6 Best Instagram Product Launch Examples

Anticipation, anxiety, and excitement are a given when launching a new product. But these sentiments multiply when you’re presenting your product at a forum that works on and favors immediate and unabashed engagement from the common man. Yes, that’s Instagram for you.

Product launches are important. Remember the first impression is the last impression? This applies to your new product as well. There’s a lot on the line – every like, share, story, and post matters in generating interest for the final launch. However, many successful Instagram product launch examples prove that it isn’t as complicated as it might seem.

With new features like reel templates, interactive stickers, grid planning, eCommerce, and partnership inboxes, Instagram is now the perfect platform for product launches. Not to mention how easily users can explore the content variety and make in-app purchases.

Tap in and learn how to leverage this go-to visual content marketing space and see your product take off.

What is Instagram Product Launch

A product launch is you, a business owner, telling the world what you’ve created and why they should get it. An Instagram product launch is simply doing that on the biggest and fastest-growing media-sharing app – Instagram.

Instagram has an in-built feature that helps businesses build awareness around their product(s) before they’re available for purchase. Businesses can sign up for checkout on the Instagram feature and use Commerce Manager to set up the launch directly.

Your target audience can preview your upcoming product and set reminders or countdown to buy when it’s available. After you create a product launch on Instagram, your product will remain in your shop and stay tagged in Instagram posts.

Why is Instagram Ideal for Product Launches

Instagram is an all-in-one marketing tool that extends a product’s visibility and creates an online presence. A few reasons that make IG the right place to introduce your product:

Everyone’s There – A Nucleus for Product Discovery

According to Statista, this video and photo-sharing platform has 1.35 billion monthly active users worldwide. With this many scrollers, there’s no end to what a business can achieve with the right Instagram strategy.

Comes with eCommerce Features

Thanks to product tags and shopping features on Instagram, users don’t have to exit the app to shop for a product. If you plan your product debut on Instagram, people can not only discover it but make a purchase right then and there.

An Instagram for Business survey revealed 44% of people use IG to discover new products and for their weekly shopping needs. Instagram product launches result in quick conversions because shoppers can make purchases as soon as the product is available.

Inexpensive Advertising

Just like Facebook, Instagram also runs ads for your business. Luckily, it’s relatively affordable. The average cost-per-click of an ad on Instagram lies somewhere between $1 and $1.50. This eliminates the need for elaborate and expensive digital marketing campaigns.

Useful Instagram Insights and Tools

Instagram Insights give specific information about content performance and reach. Details about your follower’s locations, ages, and time spent on the app help businesses devise a targeted marketing strategy and enhance their creative vision.

Quick Feedback

Instagram has a simple user-friendly interface that encourages interaction between brands and users. Easy engagement provides instant feedback about your product and conveys how the audience is responding to it and what are they expecting.

This, in turn, allows you to make necessary tweaks to the product or service, or improve on the ad creative you used.

6 Successful Instagram Product Launch Examples

An effective marketing campaign does not push people to make a purchase, it convinces them – subtly and nicely. Here are 6 brands that launched new products on Instagram and nailed it:

Chanel

Chanel is a well-known luxury fashion brand that offers handbags, fragrances, watches, clothes, and makeup. Currently, Chanel has 55.9 million followers on Instagram and stands among the leading fashion label in the U.S. Chanel posts multiple times a day and each post receives 30,000 to over 100,000 likes on average.  

Chanel’s Instagram maintains a certain aesthetic with coordinated pictures, color themes, and video content. Well-organized posts, clean-cut visuals, and carefully selected representatives live up to the brand’s chic reputation.

Strategy:

Chanel released a fresh, modern take on their classic No.5 perfume spray and launched their new, reinvented No.5 L’Eau perfume. The zesty yet floral and musky scent created a well-deserved buzz on the internet, in 2016, owing to its stellar pre-launch campaign.

• The product was launched by inviting Instagram influencers like Julie Sarinana, Lily Rose Depp, and Jessica Mercedes Kirschner to a promotional event. And with their stunning posts and Instagram stories from the event, each influencer supported a successful product launch.
• The brand involved audiences in the creation process of their new perfume by incorporating real flowers at the event to show how fragrances were made. With that, they started the hashtag #NewChanel5 and reposted each mention in their stories.
• Two years later, Chanel introduced a limited edition of the same perfume with a red bottle and marketed it with a new hashtag #N5LimitedEdition. “Dressed in red for the first time ever” read the caption and it was a major hit. It helped the perfume edition stay in the news, and, resultantly, increased sales.
• They posted all their content only during high-traffic hours on Instagram, getting them tremendous views and shares.
• All videos and photos are aesthetically pleasing and have a catchy caption. Content that entices onlookers to stay on the post, like it, and comment is a fool-proof way to boost conversion.

Chanel also has a @chanel.beauty page envisioned by its global creative makeup and color designer Lucia Pica. This account is dedicated to revealing new makeup products and the marketers build up before each one through regular, eye-catching posts. Such content keeps the audiences intrigued about to-be-launched products without revealing too much.

Adidas Originals

This brand has run more than just one successful Instagram campaign. Adidas truly prove they live by their motto “Impossible is Nothing” with each new launch.

Adidas is a name recognizable to children, adults, sports fanatics, and fashion icons alike. It primarily deals with sports products associated with particular sports such as football and basketball.

The label emphasizes innovation, quality, diversification, and hefty budget advertisements for pre- and post-launch marketing. The brand has worked for more than 70 years to stay top of the charts in a competitive market owing to this dedicated investment in marketing its products.

This sports brand has 27.4 million followers on its Instagram account which is constantly growing with its collaborative approach and customer interaction.

Strategy:

Adidas diversifies its online presence by introducing a new Instagram page each time it launches a product that has a different target audience and persona.

Adidas Originals, a subdivision of the brand, is dedicated to fashion, lifestyle, and heritage products. The separate Instagram account for Adidas Originals has gained more followers than the main profile with 34.3 million followers. All because of a thoroughly planned and well-executed Instagram marketing strategy.

In 2017, Adidas ran a hashtag campaign with #ORIGINALis that achieved remarkable attention and engagement from audiences across the globe. This was a new clothing line that targets the hip-hop culture and its followers.

They partnered with big names like Snoop Dogg, Desiignerm, and Stormzy to introduce the product as a fashion item. This resulted in thousands of user-generated posts with the #ORIGINALis hashtag praising and promoting the product. Of course, the huge customer base wasn’t just a result of influencer marketing. It was paired with captivating visuals, creative video posts, and regular engagement with customers and followers.

A collaboration like this allowed the brand to branch out of its usual pool of customers and reach people who may not be sports fans. Few other tactics included:

• Promotional campaigns, billboard ads, TV magazines, and events supported the Instagram launch.
• The core strategy for Adidas Originals is product differentiation which entails integrating a great level of uniqueness into a product.
• It advocates for sustainability and social causes which keeps a large chunk of the population always interested in the brand.

GoPro

GoPro is all about photos and videos. This American tech company is best known to produce the best action cameras with the most notable HERO lineup.

The company has a strong social media presence, especially Instagram, which is where the company truly shines, with 20.1 million followers. The page features breathtaking scenery captured by their camera lines.

Strategy:

Their latest release Hero 11 Black, released late in 2022, was sensational. GoPro HERO 11 came with significant upgrades including a larger sensor, more megapixel still images, HyperView, night effects, and more.

The company generated buzz by posting teaser videos a few weeks before the launch date. Each video hinted towards key features of the new camera. On the Instagram launch, GoPro released “Feature Thrillers” which were a series of videos that highlighted the product’s details with thrilling visuals and effects.

The educational aspect of the video appealed to the more product-focused consumer base while the energetic characteristics of these videos attracted the younger generation. The new release has set this multi-billion dollar company for higher success.

• GoPro has always used user-generated content for marketing itself. The Instagram team reposts the craziest shots and videos photographers take using their cameras. The brand builds a robust online community through this.
• GoPro Instagram regularly holds promotional campaigns that consist of photo contests, etc. A good percentage of participants are top influencers that help the product reach filmmakers, videographers, athletes, and others.
• The account also features professionals and athletes on its Instagram. GoPro started a hashtag #GoProSnow around HERO 11’s release, asking people to shoot their snow adventures from HERO 11, post using the hashtag, and get featured on the page. Professional snowboarders such as Travis Rice and Torstein Horgmo participated in the campaign and made it a success.

Netflix

We all know about Netflix and how sensational it is today. This subscription-based streaming service offers several plans and pricing to cater to a greater audience.

Besides quality content, the company owes its popularity to its customer-centric marketing strategies on Instagram. Today, Netflix's Instagram page has 32.7 million followers. Its out-of-the-box approach to grabbing its audience’s attention works with every next launch.

Strategy:

Netflix announces all of its new TV shows and movies on its Instagram account. You will see trailers, previews, and short teases that build curiosity amongst followers before the release.

• Netflix's marketing team is big on carousels, both on Facebook and Instagram. Carousels are one of the best content types to increase engagement. You will regularly see memes on their feed and stories about upcoming shows. This keeps the audience entertained and interested in what’s to come.
• Netflix strategically and regularly posts about celebrities and actors from trending shows. Some posts would share a fun fact about an actor or quote something funny they said. This proves to be an effective way to create hype and attract fans to comment, like, and share their posts before the launch day.
• The company runs relevant social media campaigns before a new product is introduced. Most of their hashtags center around the new and upcoming TV show or movie. One of the highly popular campaigns to date was “April Feels Day”, run during the global lockdown, in 2020. People engaged heartily and Netflix built a connection with its audience.
• Humorous content always performs better. Netflix marketing involves posting funny behind-the-scenes blooper videos of new releases or up comers. Each blooper post easily gets more than 1.4 million views and several thousand comments and shares. This, again, promotes the show and harbors a connection with the audience.

Daniel Wellington

Ever since its establishment in 2011, Daniel Wellington’s vintage-looking, minimalistic range of watches has never failed to make news. Unlike other luxury watch brands, Daniel Wellington takes the stage when it comes to online popularity.  DW has gained around 4.7 million followers on Instagram, leaving its top industry competitors behind.

It’s one of the first businesses to fully explore the potential of influencer marketing. DW used Instagram to highlight its upcoming products and created a lot of noise among teenagers and early users of Instagram.

The owner Swede Filip Tysander invested a small sum of $1,500 to get the company started. By 2015, DW got to a position where it made a profit of $220 million by selling one million watches, owing to a solid Instagram marketing campaign.

Strategy:

Recently, Daniel Wellington launched their Quadro Collection with an assortment of elegant piano straps and a petite-square dial watch early in 2021. They spun the classic timepiece with modernity and made it one of the most trending pieces by blending influencer marketing and promotional posts.

DW started promoting this collection with elegant imagery just a few days before the Instagram announcement and continued posting and promoting until early 2022. Their IG feed was filled with pictures of their global brand ambassadors Lee Sung Kyung, Radhika Apte, and Fan Bingbing, among others, rocking their new designs. Their testimonials resulted in more visibility and thousands of watch sales.

• Daniel Wellington relies exclusively on influencer marketing. Their products are being donned by celebrities and models such as Selena Gomez, Hailey Beiber, and Korean heartthrob Lee Jong Suk.
• This brand is amongst the pioneers of product seeding. This means gifting a free product to creators so they can review your product and build brand awareness. DW targeted nano-influencers before tapping into paid partnerships with established ones. DW went viral with these #DanielWellington tagged creators’ pictures
• They leveraged the user-generated content and introduced personalized promo and discount codes for followers of prominent influencers around 2018. This technique resulted in an explosion of photos with the Daniel Wellington hashtag and made sales worth millions.

Zara

One of the most successful retail companies to ever exist, its visual brand image thrives on this photo-sharing app. Zara is a trendsetter and has 58.1 million Instagram followers.  It uses Instagram to keep audiences around the globe updated and connected to new fashion.

Strategy:

The label launched a new collection “The Skin Collection” that showcased a makeup line. They set out with an enticing video filmed by Mario Godlewski and directed by Baron & Baron. The short video shows all shades of concealers and foundations in this collection. The IG video made millions of rounds in makeup enthusiast circles.

• Their account exclusively posts product-focused content with sneak peeks and teasers of the additions to the collection on the feed and stories.
• The collection’s main selling point was inclusivity and appreciation for all skin tones and textures. The marketing team communicated this with high-quality imagery, product tutorials by famous makeup artists and influencers, and using the targeted brand hashtags.
• Throughout The Skin Collection’s introduction, the label posted stories with interactive stickers to get feedback on how it was doing. This encouraged users to ask questions and leave their impressions of the product.
• The company stays relevant, particularly around upcoming product launches, by periodically engaging in social causes. Discussions around the environment and social stigmas earn the retailer social media praise and drive more engagement.

Key Takeaways

• Leverage Instagram’s image-focused content.
• Post at the right time. Make a post when your target audience is most active.
• Connect and work with influencers of your niche to showcase your product. This brings in new audiences.
• Hashtag campaigns; integrate influencer marketing to target a specific group and push a discount code to improve traffic and sales. Discount codes encourage responses from people who wouldn’t buy otherwise.
• Keep the wits alive. Joke about your product, make it fun. There’s a higher chance someone will share your promotional reel if it makes them laugh.
• Boost brand awareness by getting an influencer to announce a contest that promises a chance to be in the spotlight. This works great if you’re planning to target the younger lot, teenagers specifically.
• Use eye-catching product shots for release or reveal pictures.

Summing Up

Instagram is a place for all, small or big, businesses to grow and presents an equal opportunity for everyone. Its content form and algorithm empower creators and entrepreneurs.

If you’ve been on the edge about launching your product on Instagram, now is the right time. As these successful campaign examples tell, it’s a tried-and-tested platform where big brands like Chanel have even introduced their entire product lines.

So, don’t sweat it! Learn from these 6 examples and create a marketing plan keeping these tactics and key derivatives in mind. And if it gets a little too much, ask prefinery.com to help you strategize your product launch campaign.

FAQs

What is the best day to announce a product launch on Instagram?

Tuesday or Wednesday may be the most appropriate days for launching a product on IG. Mainly because Mondays are usually busy and your potential customer might not be as receptive as you want them to be. Fridays and weekends are not ideal for the same reason.

How do you find and attract customers on Instagram?

• Tailor Instagram highlights
• Optimize your content with hashtags
• Keep reposting user-generated content
• Collaborate with influencers related to your niche communities
• Interact with your audience – go live, repost tagged pictures and stories, and respond to comments
• Schedule giveaways
• Build curiosity with sneak-peak videos.
• Post regularly and build a connection with your audience. Stories are a great way to allow users to do so. Don’t forget to add interactive stickers and music to keep it trending.
• These tips alone don’t necessarily guarantee the public’s interest, it’s important to stay consistent and opt for a step-by-step approach.