Reflection – Learning Launch

Challenge:

The challenge that I selected for this assignment was to plan, develop, and release a

promotional marketing video for a target audience in our industry. We were assigned a time period of  30 days to complete this challenge. This video was the first of 4 videos released throughout the year  (one per quarter) that will market this topic to our audience. The project scope consisted of a 4-person  marketing department team and an additional 6-person department composed of subject matter  experts relating to the actual content that the video is marketing. The cost of producing the video did  not include any external key stakeholders and no vendors were used since the entirety of the  production efforts were being done in-house.

Selection:

The marketing team came up with several different iterations of how to execute this idea before

deciding on a promotional video. This video was the first of 4 videos that were launched throughout the  year. We adapted the strategies and approach we used to develop the remaining 3 videos based upon  the feedback of the first launch, which is why we decided to use a Learning Launch. A Learning Launch,  used to test the validity of an idea or prototype, was ideal in this situation because we used the first  promotional video to test our ideas with a real, live audience and measure the reception that it  received.

Application:

In the Learning Launch of the first video, we focused on presenting our audience with an

animated promotional video for a variety of reasons. The first reason was that it was a great way to  reduce the project costs, since our organization already had animation programs installed on its  computers and we had employees who knew how to develop the content that we wanted. The second  was that we wanted to present our audience with a unique video that they would remember, and  animation seemed like a great way to accomplish that goal. If this video style was not well received by  our audience, we developed contingency plans to ensure the future success of the marketing campaign  throughout the remainder of the year.

Thankfully, the learning launch was a success thanks to effective application by the team and

the first video that we released was deemed a success by the management of our organization. Despite  taking some risks on the aesthetics of the video, the feedback that we gathered from our target  audience indicated that the video made an impression on them and that our message was being  delivered effectively.

Insight:

Following the release of our marketing video, the response that we received was

overwhelmingly positive. Our organization took a calculated risk by deciding to produce and deliver a  video in a medium that we had little experience in, and it paid off well for us. Through this Learning  Launch we discovered more about our target customer and core audience, and we are now poised to  use the information that we’ve uncovered to continue making impactful and meaningful engagements  with our customer base. The insight that we gained from this experience has taught us that often it

becomes necessary to stray away from traditional methods and strategies in order to stand out in an  increasingly crowded market.

Approach:

Taking the inexperience that our team had in this area at the beginning of the project, a

Learning Launch stood out as the clear tool to help us accomplish our goals. While we were fortunate to  achieve our goals in the first iteration of the video, the Learning Launch would have proven its  usefulness even more had we not by offering the knowledge necessary to get the project back on track  in order to become a success. Future launches will benefit from the feedback and experience that we  gathered in this project and will enhance the production timelines for videos that our organization  releases later.

