New Product Success: Launch and Marketing
Successful new products can enhance the success of an organization, and product introduction is critical to that success. With a failure rate of new products estimated as high as 50% at launch (Cooper and Edgett, 1996), new product launch strategies are critical to new product success; or, as Delre, et.al., (2007) suggest, “the initial phase of market penetration is a critical moment for the future direction of a product. A fast and substantial takeoff can guarantee a competitive advantage.”
As Duquesne University prepared to launch the Master of Science in Sports Leadership (MSSL) program for fall
2006, it was acknowledged that, in order to facilitate diffusion and reach enrollment targets, pre- and post-launch advertising messages that both appealed to as well as reached the potential students had to be developed and placed.
Delre et. al. (2007) acknowledge the complexity and unpredictability of promotional planning, noting that “the optimal targeting strategy as well as the right timing for promotional mass media campaigns remain unclear.” Recognizing these challenges, the MSSL program launch committee was charged with identifying an optimal promotional strategy.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The MSSL program uses quantitative measurement to assess the attainment of stated objectives of particular advertising campaigns. In terms of true advertising effectiveness, measurement of website hits following ad drops can be considered a measure of desired behavior by the target audience. Subsequent student applications are another measure of behavior, and, as such, equate with sales. Bendixen (1993) suggests that actual product sales, or “surrogate variables such as market share” are the only true measure of the behavioral stage of communication, such that
“advertising effectiveness measurement is concerned with the quantitative description and interpretation of the advertising sales response function.” While
As Duquesne University prepared to launch the Master of Science in Sports Leadership (MSSL) program for fall
2006, it was acknowledged that, in order to facilitate diffusion and reach enrollment targets, pre- and post-launch advertising messages that both appealed to as well as reached the potential students had to be developed and placed.
Delre et. al. (2007) acknowledge the complexity and unpredictability of promotional planning, noting that “the optimal targeting strategy as well as the right timing for promotional mass media campaigns remain unclear.” Recognizing these challenges, the MSSL program launch committee was charged with identifying an optimal promotional strategy.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The MSSL program uses quantitative measurement to assess the attainment of stated objectives of particular advertising campaigns. In terms of true advertising effectiveness, measurement of website hits following ad drops can be considered a measure of desired behavior by the target audience. Subsequent student applications are another measure of behavior, and, as such, equate with sales. Bendixen (1993) suggests that actual product sales, or “surrogate variables such as market share” are the only true measure of the behavioral stage of communication, such that
“advertising effectiveness measurement is concerned with the quantitative description and interpretation of the advertising sales response function.” While