How to Showcase a Product Before Launch: The Power of Product CGI

Launching a new product is an exciting milestone for any business – but building momentum before your product hits the shelves is essential. With marketplaces saturated and consumer attention at a premium, the ability to stand out and communicate your product’s value early on can be a decisive factor in its success.

So, how do you showcase a product that doesn’t yet exist in its final form?

That’s where tools like prototyping and product CGI come into play. These assets help you generate interest, secure pre-orders, and even win over investors – before a single unit is manufactured.

The Challenge of Pre-Launch Marketing

In today’s hyper-competitive digital environment, buyers are exposed to thousands of marketing messages every day. If your product isn’t visually compelling and easy to understand, you risk being ignored, especially during the crucial pre-launch phase.

This makes visual marketing critical, even before your product is physically ready. Fortunately, there are several ways to make an impact early.

Option 1: Use Product Prototypes

One of the traditional methods of showcasing a product pre-launch is to develop a prototype. This could be:

Visual-only: offering a realistic look without functionality

Fully functional: showing exactly how the product works

Prototypes are excellent for:

• Product photography and videography
• Website imagery and social media posts
• Printed and digital brochures
• Demonstrations at trade shows and exhibitions
• Investor presentations

If you have a showroom or physical retail space, displaying a prototype allows customers to interact with the product before it becomes available for sale.

However, prototypes can be costly and time-consuming to create. More importantly, if your prototype is still rough around the edges or lacks refinement, it could misrepresent the final product and potentially harm your brand perception.

Option 2: Embrace Product CGI

When prototypes aren’t practical, or when you want more flexibility and polish, product CGI offers a compelling solution.

Product CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) involves creating lifelike 3D visualisations of your product using specialist software. These images look like high-end photography but are created entirely digitally. That means you can:

• Create photorealistic images for multiple uses
• Showcase the product before it exists physically
• Experiment with colours, textures, and environments

Where can you use product CGI?

• Website product pages
• Social media marketing
• Digital brochures and PDFs
• Investor decks and pitch materials
• Direct mail and print campaigns

One of the biggest benefits of CGI is consistency and control. Unlike photography, you can render your product from any angle, under perfect lighting, and at a fraction of the cost of a full photoshoot.

Add Movement with Animated CGI

Want to go one step further? Turn your still renders into animated CGI videos.

Animations show your product in action – how it works, how it’s assembled, or how it fits into a customer’s daily life. Animation helps explain complex features and builds trust, especially for technical or innovative products. And since video content is proven to boost conversions and engagement, it’s a powerful addition to any pre-launch strategy.

Maximise Your Marketing Channels

Whether you’re using product prototypes, CGI visuals, or both, it’s crucial to push your message across all available platforms.

This includes:

• Email marketing to your subscriber base
• Organic and paid social media
• Launch landing pages with pre-order options
• Traditional media like brochures, trade press, and direct mail
• Industry events, exhibitions, and product launch days

Product CGI is especially versatile across both digital and print formats, making it ideal for an omnichannel launch approach.

Ready to Explore Product CGI for Your Business?

At Cornelius Creative, we specialise in helping brands bring their products to life – before they even exist. Whether you need functional prototypes, high-quality CGI visuals, or animated explainer videos, we can support every stage of your pre-launch marketing strategy.

Don’t wait until your product is finished to start selling it.
Let’s bring your concept to life with compelling product CGI that builds buzz, drives sales, and leaves a lasting impression.

📩 Get in touch today to explore how we can help you visualise and market your next big idea.