Launching a new product or service is a great time for celebration and community building. But how do you do it? Today we’re going to take a look at two companies who did it in tandem to great effect.

Wicked Whimsy Boutique (whose logo we designed) and Fable Grounds Coffee have joined forces for the past two years for “Pride and Prejudice Day.” They created a special hashtag, went live on Instagram to watch the 2005 adaptation, and launched new merchandise in both shops. All day long they encouraged their audience to post favorite quotes, memes, and to watch along with them. But why was this event mutually beneficial?

It expanded their reach

Both Wicked Whimsy and Fable Grounds are fandom-based shops. Their merchandise is all themed around (primarily) bookish items. Think Lord of the Rings coffee brews and custom-designed Throne of Glass shirts. While they have a lot of overlap in their audiences already, their customer base is not entirely the same. By combining forces on this event they were able to reach people they might not have found on their own.

In addition, Pride and Prejudice is a globally-beloved story. While their current following may have found them through their love of Fable by Adrienne Young or The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab--the number of people who are interested in P&P surpass those fandoms ten times over. By using such a popular piece of entertainment as part of the launch strategy, they opened up their doors to an even larger audience.

It funneled people towards their shops

Because they both launched Pride and Prejudice themed items as part of this event, people were encouraged to go to their shops to purchase. In doing so, they very likely found other pieces and coffees that suited their fancy through features like “recommended similar products.”

It kept the stress level low

There’s no doubt that planning an event of any kind--even an online event--can get stressful. But the anxiety was certainly reduced by hosting this online. They did not have to provide food, suggest lodging, or deal with RSVPs. By the time the event day arrived all they really had to do was make sure their websites were working, and then sit back and interact with the people participating.

And watch a great movie together, of course.

While the day was not wholly without technical difficulties (an excited toddler who wasn’t eager to sleep through a movie night, for example)--it was still relatively easier to manage than many larger launch parties--and easily as effective.

So if you’re planning a launch, consider some out-of-the-box thinking like our friends at Wicked Whimsy Boutique and Fable Grounds did. Try to think of some community building activities that go along with whatever you’re promoting. You’ll be glad you did.