Case Study

GORE ePE Launch

Industry Awareness on the Technologies Behind the Products

Overview

Finding unique and effective ways to launch “ingredient” products and technologies is always an interesting challenge, let alone launching during the COVID-19 pandemic. By not having the traditional avenues to host a launch, like industry trade shows and other media events, the challenge has been finding ways to still launch without being a victim of low media attendance due to virtual fatigue. Pair this with technical jargon, B2B focus, and the nuances of storytelling about the technologies and products that go into other products, and it can be tough to get traction. With our expertise in ingredient brands and some creativity, these are the challenges we overcame to help fuel a successful technology launch for W. L. Gore & Associates and its GORE-TEX brand. 

In the Fall of 2021, the GORE-TEX brand had a very large industry launch, announcing a new complementary materials platform called expanded Polyethylene (ePE), an innovation that was built on more than 40 years of scientific knowledge and polymer expertise. Verde supported this industry B2B launch by developing a strategy that encompassed a virtual lauch event, associated distribution plan, and creation of an online portal for additional details and resources.

Tactics

When pulling off a launch announcement with a supporting virtual event, it was important to stay incredibly organized as there are so many moving parts — from the distribution of the announcement itself to the most key industry media and being a reliable, helpful resource throughout the process of interview requests to the planning of the event itself. A key component was also making sure the presenters (Gore Associates) were ready and prepared to deliver their messaging on event day. That meant that while the logistics related to the external media side, including press release distribution, interview requests, scheduling and timing, virtual technology, media list, invites, etc. were critical, so was the internal lead-up around media training, message development, expectation setting and practice. 

For the ePE announcement, Verde did a lot of work upfront to allow for the launch and event to be success:

  • Created multiple run of shows for the event. Those included one for presenters so they had a step-by-step guide about their roles and responsibilities, key messages, and what to do if something went off course, as well as a second more detailed run of show for those on the backend. 

  • Developed a trade/industry media list with the top 30+ outdoor industry (trade/B2B) media who we wanted to invite for the virtual event. Created save the dates, invites and ensured everyone was correctly registered in advance for the event. 

  • Hired and worked closely with Zoom Event Consultants throughout the entire process to ensure all of the correct settings were in place to host a successful webinar Zoom event.

  • With major help from the internal PR team at Gore, Verde helped edit and provide feedback on the messaging and communications for the announcement, including the press release, frequently asked questions doc, a background fact sheet, and specific fact sheets for technical and sustainability features of the new material platform. With these assets and materials Verde organized and built everything onto a Gore Media Portal.

  • Following the event, Verde worked quickly to pull key quotes from the presenters, transcribe the Q&As, transcribe the full event and get all of these documents and the recording itself uploaded onto the Gore Media Portal so attendees had these files to reference for their coverage. These were also critical for media pitching beyond the initial invite list.

 
 

The Results

  • Over 30 industry media attended the virtual media event.

  • As an immediate result of this event and the simultaneous public announcement, Verde helped secure over 45 hits that garnered over 650 billion impressions for the ePE announcement.

  • As a result of the extensive pre-work that was put into the messaging and communications around the launch, media had what they needed for immediate coverage following the event.
  • ePE was named a finalist for the Outdoor Retailer Winter 2022 Show Innovation Awards.

  • Created an online portal with information and assets for post-event follow-up, including the written transcript, event recording, a written Q&A, and key quotes from the presentation.

  • Planted seeds to support long-lead media coverage opportunities for the consumer launch.

 

highlights:

VIRTUAL EVENT & MEDIA PORTAL SUPPORT

While the virtual event itself only lasted an hour, getting the most out of a launch event means engaging with the media before and after the event, too. Two weeks prior to the press release going out, a core list of industry (B2B and trade) media folks were sent a vague but intriguing Save the Date for the virtual event that was scheduled to happen 24 hours after the news went out. This helped to build some hype, allowed them to save the date and time, and generated excitement. When we sent them the press release and supporting documents they then had a day to generate questions to either send ahead of time or bring with them to the virtual event. 

We then followed up with them after the virtual event with the online media portal link that housed all of the information and assets about the ePE launch, including event recording, transcript, key quotes, and written Q&A responses, making it as easy as possible for media to cover the announcement and also gave us a place to upload other supporting files related to ePE in the future.

 
 
 
 

MEDIA TRAINING

At Verde, we have seen it all when it comes to media interviews. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Preparing our clients and other company employees for interviews and instances when they are in front of external stakeholders is of the utmost importance. We spent significant time before this announcement developing a training program for Gore employees so that they felt as comfortable as possible during this event in particular, and also during other stand-alone interviews. The training program we put together was multi-pronged in that it walked Gore Associates through best practices, tips/tricks/advice for interviews, and also showcased examples of good (and bad) interviews allowing for more of a hands-on training experience. We also did mock interviews with hard-hitting questions so that everyone presenting felt as prepared as possible for the virtual event.