The launch lowdown tackles beauty, blunders and BrewDog
The heatwave is over. People have returned to their default state of half-civility. No longer drowning in sweat, we can now look forward to Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas, and all the lovely bits in-between that’ll no doubt hammer our wallets. Before we cast our eyes over that way, though, it seems like a good time to glance back at some of August’s – let’s say, for the sake of argument, interesting – launches.
BrewDog tries to get saucy, people get salty
It’s been a weird time for BrewDog. The self-proclaimed ‘punk’ brewery – nothing says ‘punk’ like trademarking ‘punk’ for beers, eh – is infamous for its publicity stunts, and shows no signs of toning it down. But this time it’s had to balance inevitable public backlash with, well, plain old misfortune.
Literally one day after launching its ludicrous, OTT, experiential ‘beer hotel’, the Doghouse, disaster struck: the company had to scrap hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of its new Overworks beer due to a bottle malfunction. And then it launched the BrewDog Network: the first ever craft beer streaming TV network.
To tease some of the shows, BrewDog launched a site called Beer Porn. As you do. Parodying adult films, some of the clips held titles like Two Amateurs go Brewdogging, Nerdy Brunette Loves Big Cocktails, and another one that played on the idea of interracial relationships. Hmmm.
So, obviously, it was accused of being misogynistic, transphobic and homophobic. BrewDog removed the site and posted an apology within 24 hours. There’s a line between cheeky and offensive, and BrewDog never seems to learn. It’s a brand full of great ideas – the Doghouse hotel looks amazing, fully experiential from its actual brewery setting to hop-infused toiletries. Likewise, BrewDog Network is a great concept, sadly sullied by its unfortunate preamble and ill-advised launch.
L’Oréal continues quest for world domination… by making your face look nice
Earlier this year, L'Oréal launched a live beauty consultation tool at Cannes. Not content with a successful launch at the year’s premier advertising event, the beauty brand’s teamed up with 2018’s villain-cum-fallen hero-cum-we’re not really sure anymore: Facebook.
L’Oréal and its recently acquired augmented reality platform, Modiface, announced that it is collaborating with Facebook to allow customers to virtually trial beauty products via Facebook Camera. From the former’s enviable brand roster, you’ve got Maybelline, L’Oréal Paris, NYX Professional Makeup, Lancôme, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Urban Decay and Shu Uemura. In case you were wondering.
Launching with a simple teaser video, L’Oréal didn’t need to put in much legwork. Of course, it could’ve opted for a big reveal, à la Cannes. But it didn’t need to. It’s at the forefront of AR innovation when it comes to beauty, and this low-key launch is testament to that. It doesn’t need to make a song and dance, because it is the song and dance. The takeaway is that it’s not really a product/service launch, rather a way of supporting future product launches. Nifty.
Steam TV dribbles rather than streams
BrewDog’s streaming quest was mainly botched by poor judgement, but video game developer Valve’s whoopsy came from an early reveal. Eagle-eyed spectators noticed it had acquired the domain name Steam.tv – naturally, this was a streaming site for Steam, Valve’s digital distribution platform.
Users soon found the site and started asking questions – is this Valve’s answer to Twitch and YouTube Gaming? Anyhow, Steam.tv was in its testing phase - it was sharply removed, and returned soon after. People are using it, it’s going fine, but you can’t help but think how much more of an impact it might’ve made were it kept under wraps until its actual launch date. eSports does massive numbers nowadays and Valve’s very own Dota 2 would’ve been the perfect focus for this launch. It’s a shame, but a stark warning to brands everywhere: anything less than 100% vigilance can dampen the impact of your launch, especially in this hyperconnected world.
Food induces nostalgia so… buy food?
So maybe Tangerine Confectionery launching Barratt’s Halloween Bucket and relaunching its Halloween Bag doesn’t seem like a white-knuckle thrill ride, but you’ve got to look at the wider landscape.
Banking on the 34% increase in spooky sweet sales over the past two years alone, this launch is indicative of where the market’s headed. It’s a sickly, nostalgic affair – the aim is for parents to jump on this, to recreate the Halloween experience they had in their youth, and pass it onto their children. It’s kidulting, it’s an escape, it’s what you do if you don’t fancy dressing up as superheroes or rewatching every episode of The Magic Roundabout.
Despite this growing trend, there’s still not one brand that owns the holiday. But in terms of sector, Halloween undoubtedly belongs to FMCG – alcohol launches always go down a treat around the 31st.
Still… nothing wrong with eating an entire 450g bucket of sweets on your own.
It’s nostalgic, okay? Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Alexis Eyre is head of marketing at launch specialist agency Five by Five