1. Share In The Conversation
October 30, 2010
Anatomy of a Product Launch
What we can learn from Rocket Science
Douglas Johnson

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2 Anatomy of a Launch – Douglas Johnson

3. 3 Anatomy of a Launch – Douglas Johnson

4. Launch - Tubeless Toilet Paper
• biggest change in 100 years
• test launch at Walmart in
Northeast
• $9 billion market
• 17 B tubes annually in US =
160 MM lbs of trash
• special winding process
• potential for paper towels
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5. Launch Profile Drivers
Launches vary widely by industry
• Innovation frequency
• Asset vs. technology driven industry
• Product liability (e.g. software vs. drug)
• Life cycle for products (consumed vs. durable)
• Installed base adoption rate
• Switching costs
• Market size
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6. Launch Phases
• Prelaunch
• Lift Off
• Early Ascent
• Throttled Ascent
• Full Throttle Ascent
• Orbital Insertion
• Sustainable Orbit
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7. Where do Launches fit in?
Corporate Business Plan
Integrated Marketing Plan
Product Marketing Plan
Product Launch Plan
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8. Prelaunch
• Product ready – 4P’s
• Launch objective
• Strategy and type
• Launch team assembly
• Schedule & milestones
• Metrics & tools
• Securing resources
• Problem resolution
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9. Plan for Contingencies
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10. Lift Off
• Prelaunch complete
• Day One availability
• Full commitment
• Team fully engaged
• Resources engaged
• Metrics start
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11. Early Ascent
• Beyond the launch
customer(s)
• First snapshot of health of
launch
• Attention turns to longer
term process of ascent
• Challenge: stay focused
• Watch for anomalies
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12. Throttled Ascent
• Assessing launch
progress
• Validating a priori
assumptions
• Potential corrections
• Power down vs. Power
up
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13. Full Throttle Ascent
• Monitoring of progress
• Validation of
corrections - metrics
• Continued team
commitment
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14. Orbital Insertion
• End of launch phase in
sight
• Progress in adoption
and market share
• Larger adjustments
now possible
• Follow on possibilities
• Increasing market
feedback
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15. Sustainable Orbit
• Launch completed
• Marketing and Sales
now in total control
• Life cycle orientation
• Sustainable pipeline
• Launch post mortem
• Launch team prepares
for next launch
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16. About the Author
Douglas Johnson
Doug is a business builder, leveraging his marketing and
business development expertise to drive organization-
wide strategic initiatives that deliver on corporate
growth and profitability -- bringing innovative
technologies to market and establishing new lines of
business through cross-functional teams. He has held a
variety of key positions with a number of Fortune 500
companies.
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17. Contact Info
• Douglas Johnson
• djjohnson@earthlink.net
• 919.308.5288
• www.linkedin.com/in/douglasjjohnson
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18. Thank you to our sponsors:
18 Anatomy of a Launch – Douglas Johnson