Dell: Leveling Up Virtual Product Launch
Dell Technologies tasked AxiCom to quickly pivot the launch of two flagship products – the redesigned XPS 15 and all-new XPS 17 – when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, meaning traditional in-person press tours were not possible.
Implementing The Axis
The Axis is AxiCom’s communications philosophy and process. The six-step process provides key insights and pinpoints where your brand exists at the intersection between audience, brand, culture, and technology – acting as the north star to guide integrated communications.
Audience Insight
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted everyone, including the journalists that were the target audience for the product launches. We understood journalists would be working from home at this time and their typical routines would be in flux, so an interactive and virtual strategy was required.
“AxiCom created numerous interactive and downloadable assets accessible to media in a virtual press kit.”
Brand Insight
Dell Technologies is known for well-executed and impactful in-person product launches. We knew we had to carry that feeling across into a virtual launch and find a way to still give journalists the images, insights, and executive expertise they expected to inform the coverage.
Culture Insight
The product launches were timed for spring 2020, just as the world was starting to deal with a global pandemic. People were adjusting to new ways of working and coping with day-to-day life in general. In-person events in the United States were a no-go as social distancing was implemented. As people juggled work with personal life and the two worlds overlapped, stress levels were high, and people valued any opportunity for flexibility in their working life.
Tech Insight
The AxiCom team took time to understand the unique selling points and key messaging behind both products – within the context of the laptop and devices landscape at the time. This helped identify how to shape the product launch, which media to target, and how supplemental content such as blogs could impact a Gen Z target audience.
The Axis for Dell Technologies
With the understanding that journalists had also transitioned to working from home, AxiCom created numerous interactive and downloadable assets accessible to media in a virtual press kit. This included visual-heavy product guides with AR links, blogs, b-roll, and comprehensive image libraries.
The team scripted and pre-recorded video content featuring Dell executives, which allowed media to select topics most relevant to them vs. committing to a fixed time to watch a livestream.
Additionally, we reimagined the XPS 15/17 blog with embedded video and beautiful imagery to appeal to our Gen Z target audience.
Results we Drove
By rethinking our press assets and providing journalists the flexibility to access content on their own time, we made this launch the most successful in Dell history, as measured by launch day sales.
- Three Editor’s Choice Awards
- Excellent feedback from multiple press for respecting their time and delivering smart assets
- 100+ stories across tech, business, and trade press, including PC World, Forbes, Gizmodo, PCMag, The Verge, and CNET
