC) for the entire four days of CES. The fourth day is usually comparatively quiet, with many senior journalists and industry veterans leaving on the third day or even earlier. So why stick around when you can achieve your objective in three days or less?

Regardless of the duration of your CES activities and location, you should have all these settled months in advance to grab the space you want on the best possible terms. But if you are reading this now (right after I published it), you are around two months (or less) away from CES 2020. While timing is not on your side, you can still make it work. You’ll just have fewer options at likely a higher cost.

The right way to PR (or at least one way)

For many (if not most) large brands, publicity is the №1 objective of CES. There’s nothing better than having the most respected tech media outlets write favorably (if things go well) about what your company’s been cooking up for months, if not years.

It’s like rocket fuel at the start of your calendar year. Of course, that’s easier said than done, and getting there requires a great product, established (ideally) relationships with press and a plan, along with well-prepped press materials.

And again, this all starts by having your objectives in mind. What do you want out of engaging with the press at CES? This requires a bit of a reality check, which I will get to later.

In general, you will probably want either or all of the below:

1. To get (very) positive coverage about your product
2. To get in-depth reviews of your product (introduced/showcased at CES)
3. To build thought leadership for yourself, your clients, or senior management.

How to get there:

First: Start planning early (ideally three months in advance as a rule of thumb). Don’t expect any attendance commitments to your event, product demo, party, etc. that much in advance, though.

Make a list of media you want to reach, and check if you actually have the connections to reach them. If you don’t have the media relationships you need, consider hiring someone or an agency that can give you this access. Cold calls and ad-hoc tactics will not work at this point, considering the fierce competition for media attention during this time, and it can easily backfire unless you have the hottest thing since sliced bread.

Once you have your list of target media, build a plan on engagement tactics, which could include a press conference, pre-press briefings, NDA briefings, press releases, and other media assets.

All of the above can be combined, but keep in mind that everything needs dedication, time, and budget to execute. Sometimes, less is more, and a well-made plan should inform what you need and tell you what may be redundant.

Now that have your plan, it’s time to prepare your media collateral, including:

Media Invites for NDA press briefings. Your announcement needs to be sent well in advance (at least a month) along with all the important facts (when and where) while triggering interest.

Press Releases include links to a press kit (e.g., product images and videos). Make sure that everything is short and concise, aligned with your overall objective, and clear.

Media FAQs (for internal use) lists all talking points and (potential) frequently asked questions and distribute to everyone that might interact with the press during the launch to ensure all responses are aligned.

Pitch Documents will be sent to the media to solicit interviews and other forms of coverage.

Media Briefs for executive spokespersons, including timing, location, and anything else the interviewee needs to know to prepare for a media interview.

All of the above can be combined, but keep in mind that all needs dedication, time, and budget to execute. Sometimes less is more, and a well-made plan should inform you what is needed and what might be redundant.

Now, once you have your plan, it’s time to prepare all your media collateral, including:

Media Invites for NDA Press Briefing, Announcement whatever it is has to be sent well in advance (at least a month) and state all the important facts (when and where) as well as trigger interest.

Press Release including links to various media to support the press release (e.g., product images and videos). Make sure that everyone is short and concise, aligned with your overall objective and clear.

Product(s) Spec Sheet that lists down all relevant specs.

Media FAQ (for internal use) make sure that you have a file that lists talking points and (potential) frequently asked questions and distribute it to everyone that might interact with media during the launch to make sure responses are aligned.

Pitch document that will be sent to media to get interviews and other forms of coverage.

Media Briefs for Executives including timing, location and anything else the interview attendee needs to know to be prepared for a media interview

Your Product Demo

If you are announcing a new product, it becomes a lot more powerful and real if it’s ready and working (for at least selected media and partners) versus a mockup only. Even if it’s limited to a certain set of features. However, you should not compromise on the experience. If the product is not ready and could fail or does not live up to the hype yet, it’s better to use a dummy and use alternative formats like a video for your product presentation.

Based on your product readiness, you decide on how you plan to showcase or demo your product. If you have a booth or another rented space, will it be accessible for all attendees from the morning to the afternoon/ early evening (the CES show floor is open from 9 am — 4 pm)? Or by invite only with pre-scheduled groups. In any case, you need a plan that lists your demo setup and has a clear script and is not impromptu.

Let’s take a look at the product demo checklist below:

1. Demo Setup (space requirements, hygiene articles, product setup, number of samples needed, the interval to change samples if they are not on charge, security device per sample, and anything else that is necessary for a successful demo). Plan for enough backup devices because if there is one rule that holds true for each and every launch we did was that products broke or malfunctioned in ways you want to keep to yourself.
2. Demo Script for everyone that does a demo to outline what has to be communicated and how to demonstrate each and every feature. There are many ways to structure a demo script, but a good way to captivate is through a specific use case or day-in-a-life study. If needed, it should also include instructions on how to debug. This can be done in text format only but ideally has supporting visuals or videos. As this content is made for internal use, it does not needs to be produced in high resolution, special effects, or there like. The most important thing is that it enables your team to demonstrate the product and answer all the main questions. Since this is an internal asset, make sure that it’s only circulated among your team.
3. As a supporting document or as part of the demo script, I also recommend assembling a FAQ document that answers all questions that likely will come up during a demo.
4. Make sure that everyone who does a demo receives Training on the product and its script. Ideally, all materials are sent out in advance, and you have a dedicated training session. Roleplay sessions are usually a good way to practice the content.

Those assets need version control and should be constantly updated based on feedback by staff (e.g., new FAQs or added demo use cases based on new features).

And since CES is likely not only a one-off, everything that is created can be used to enable other events or sales demos.

Creative Assets

For your creative assets, its important that you include it in the planning for your announcement. Nothing is worse than realizing that you don’t have the right visual or video or EVEN WORSE almost have it, but the product ID changed in the meantime, and that great key visual is now dated and hence completely useless. Therefore always sync your creative asset production efforts with your product manager(s) to make sure you are using the latest (and greatest) product mockups.

Below is a list of creatives that I usually need for an announcement:

Project Management, Staffing & Logistics

The success of your product launch depends to a large extent on the right project management and making sure that every one of the launch team knows what to do, what to deliver, and by when. I haven’t seen any project where plans do not change (at least slightly) along the way. Therefore it’s crucial to cascade info to all stakeholders whenever needed.

There are tons of different project management software out there, and I’m sure you have your preference, but my general guidance is:

Whatever you use, use a solution that is accessible online and can be edited by team members. Sending static documents like Powerpoint presentations or Excel sheets can easily turn into a versioning nightmare (that’s why Office 365 or Googe Docs exists). Use a solution that is dead simple and does not require training, fit all your needs, and can visualize all items without looking cluttered (even if there are 100 or beyond line items to track).

The launch tracker is your life insurance and should ALWAYS BE UPDATED to make sure nothing slips your mind. It should always have an owner for each task and a deadline assigned. I recommend going over it at least once a week with all team members to make sure everyone is closing tasks and any time-critical item that gets approached.

Staffing is extremely important. You want to make sure you have enough people to handle all tasks on site but at the same time, not be overstaffed since Las Vegas is an expansive place. Therefore, make a list of all tasks that need to be tackled along when people have to be there to get those things done. The earlier you get clarity on who is required, the earlier you can have travel arrangements to save costs. You can easily save 25% of travel costs by booking hotels and flights early.

Recap

• Set your Objective(s) and define relevant metrics before you start as it informs all your actions.
• Make sure you track each task and deliverable that you need to have in place for your launch. I’m happy to share a demo tracker for you — just leave me a comment below.
• Keep calm. And just keep prepping. There will be inevitable changes, and it’s part of the whole launch madness (including last-minute changes.

Lastly, enjoy it. CES is where lots of your team’s hard work will be shown to the public. Celebrate this special moment.

PS: Many thanks to great partners at Lenovo, Google, Qualcomm, Disney, Microsoft, and many more who have made our previous launches a big success.