How to plan a new product introduction tour



  1. Allow 6-8 weeks from start to finish.
  2. Research which analysts and editors cover your field. Assignments change frequently.
  3. Meet analysts first, monthly publications second, weekly and every-other-weekly publications third. Meet weeklies on Monday or Tuesday (Wednesday marginal, Thursday and Friday are generally deadline days).
  4. Schedule visits in East-to-West sequence (Boston, New York, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco).
  5. Your team should be a corporate/marketing spokesperson, and a technical spokesperson. A PR spokesperson should also be there to keep things on track and to remember (and fulfill) promises made.
  6. Start contacting analysts at week-6, monthlies at week-5, weeklies at week-3.
  7. Contact in this sequence: (1) e-mail, (2) telephone ("did you get e-mail?"), (3) fax, (4) start cycle again.
  8. Schedule efficiently. In Boston, schedule from suburbs in, then to airport. In New York, Manhattan first, moving toward Long Island and airports. In Washington, consider flying into Dulles, visiting publications in suburbs, then into D.C. flying out of National Airport. Baltimore-Washington International airport is an excellent alternative. In Chicago, American Airlines rents conference rooms in its Admiral's Club (terminal 3, near gate H-6) that are excellent for meetings. In Silicon Valley, start with southernmost destination, move north toward San Francisco. McGraw-Hill, CMP, and Cardinal publications in San Mateo/San Bruno area are within 10 minutes of each other.
  9. Keep calling to re-confirm, right up to and including the day of meeting.
  10. Schedule phone interviews when you can't get meetings. FedEx press package, including hard-copy presentation, for delivery before phone interview. Bring a roaming-capable cellular phone. Get a phone in our rental cars. Use in-flight phones. They're all worth it if it helps squeeze in an interview or save an appointment you might otherwise miss.
  11. Set aside a half day rehearsal the day before the tour starts.
  12. What to bring
  13. Give each team member a briefing book one section on each meeting includes, directions to office, editor's area of interest, publication's short-range editorial calendar, your objective for this editor.
  14. Don't be too technical. Remember the editor does not know in advance what you are going to say. Establish context: why this is important, how it compares to competition. Give editor technical background to read later and perhaps follow.
  15. Give editor names of analysts to call, beta site users for reference.
  16. Ask for the sale - lead new product, photo, diagram, future technical or tutorial article.
  17. Critique each person briefly right after each meeting. Schedule debriefing meeting for dinner each evening or breakfast.
  18. Follow up with thank-you notes (e-mail or snail mail), phone call to see if editors need any additional information.