Product Launch PR Agency

Most new products launch into crowded markets, where they’re easy to miss. Getting yours noticed is the job PR does at a launch.

A good launch can make a product an overnight success and give your brand lasting authority in its market. A poor one leaves the brand unnoticed and the team facing awkward questions inside the business. Product launch public relations gets your key messages heard and positions your brand as the go-to choice over its competitors, which is what drives sales and growth.

Carefully planned product launches

From hitting international headlines with the launch of the world’s first poo-powered pub (yes, you read that right) for Yorkshire Water, to launching the leading US energy drink brand, C4, into the UK market, through 96 launch assets that built RyRy Compact’s following from 100 to 2,342, I’ve learnt that no two launches are ever the same.

That’s why our product launch PR services start with a period of learning. Whether that’s identifying your target audience or understanding how they consume brands via media platforms, we’ll base our strategy on real insight to ensure our campaigns get a launch the attention it needs.

We also know that planning a launch campaign can be time-consuming, costly and hard to get right, so why not let our team of specialists do the hard work for you?

Brands that trust us for product launch PR

Our approach

Product launch PR

We can help drive hype in both the industry and the mainstream media in the run-up to your product launch, by distributing a press release to relevant journalists and publications.

Whether it’s to highlight a new sustainability initiative, or a market-first technology, we’ll deliver effective and creative PR communications that will create press attention and product demand.

Coverage like this helps the launch land, builds your reputation in the industry and gives people a reason to buy from you again.

Press, social, influencers and paid, in one team

We’re a full-service PR agency. Our PR and digital marketing specialists work in one team with designers, video editors, event planners and researchers, so we can plan your campaigns across press, influencers, organic social and paid media from the start, and tie offline and online activity into one story.

That means we can handle everything from venue sourcing for a launch event to celebrity endorsement and the PR plan itself. For brands that need to cut through quickly, we bring it all together as Launch Ignition, our integrated launch programme.

How we run a launch, stage by stage

Our Launch Ignition plans start with insight, then move through four stages: tease, announce, amplify and sustain. Each stage below comes with an example from our work.

Stage	What we do	An example from our work
Plan	Audience and market research, positioning, channel planning and the story we’ll take to the media.	For VK 0.0%, our research into Gen Z’s changing attitudes to alcohol gave the trade a reason to care.
Tease	Audience building through early content and influencer seeding, so there’s word of mouth before launch day.	For Sealy’s Posturepedic range, our first wave of social content ran ahead of the launch proper.
Announce	The reveal, with a press launch or a stunt people want to share.	Yorkshire Water’s poo-powered pub opened to the media a day before the public, then made ITV Calendar and four national titles.
Amplify	Influencer content and paid social, adjusted as the results come in.	Autoglym’s QuikRefresh launch reached 2.7M people, and a second wave of content answered the doubters.
Sustain	Always-on content and reporting for the first 3 to 6 months, so the launch keeps working after week one.	RyRy Compact’s following grew from 100 to 2,342 in five months.

Social media to charge comms

We launched Lansinoh’s new range through ten parenting influencers and social content, and it earned 500+ social engagements.

More channels means more places for a launch to get lost, so your messages need to be clear.

Done well, a social media campaign can take a new product to people all over the world.

With content creation, our team can show off your new product and spread awareness of the launch. Whether that’s in the form of shorts ideal for TikTok and Instagram Reels, long-form videos for your website, YouTube or LinkedIn channels, or educational and fun animations, our creative team can support you at every stage.

Paid social media to reach the audiences you want

Are you looking to reach potential customers for a store opening in a certain location? Our paid media team can target audiences by location, age, gender and more, so we can reach the people you want and get the best return on your budget.

When launching a new product, you want to create as much buzz as possible. Through paid activity, we’re able to heighten the performance of your organic social campaigns and circulate your brand content to a much larger audience than just organic content can.

Influencers to amplify brand messages

The right influencers can help build trust between your brand and your target audience. They are trusted and listened to among consumer audiences, as they share helpful and influencing viewpoints of products. When promoting new products, you naturally want a consumer’s first impression to be a good and everlasting one, so selecting the right influencers is key. We pick the influencers and manage each relationship from start to finish: for Carvela‘s Leeds launch, we paired fashion influencers with Leeds’ own female entrepreneurs.

Our team will make sure influencers are matched to your target audience, as well as align their values with that of your brand so the partnership feels natural.

Product launch event

When you’re launching a new product, you’re competing against many other products that are already established in the market. One way to command attention is to run a ‘stunt-worthy’ event that will generate a buzz and make your product stand out over other brands.

Want to generate awareness for a new store opening? Our team did this for Carvela, part of the Kurt Geiger Group, when it opened its first boutique outside London in Leeds’ Victoria Quarter. Through media outreach and influencer marketing, the campaign, which won ‘Best Use of Digital and Social Media’ at the CIPR 2022 awards, achieved 32 backlinks, a social media reach of 700k, 122 pieces of social coverage, and media coverage in relevant titles reaching over half a million readers.

We run launch events of every size, from Hooch’s launch party with Bez on the decks to one-to-one store visits. We can deliver success and support the event with public relations throughout the process to help fuel press attention.

Reputation management

Even one negative interaction from consumers or the press is enough to make your brand a negative talking point, and your launch becomes yet another statistic, especially for a new brand.

This is why reputation management is a key part of the PR strategy for any launch. Communications need to be helpful and succinct. We’re reputation specialists and our team can offer guidance on how best to deal with a crisis, while helping prevent one from happening in the first place.

Why hire Prohibition for your new product launch?

You only get one chance to launch a product, and for a start-up it can make or break the business plan. So you’ll want to see proof first.

We’ve been running product launches for more than 10 years, and our campaigns have won over 45 awards. I founded Prohibition, and the agency is led by me and my co-director, Will Ockenden. Our reporting follows the AMEC evaluation framework, with a source for every figure, so our clients can see exactly what a launch did. Four launches show what that looks like, each with its own case study.

Reef announced its return on April Fool’s Day, so nobody was quite sure it was real. It sold out in multiple stores and set a record for direct-to-consumer sales.
Drip, Big Zuu’s canned water brand, earned 35 pieces of coverage, including the FT, and a national listing.
Hooch Twisting My Lemon Man earned coverage in The Grocer and Mail Online, and it sold well enough to be relaunched.
Black Sheep Brewery‘s carbon-neutral ale, Respire, was selling 42% ahead of the beer it replaced by the autumn after its launch. “They’re a bunch of friendly people who feel like a natural extension of the marketing team,” says David Sharples, Communications Manager at Black Sheep Brewery, in a verified Clutch review from January 2025.

We work with start-ups and with established brands entering the UK. When we launched America’s number one pre-workout brand, C4, on UK social media, Andy Hughes, UK Marketing Specialist at Nutrabolt, said: “Prohibition fit the bill perfectly… We have been delighted with the initial campaigns we have worked on with the team…”

Public Relations

Our Latest Work

Lansinoh: starting conversations about the fourth trimester

RyRy Compact: launching a luxury car seat on social

Carvela and Kurt Geiger: the Leeds launch that unlocked a UK roll-out

Our sector expertise:

Questions brands ask us about product launches

These are the questions brands ask us most often before a launch.

What is a product launch?

A product launch is everything you do to introduce a new product and get people buying it, from the first teaser to the weeks after launch day. Our launch for Drip used press, sport partnerships and influencers, and it won a national listing.

What are the different types of product launches?

There are four main types of product launch, and each suits a different goal. A soft launch tests the water on a small scale, a hard launch goes full scale, a joint launch pairs two companies, and a re-launch brings a product back. Our relaunch of Reef sold out in multiple stores.

Why is PR important for a product launch?

Standing out in a crowded market is the hardest part of any launch, and PR is how a new product gets noticed and trusted. Coverage builds anticipation, credibility and reach beyond your existing customers. Drip, Big Zuu’s canned water brand, earned 35 pieces of coverage, including the FT, and a national listing.

How long does a product launch last?

A launch runs in two parts: the build-up to launch day, then its first 3 to 6 months, which is the period our Launch Ignition plans measure and report on. We measure that long because a big spike in week one, followed by silence, is how many launches fade.

How long each part takes varies from launch to launch. Stockeld Park’s Playhive campaign ran from June to July 2022, and the Playhive opened to the public on 23 July.

What does a product launch agency do?

A product launch agency plans and runs the PR, media relations and content around a new product. That covers positioning, press materials, journalist and influencer outreach, launch events and coverage tracking. The aim is to build awareness before release and sales momentum afterwards.

How much does a product launch PR campaign cost?

Cost depends on scope, market and timeline. A focused UK launch with press outreach and content costs less than a multi-market campaign with events and influencers. We scope each launch against your goals and budget, then give a fixed proposal before any work starts.

How early should we start planning a product launch?

Start eight to twelve weeks before release where possible. That gives time to shape the story, brief long-lead media, prepare samples and assets, and secure early coverage. Shorter timelines still work, but with a tighter focus on the highest-value outlets.

How do you measure the success of a product launch?

We track media coverage quality and reach, share of voice, referral traffic, social engagement and, where data allows, enquiries or sales linked to the launch. You receive a clear coverage report after the campaign, with the results set against the goals agreed at the start.

Do you handle product launches for new brands as well as established ones?

Yes. New brands usually need help building credibility from nothing, so we focus on founder stories and early trade and consumer press. Established brands often need a fresh angle on an existing audience. Either way, the launch plan is built around your product and your market.