Launch of Adobe Creative Suite 3 - The Revolution for Creative Workflows
By Stefan Weigl, Consultant at Fink & Fuchs Public Relations
In the year 2007 Adobe introduced the third version (CS3) of Creative Suite, its most essential software package. For Adobe this was the largest product launch in the company history. At the same time, the fact that sales of the "creative products " account for more than 50 percent of the company's overall revenue signifies the great importance of the CS3 launch.
Creative Suite is an integrated package of software solutions for design tasks in web and print environments, the preparation of layouts, as well as image and video editing. The product aims to support creative individuals in working more efficiently. In addition to new versions of the key Adobe creative products such as InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, the range of products for the first time also contains solutions such as Flash und Dreamweaver by Macromedia, a company that Adobe took over in late 2005. However, CS3 not only contains new versions of the individual products but is also available in six editions specifically tailored for various target groups and their requirements in the areas of print, web, mobile publishing, interactive applications, film and video.
A central challenge of the launch was to explain to the users which of the six different CS3 suites is most appropriate for them.
Aim of the campaign
The main aim of the campaign was to significantly increase the revenue from creative solutions in the current fiscal year. In addition, the market was to be prepared as early as possible for the new version of Creative Suite and the different versions introduced to the respective target groups. In addition, CS3 was to be positioned as a "must have" among users, while Macromedia and CS2 customers were to be encouraged to switch to CS3.
The launch campaign with the theme of "Creative License – utilize your possibilities" was implemented in the period from December 2006 to November 2007.
Adobe deliberately did not run a large advertising and promotion campaign. Advertising was limited to online banners and the PR team was given the communicative lead for the launch. The primary task of the communication efforts was to present the unique properties of CS3 in a dialog with the specialized media as early and as detailed as possible to generate comprehensive, target group-specific reporting of the product launch. For this purpose, the dialog with select media representatives of the IT trade press and specialized media in the areas of publishing, design, web, video, photography, retail trade publications and various industrial sectors was increased six months before the actual selling date (June 11, 2007) already.
The campaign was divided into three phases – in the first step the market was prepared for the product launch. This was followed by additional communicative measures during the first sale phase. Finally, in the third phase the official product introduction took place on March 27, 2007 and other supportive communication measures were implemented to maintain the interest of the target groups beyond the market launch.
Phase 1: Early Briefing of Opinion Makers
The public beta phase for the flagship product Photoshop began in December 2006, during which Adobe experts and the community were familiarized with the performance features of the new software versions. In early February 2007 already, a round of more than 70 selected journalists were allowed to experience the CS3 web and design version live in Hamburg and Munich during exclusive advance briefings. Following the presentations, 15 individual interviews were additionally held. At workshops in Barcelona a few days later, top journalists of the Mac and design media from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were given an even more precise picture of the new creative software. At the same time, 93 specialized journalists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland were provided with beta versions of the Creative suite 3 web and design editions. In March, an advance briefing on CS3 Production Premium, the variation for video professionals, was held in Munich for 33 journalists. Finally, a dialog with users and opinion makers was initiated and moderated in relevant blogs and the Adobe lab, a platform on the Adobe website for technologies under development.
Phase 2: Exclusive Information Ensures Nation-wide Coverage
The introduction of CS3 took place in two steps – the official announcement of the products on March 27, 2007 was communicated in several press releases and an exclusive interview with AP press agency. This was followed by the first extensive wave of articles and tests based on the beta version and the first presentation of CS3 to the Adobe Community at the Adobe Live! in-house fair in May. At this event, John Loiacono, senior vice president and general manager of Adobe's Creative Solutions Business Unit, provided more background information about the product in interviews with Spiegel Online, Financial Times Germany, Page and Digital Production. At the same time, interested individuals were guided by banners and online newsletters to the Adobe website where they were given a comprehensive overview of the individual Creative Suite variations. The press release about the availability of Creative Suite 3 web and design editions on June 11, 2007 was the starting signal for the launch across Germany, again accompanied by interviews. At the same time, test versions of various editions and individual products were sent out to approximately 450 journalists. The strategy paid off – thanks to the several months of preparation, timely and extensive reporting in all relevant media was achieved.
Phase 3: Maintaining the Interest
Following the successful launch, the communication strategy aimed to create further occasions that would ensure continued interest of the media in CS3. This phase was initiated by three press releases on the availability of CS3 education versions, Creative Suite 3 Production Premium, and the Master Collection, in combination with targeted online activities. In late June, Adobe, in conjunction with one of the key distributors, initiated a round table discussion with the retail magazine Computer Reseller News (resulting headline: "Adobe Channel rides CS3 success wave"). At the same time, placement of a series of informative specialized articles on CS3 and further interviews with strategic media, such as AP and Page, were initiated. Three workshops about the individual editions in Munich with 25 participants each provided the key publications with the opportunity of receiving answers to any inquiries after having tested the final versions. To attract further and new user groups for Photoshop CS3 Extended, this was followed by a "virtual" editorial tour through the web conference solution Acrobat Connect. More than 20 journalists from different trade publications (architecture, construction engineering, engineering and medical) participated in this offer via a webcam from their workplace. To highlight the possibilities of Creative Suite 3 for enterprises, in early November a round table on the topic of corporate publishing was implemented involving ten journalists from creative, publishing and marketing media. In November, the media activities for CS3 concluded with interviews of Adobe's CEO Bruce Chizen by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Financial Times Germany.
Excellent Media Reporting and Significant Increase in Revenue
The multi-level communication campaign accompanying the largest launch in Adobe's corporate history has resulted in excellent media reporting and contributed to a significant increase in revenue. Large articles were published in publications such as Spiegel Online, Die Welt and Stern, financial and economic media such as Handelsblatt, Euro am Sonntag and Financial Times Germany, all relevant IT trade media, the key photo, web, publishing and video media, as well as the Mac and Channel press. The Mac community was reached by extensive cover stories in MACup (seven articles across more than 20 pages in an issue) and Macwelt. The positive tone throughout the reporting is apparent in the headlines: "The creative dozen" (Spiegel Online), "Control center for creative individuals" (Macwelt), or "Gallery of the new masters" (PC Professionell). In the period of the campaign from late December 2006 to November 2007, the defined top media alone (25 publications) reached more than 11 million readers, the online media (35 top addresses) reached in excess of 20 million, while the extended media circle reached substantially more than 100 million people.
The successful product launch was also reflected in the revenue figures of the company. In the third quarter (June 1 to August 31), Adobe achieved record global revenues of USD 851.7 million, which is a year-on-year increase of 41 percent. Within this period of time, the share of creative solutions in total revenue increased to 64 percent, up from 53 percent in the first quarter of the year. Based on information by the analysts of von NPD Data, Adobe was able to increase the sales figures for Creative Suite 3 by 87 percent compared to the previous version, thus exceeding the primary goal of the campaign.
Last but not least, in April 2008, the PR campaign received the "Ausschnitt Award Business-to-Business" at the PR Report Awards. "We had very high expectations of the PR campaign and the reality has even exceeded these expectations. I am therefore very happy for the entire PR team that the joint efforts of the colleagues within our company and the PR agency have been recognized by this prestigious PR award from a high caliber specialized jury," said Christoph Sahner, Adobe Systems GmbH spokesman for Germany, Central and Eastern Europe.
