Now that the sheet has finally been pulled off to reveal the current model Phoenix Suns with Shaquille O’Neal, let’s engage in some product launch analysis. (Okay, Kobe, don’t get jealous. If you prefer, you can substitute “Lakers” and “Gasol” accordingly in this exercise…)

What, Shaq and Suns don’t qualify as a product launch?

Admittedly, the CFT (cross-functional team) meetings likely didn’t have strong propeller-head representation, but I assure you that the major stakeholders were in on the launch including sales, marketing, product management and accounting. It’s just that, in this case, some of the titles are different from the usual suspects found at technology concerns. For instance, the “product manager” would be replaced with “coach”.

Launch Clinic does a nice job defining the elements of building a successful product launch plan and much blogging has been done as well, so let’s agree to fast-forward to the salient points for our discussion:

• Objective – To win the NBA Championship.
• Market analysis – The market leader (Spurs) and other competitors (Lakers, Celtics) threatened the Suns’ position in the market.
• Product Requirements – Championship experience (4 rings), toughness (check out the knot on Raja Bell’s head after colliding with Shaq’s elbow), offensive rebounding and defense in the paint (9 boards, two blocked shots) to augment the Suns’s up-tempo offensive pace.
• Budget – $40MM for the two seasons after this one, plus the Suns had to trade away All-Star Shawn Marion
• Lead Generation – Ugh, hello, SportsCenter, anyone?

So, was the launch successful? How should I know – it’s only been one game and, after all, I’m just a marketing schlub. But, I’d bet that the Nielsen ratings for last night’s inaugural game that pitted the new-and-improved Suns against The Big Cactus’ former teammate (Kobe Bryant) and coach (Phil Jackson) were favorable – in spite of the fact that the game was played on a Wednesday and ended around midnight on the East Coast – if, for no other reason, to satisfy the curiosity of whether the Diesel has any fuel left in the tank to keep up with the run-run offense.

On second thought, aren’t most product launches supposed to generate revenue? In that case, it’s likely that the launch of Shaq and the Suns will be a success. Shaq will draw viewership. He’ll put “cheeks in seats”. And he’ll sell team merchandise (Shaq’s was the top-selling jersey in the 2004-5 season, the year he joined the Miami Heat).

Hey, wait a minute, is there any coincidence that the Suns and Launch Clinic are in Phoenix?

When it comes to launching a product or service, successful organizations have figured out that the Launch Manager needs to be a dedicated resource.  Unfortunately this is not the case in many companies that make it part of someone’s existing job responsibilities and dilute the effectiveness of their primary role as well as that of Launch Manager.

Small organizations may feel they don’t have a choice in the matter due to resource constraints.  However, this is a shortsighted view of a very important initiative.  Customers don’t magically arrive at your doorstep as soon as the product is completed. Having a dedicated Launch Manager frees them to evaluate a wide range of options in order to maximize launch momentum and generate revenue quicker.  A part-time resource just won’t have the bandwidth to cover all the bases.

On the other hand, an organization may not be able to justify a full-time resource on their payroll if they are launching one product (or new version) per year.  In this case a trusted, outside resource that is accountable for the success of the launch should be considered.

An opinion editor with the Cincinnati Post has come to the rescue to inform us that we must follow Moore’s Law when it comes to launching new products. Thank goodness he’s is around to set the record straight.

Here is the article in its full glory…

Retail obsolescence

Apple CEO Steve Jobs seems to have stumbled upon an important new economic metric for our technology crazed age.

There are always buyers who want to be the first with the latest, and they are an important market because they will pay a premium to do so. And now, thanks to Jobs, we now know there is a measurable correlation between that premium and the time the product remains exclusive.

The absolute outside limit of desirability for a new technology product has long been believed to be 18 months based on Moore’s Law, propounded by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, that computer processing power doubles every 18 months - and Moore had to scale that back from his original time frame of two years.

Somewhere in that time line between the day of the product launch and 18 months is the ideal time for a tech company to strike with a premium-priced new product, when the so-called “early adopters” are becoming jaded with the old device and increasingly anxious that somewhere, somebody else is even now buying something way more cool.

Apple introduced its new iPhone, basically your entire life in a handheld device, at the end of June at $599, and around 1 million customers bought them. On Wednesday, Apple announced it was cutting the price to $399 and, moreover, discontinuing its cheaper four-gigabyte model, because who wants four when you can have eight?

IPhone owners were outraged. Apple had miscalculated the zone of exclusivity. Although Jobs accurately if heartlessly told them that somebody always misses the date when the price is cut, Apple nonetheless offered iPhone owners a $100 store credit or a $200 refund if they had bought their iPhone within the last two weeks. The losers with the four-gigabyte model can get a full refund. Some cynics suggested this was all a shrewd ruse to get proven customers back in the stores as the holiday shopping season gets under way, but, as Jobs said, the “technology road is bumpy.” Maybe Apple simply hit one.

Is this guy smoking crack? It would appear that the editor is really a pissed off iPhone owner and wants to inform the world (or at least the citizenry of Cincinnati and northern Kentucky) of the “unjust” practices of Apple. Please. What a moron. Here’s another example of a supposed “expert” distorting Moore’s Law.

If I had the luxury of waiting at least 18 months to introduce new products in my career I’d have a lot less gray hair. Can you imagine what little innovation would occur if new products were launched no sooner than every 18 months? We’d still be using WordPerfect on character based PCs. Steve Jobs hasn’t “stumbled upon” a new economic metric, this has been the norm in technology for over 25 years. Keep up with the class.

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