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Even the most high-performing product, perfectly aligned with market needs, can die in its infancy without an appropriate communication strategy. Every day, compelling value propositions go unnoticed amidst the ambient marketing noise.
To sell, it’s not enough to be right—you must make it known. True, going silent isn’t an option. But bombarding the target audience with content from all directions is also unsustainable, both financially and reputationally.
The key to effective communication lies in the right mix of marketing formats: display ads that catch the eye, advertorials that demonstrate expertise, and email marketing that whispers to prospects… each format plays its part in driving conversion. This will be the topic of the second episode in this series on launching new B2B offers!
Is it essential to start with evangelization?
This communication (or pre-communication) strategy involves raising awareness and educating the market about a concept, technology, or innovative approach before promoting the offer. It sets the stage for future adoption by helping the target audience become aware of the problem and its impact on their business.
Evangelization is not necessary when launching an offer in a mature market where needs are already well-established and understood. If your product simply provides an incremental improvement to an existing solution, you can move directly to traditional promotion. Additionally, if your product addresses an urgent and obvious need for your target market (even if it is based on innovation), evangelization could unnecessarily slow down market penetration.
On the other hand, you will likely need to go through the evangelization phase in the following cases:
- Your offer meets a latent need or creates a new market. Example: before the advent of the Cloud, few companies recognized the limitations of their on-premise IT infrastructures.
- You are launching a disruptive technology in a conservative sector. Example: blockchain in the financial sector—early adopters had to provide education (even simplification) about the technology before any marketing considerations;
- Your solution requires a paradigm shift or a significant change in habits. Example: before the pandemic, companies offering remote work solutions had to evangelize the benefits in terms of productivity, cost savings, and employee well-being.
- You are targeting an uninitiated audience in a complex field. Example: cybersecurity for small business owners.
Whether your new offer requires an effort to simplify or not, you will need to activate the right communication levers to support its launch. Which ones?
#1 Advertorials: A dense and “serious” form of communication
An advertorial is a native sponsored content piece that looks like an editorial article while being identified as “paid content.” It blends seamlessly with the media’s content, both visually and in writing.
Typically, it is a detailed piece (800 to 1,500 words), offering a 4- to 8-minute read, starting with an informative tone and gradually becoming moderately promotional.
This communication lever is generally essential when the new offer requires evangelization or an effort to provide context. It’s also a smart choice for companies aiming to position themselves as experts or leaders in their industry.
What are the advantages?
- Targeted and known audience, already engaged with the specialized media;
- Credibility and legitimacy through association with the media, if it is well-respected in your industry;
- Relatively long format that allows you to develop a line of reasoning and provide value to the reader;
- Natural integration into the media’s content flow (which generally improves click-through rates);
- Opportunity to benefit from a high-quality link to your website, originating from an authoritative media outlet.
#2 Display Ads: For Awareness and Discovery Phase
Display ads are visual advertisements that appear on websites, mobile apps, and social media. They can be static or animated banners, short videos, interactive content, etc. The elements are strategically placed in predefined spots on web pages frequented by your target audience.
In the context of communicating about your new offer, Display ads are particularly useful in the awareness and discovery phase. They allow you to make an initial visual contact with your potential audience by presenting a single key message about your product: teasing the launch, announcing availability, highlighting the main advantage that sets it apart from the competition, etc.
The effectiveness of Display ads relies on visual creativity, quality copywriting, and media selection.
What are the advantages?
- Strong visual impact, with a wide range of formats (static banners, animated ads, etc.);
- Contextual targeting, with the ability to place ads on pages directly related to the offer;
- Control over exposure frequency to strike the right balance between memorability and avoiding overexposure;
- Retargeting, with the ability to specifically target people who have already interacted with communication about your new offer;
- Easily measurable performance (impressions, clicks, conversions).
#3 Social Media Formats: The Heart of the Strategy
No serious communication campaign would be complete without social media. The cost-benefit ratio is generally very attractive, especially if your brand already has some “organic” strength. However, this is not a disqualifying criterion, as sponsorship can boost both brand awareness and reach.
The success of a social media campaign to promote a new offer depends on a well-calibrated mix of formats:
- Sponsored Posts: The backbone of any social ads strategy (provided that targeting is refined).
- Sponsored Stories: A lever for urgency and exclusivity, but to be used with caution in B2B.
- Videos, from 15-second teasers to two-minute deep dives, depending on the complexity of the offer. Note: LinkedIn has recently launched a 100% video feed, similar to TikTok;
- Carousels, to showcase different aspects of the new offer or illustrate concrete use cases. ;
- Lead Ads, to bypass the traditional funnel if your audience is ready.
#4 Email Marketing Using Owned and/or Third-Party Lists
The effectiveness of this channel depends on the quality of the available database. You have two complementary options:
- Utilize your owned database to reach prospects and/or clients already familiar with your brand’s ecosystem. The focus here is on precise segmentation and personalization based on the history of each actual or potential account;
- Use a third-party database to reach new segments or leverage the reputation of a partner with a high-intent audience. Opt for content with very high added value to compensate for the target’s lack of familiarity with your brand (if applicable).