AV for a Product Launch: Making an Impact

A product launch is a piece of theatre — you want the audience excited before the reveal and wowed after it. Audio-visual is what creates that impact. Here's how to plan it.

Big, bright visuals

An LED screen or large projection puts your brand, video and product front and centre, bright and sharp even in a lively venue. Loop your brand content before the event to build anticipation.

Sound that carries the message

Clear speech for the presenter and punchy music for the reveal. A well-tuned PA keeps the energy up and makes sure the key message lands with everyone in the room.

Lighting and the reveal

Lighting sets the mood and directs attention. A dramatic reveal — lighting change, a burst of cold sparks, music swell — turns the product moment into something guests remember and share.

Tie it together with a technician

A launch runs to a tight cue sheet. An AV technician runs sound, screens, lighting and effects on cue so it all lands perfectly. JMG Audio supplies and runs the whole production.

Rehearse the reveal

The reveal is the entire point, and it needs cueing to the second by a technician following a cue sheet rather than someone improvising from the back of the room. Run it at least once with the actual presenters, the actual content and the actual cues. A reveal that lands half a beat late reads as a mistake to everyone watching, and it is the one moment you cannot do again.

Look after the press

If media are attending, give them a clean audio feed taken from the mixing desk for broadcast, a clear sightline to the stage and product, good light on the presenter, and a branded backdrop for interviews afterwards. It costs almost nothing to provide and materially improves the coverage you get. Journalists working with unusable audio produce shorter, worse stories.

Sound for a standing, talking room

Launch audiences stand, move and talk, which is acoustically much harder than a seated audience. You need coverage that reaches the edges of the room without punishing people at the front, wireless microphones for presenters who gesture and move, and a technician managing levels as the room noise rises and falls through the evening.

Capture it for the months afterwards

The room is a small fraction of your real audience. Streaming reaches customers, partners and media who could not attend, and the recording becomes content you use for months. Film the reveal from more than one angle, take audio from the desk, and make sure somebody captures the product itself in good light rather than only the speeches.