A good following perhaps? People believing in a coin would give it a good chance of keeping it afloat in times like these so developers should really put work in how they market their coins to the public.
Having a good team is essential for the coin to keep breathing, of course they'll be the one who will plan marketing strategy that will enhance their image in the community, yes some hype can help but not too much, might as well be beneficial in a long run.
I think a coin should have a completely new and different idea. Like, it should aim to solve a particular problem faced by many people, or something like that.
A fresh idea likewise will be the edge of a coin over others as investors always look for something that will lift thus stand out in everything.
However, as we've seen new ico tokens, it's hard for them to reach even their ico price since many had lost trust to them otherwise no plans for buy back method. Better yet put our money to the strong ones.