How to write a script for a product launch video 

Table of contents

Introduction

Videos can capture attention like no other digital medium; they produce engagement, they facilitate the understanding of even complex messages, and they can spread very quickly thanks to shares, even spontaneous ones. 

This is why video is the most important and high-performing tool that companies should include in their product launch strategies. 

There are many different types of launch videos. In our post on how to create a great product launch video we identified the six launch videos that are both popular and effective: 

1) Tutorials and explainers. 

2) Data visualization videos. 

3) Unboxing videos. 

4) Behind the scenes (BTS) videos. 

5) Live streaming videos. 

6) Videos involving influencers…especially microinfluencers. 

But now we want to move our attention even further upstream and focus on everything that comes before the video is shot and then distributed to customers.  We’re referring to all phases of the product launch video script. These are delicate and decisive stages on which the success and effectiveness of any product launch video is played out. 

1. First: establish your objectives 

While it may seem obvious, the starting point of any good product launch video script is to set very precise goals. 

In short, it’s about starting out with the end goal in mind…otherwise you will end up getting lost along the way. 

So, get together with your entire team and ask yourselves: 

– What is (concretely and in detail) the product at the center of our video? How does it work? What is its usefulness? 

– How does it differ from competitors’ products? 

– What is the target audience? So: who are we targeting? (This is perhaps the main question, and we will return to it often in the next few points.) 

– Why should our product appeal to this target audience? 

– What do we want the viewers to do after watching the video? (And here we enter the realm of the call to action, to which we will devote a specific point later.) 

– What information do we want to impress in the memory of those who watch our product launch video? 

– How do we make this information stand out? 

– What story can we build around the product? 

With this question, we will move on to the next point.

2. Tell the right story 

A product launch video must offer information that is accurate, neat, and understandable. Be careful, however, not to neglect the storytelling aspects. This is critical for at least two fronts: 

1) It’s important to alternate the informational part with the entertainment part, and the reason for this is very simple: no one wants to be bored! 

2) On closer inspection, telling stories is also the best way to make information memorable: in our case, therefore, everything about the product’s features, its possible uses, the problems it can solve, and so on. 

So how can you build a perfect story on which to base your product launch video script? 

Let’s say it up front: there is no universal recipe. 

It all depends on the brand identity, the type of product, and above all on the context and the target audience (two decisive aspects, the latter of which we will return to in point 4 and point 5). 

What applies to all videos, however, is the importance of the very first few seconds. More about this in the next point. 

3. Focus on the very first seconds 

In the digital ecosystem, the competition to capture users’ attention is extremely high. In the midst of this myriad of stimuli, the challenge is to get people to pay attention to your video.  So, you must take care in creating the first few seconds of the video. Of course, you have to think about this in advance, even when you’re writing the script. 

There is a study conducted by Microsoft, now famous, that showed how people, on average, end up losing attention after just 8 seconds (time.com).  And it is in this very short period of time that the user decides whether to continue viewing (…until they get to the call to action), or to move on to something else.  

What is needed, then?  

There is no perfect solution, even in this case. But some elements certainly help: direct questions to the viewer. Such strong hooks build suspense and anticipation. They provoke. A lot depends – again – on context; this is something we have already mentioned. We’ll dissect it in the next point. 

4. Study the context…i.e., the importance of “sentiment” 

“Sentiment,” defined briefly, is the thermometer that measures public opinion of any topic and what is “said” about a brand or product. 

It can be investigated very generally or very specifically, depending on the metrics that are set and considered. It is understood, then, that it is a matter of data analysis (a key issue that we will return to in the next section). 

When you set out to write a product launch video script, you cannot ignore sentiment. The reason is very clear: it would be a serious mistake to disregard the context, which could easily backfire on you. 

Beware: sentiment can change over time, and is subject to sharp and sudden jolts. We all realized this in the emergency period, when health issues related to the pandemic took the limelight everywhere. 

All brands have adapted…because there is nothing worse, in terms of effectiveness, than appearing “out of touch,” both as a brand and as a product. 

5. Know your target audience 

We have come to a point that we have anticipated several times in the previous lines. And we want to say it right away: this is – in our opinion – the most important aspect to take into account. 

We said it above: there is no such thing as the “perfect story” on which to build your product launch video script. That is, there is no such thing as equally effective communication for everyone.  

But can you go beyond this awareness? 

Yes. And you can do so by embracing another type of awareness, which is actually very old: while there is no perfect message for everyone, there are different messages that are perfectly suited to the characteristics of different recipients. 

It is something intuitive. A 30-year-old single woman living in the city, for example, will have very different tastes, habits, and expectations from a 50-year-old family man living in a rural area.  

So, how to address each recipient differently? Can it be done? 

The answer is yes. And it is possible thanks to deep data analysis. In short, every company can collect the digital traces that customers (actual and potential) leave everywhere in the online world. Such traces describe who we are, where we live, what our preferences are, what our behaviors are…and therefore can predict our desires. 

It is a “high-definition snapshot of your audience, which can be zoomed in to the detail of the individual person. In short, it’s no longer about one generic target, but as many small targets as there are individual customers. At this point comes the time for one-to-one communication. 

You can write product launch video scripts that can then be automatically adapted to individual recipients and their browsing choices. This can be done by relying on platforms that specialize in the creation and distribution of personalized videos, such as Babelee. 

6. Insert the right call to action at the right point 

Let’s close with a decisive point. In the opening paragraphs of this post, we emphasized that a product launch video should inform and entertain. But you can’t forget that, at some point, the goal is always to address those who view the call to action: this is the moment when we move from storytelling to conversion. 

Of course, this moment needs to be planned in the script-writing stages. 

At this point, you must beware two opposite risks: 

1) That the call to action is perceived as abrupt and forced. 

2) That the call to action goes unnoticed. 

Video marketers know that it all comes down to finding the right balance, avoiding these two opposite risks. It’s a very delicate operation. 

Again, there is no such thing as the perfect call to action. It all depends on the type of brand, the goal of the campaign, and the target audience. 

There are two “staples” that we want to recommend: 

• Consistency: the viewer must perceive the moment of the call to action as a “natural outcome” of the video they just watched, not as something alien and annoying.  
• Be direct, but not too direct: calls to action that are too vague don’t work. But a “find out more” or “visit our shop” button is often better than a “buy now” button. 

The best way to make your call to actions effective and smooth? 

Again: personalization. In personalized videos you can insert calls to action that are tailored to each individual recipient...it almost goes without saying that these are more successful than any other CTA!