Impact of Social Media in Product Launches

Introduction'

Social media is an extremely important aspect of the marketing process in the current market. Studies have shown as much, reports have suggested that 74% consumers have a positive image of a company after interacting with it on social media. Additionally, 83% consumers turn around in their negative opinion of a brand if the brand personally interacts with them on social media channels (Funk, 2014). It is evident, then, that new product launches will take the centre stage in social media operations for brands. Bruce et al (2007) discover that new product launches are the drivers behind the success of a company. The purpose of this report is to categorically examine the validity of that statement through the perspective of social media by examining two product launches in the past year for two products which have been launched by Dyson and Tenzing Energy Drinks. The products that this report will be speaking of are Tenzing’s Blackberry and Açai energy drink and Dyson’s Dyson Pure Humidify+Cool. The report will be examining the social media activities that the company used for the launch of these two products respectively and try to understand what were their strengths and weakness with respect to the approach that was used.

Presentation of Main Findings

This section will primarily look at the social media strategy which is being followed by Tenzing and Dyson in the social media marketing of their brand, in an attempt to asses the effectiveness of their strategies.

2.1 Background

The beverage company Tenzing is based on the ideal of making energy drinks which are plant based, taking from the knowledge of the Tibetan Himalayan group of Sherpas (tenzingnaturalenergy.com). An important ideal at the centre of the brand is sustainability and usage of healthier ingredients than the average energy drink

Dyson, a company predominantly known for air purifiers, vacuum cleaners and hair drying/styling machinery, works with the ideal of lean engineering. Sustainability and environmental concerns are also a part of their company ideal (dyson.co.uk).

2.2 Product and Social Media Activities

The products that will be discussed in this section are the Tenzing Blackberry and Açaí drink and the Dyson Pure Humidify+Cool, both of which were launched in April last year (instagram.com; dyson.co.uk).

2.2.1 Tenzing Blackberry and Açaí: Since this is a relatively new brand which seeks to compete with the likes of Red Bull and other energy drinks, the team is focused on building the products as they believe they are the healthiest choice in energy drinks (marketingweek.com).

The launch of the new product was accompanied by Instagram and Facebook posts, although the posts were made on different days. The Instagram post was made on the 24th of April and the Facebook post was made on the 27th of April (instagram.com, facebook.com). On Twitter, there was no mention of the product launch and the Twitter account of the brand seems mostly empty (twitter.com).

The accounts by the company suggest that the marketing initiative is based on the development of the product instead of marketing strategies. However, research has shown that the innovative quality and relative advantage of the product aren’t the only factors which advantage a certain brand, there needs to be a transparent mode of

communicating why that product is advantageous over others (Langerak et al, 2002; Henard and Szymanski, 2001).

On their Facebook page, as evident by figure 1, the product launch was accompanied by a challenge, the winners of which would get the first taste of the drink.

2.2.2 Dyson Pure Humidify+Cool: The product was launched by Dyson in the month of April, 2020. The product was launched at a pertinent time, when concern was high over the pandemic. The social media marketing done by the company focused heavily on that purpose, reiterating on the purifying and humidifying aspect of the product in the very initial posts about the product (instagram.com).

With regards to Facebook, it appeared that the company updates on new products was slower to reach, as compared to Instagram. The first post which was made about the Humidifier+Purifier did not reach Facebook until the 23rd June, almost two months after the official launch of the product (facebook.com). However, there are certain central problems with the manner in which the Dyson facebook page is handled, as comments below their posts have multiple consumers expressing concerns or complaining about the Dyson products that they’ve bought. Such comments below new product launch posts

Commenters could come across as the company not caring for its customers and non-response towards negative feedback.

3. Analysis and Evaluations

This particular section will comparatively evaluate the relative advantages and disadvantages that the companies possess in terms of their social media strategies and how they can improve further in the process.

3.1 Advantages: Tenzing and Dyson

The companies have understood the importance of social media marketing and the fact that a successful marketing campaign can be launched only through the usage of social media, hence they advertised on multiple social media accounts (Gupta and Gupta, 2014). The usage of Instagram and Facebook, majorly, will prove beneficial for the popularity of these two products. This is because the platforms allow individuals to send products pages and posts to each other, tag people and comment on the page to directly interact with the brand. This engagement is beneficial to the marketing strategy of the product (Ainin et al, 2015). The usage of a competition to promote Tenzing will allow customers to feel like they are a part of the launch process (Nahai, 2012). Similarly, the launch timing of the Dyson product came at an opportune time for the brand. This is because the advent of COVID in 2020 prompted researchers to take a closer look at co-morbidities and conditions which could aid in the transmission of the disease, and it was discovered that cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases which cause by pollution are responsible for the disease (Pozzer et al, 2020). In the light of these growing health concerns, Dyson launched an air purifier, cooler and humidifier which would be useful for all seasons and also make the air sanitary inside the home. The same can be said about Tenzing, as surveys in 2020 revealed that due to the advent of the pandemic, more and more people are becoming health conscious about themselves and taking care to eat and drink healthier. A survey revealed that among those who were surveyed, 73% answered that to improve their immunity and general health, they have planned to change their diet (newfoodmagazine.com). In the light of this, Tenzing’s all-natural and low sugar energy drink provides a welcome change to consumers.

3.2 Disadvantages: Tenzing and Dyson

Tenzing possesses a Twitter account, which has 144 followers, but the page doesn’t follow anyone. Additionally, the page only has one post which redirects the user towards its Instagram page. There has not been adequate usage of Twitter for the publicity of its brand or its new launch, and one of the most important platforms for publicity by the company remains unused, as Twitter boasts around 187 million users globally (twitter.com, statistic.com).

Additionally, the non-engagement of Dyson with its page commenters leaves something to be desired in the marketing strategy of the company. Many users make use of the launch post of the product to complain about the previous products and/or the lack of service from the company. This leaves a bad impression in the minds of the first time consumer and discourages them from buying the product which has been launched (facebook.com). Additionally, negative comments like the ones which users leave on the product page of the launch can work as negative peer reviewing or spread negative word-of-mouth reviews; word-of-mouth reviews have a bigger influence on the buying patterns of the consumers than the reports by the company does (Shu-Chuan and Kim, 2011).

Hence, there is much left to be desired in the product launch strategies for both these companies, when it comes to the launching of new and innovative products.

Total number of words (excluding references): 1474

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