Chapter 04
Launch Calendar & Campaign Planning
A successful launch requires military-grade coordination. This phase maps out every activity, owner, and deadline.
4.1 Master Launch Timeline
What you're creating: A comprehensive calendar showing every launch activity.
Deliverables
→Launch calendar (Notion, Asana, or spreadsheet)
→Critical path identified
→Dependencies mapped
→Owner assigned to each task
How to execute
1
Create comprehensive task list
Brain dump every activity needed·Content creation (blog, social, email)
·Asset production (videos, graphics, screenshots)
·Website updates
·Sales enablement
·Customer communications
·Internal training
·PR/analyst outreach
·Paid advertising setup
·Event planning (if applicable)
2
Map dependencies
For each task, identify·What needs to happen before this can start?
·What's blocked by this task?
·Who else needs to be involved?
3
Build timeline working backwards from T-Day
·T-30: Positioning finalized, Messaging framework complete, Competitive positioning done
·T-21: Internal kickoff complete, Sales enablement materials ready, Demo videos scripted
·T-14: Email campaign scheduled, Social teasers begin, Website staging complete, Sales training complete
·T-7: All creative assets finalized, Paid ads ready to launch, Final team briefing
·T-3: Final push email sent, Website changes queued, Social posts scheduled, Team on standby
·T-Day: Website live, Social posts publishing, Email sending, Sales outreach begins, CS customer outreach
·T+7: Post-launch newsletter sent, Retargeting campaigns live, Customer testimonials collected, Performance review meeting
4
Identify critical path
Highlight tasks that if delayed would delay launch·Product readiness
·Legal/security reviews
·Core messaging approval
·Website development
·Critical content pieces
Who owns itProduct Marketing Manager
Tools neededNotion, Asana, Monday.com, Google Sheets
Update frequencyDaily during final 2 weeks
4.2 Channel Strategy
What you're creating: A plan for how you'll use each channel throughout the launch.
Deliverables
→Channel mix strategy
→Budget allocation by channel
→Content plan by channel
→Success metrics by channel
How to execute
1
Define channel priorities
Identify where your audience is most active and where your investment will have the highest impact.2
Map content to channels
·Website: Hero section update, New feature pages, Updated product tour, Case studies, Help documentation
·Email: Pre-launch teaser (T-14), Feature deep-dive (T-10), Customer proof (T-5), Last chance (T-1), Launch announcement (T-Day), Post-launch newsletter (T+2)
·LinkedIn: Teaser posts (T-14 to T-7), Behind-the-scenes (T-7 to T-3), Launch day posts (T-Day), Feature spotlights (T+1 to T+7), Customer stories (T+7 onwards)
·Sales: Prospect email templates, Demo scripts, Battlecards, One-pagers
3
Allocate budget
·Paid ads: 40%
·Event/webinar: 20%
·Content creation (video, design): 20%
·Tools/software: 10%
·Miscellaneous: 10%
| Channel | Priority | Purpose | Key Assets | Success Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website | Primary | SEO, conversions | Landing page, product pages | Sign-ups, demos |
| Primary | Conversion | Launch series, nurture | Open rate, CTR, conversions | |
| Primary | Awareness, social proof | Posts, videos, testimonials | Engagement, reach | |
| Sales | Primary | Direct revenue | Demos, outreach | Deals influenced, pipeline |
| Product (in-app) | Primary | Adoption | In-app messages, tours | Feature adoption rate |
| Secondary | Engagement | Threads, quick takes | Engagement rate | |
| Paid Ads | Secondary | Demand gen | LinkedIn/Google ads | CAC, conversion rate |
| PR | Tertiary | Brand awareness | Press release, briefings | Coverage, backlinks |
Who owns itProduct Marketing, Growth Marketing
Timeline1 week
4.3 Campaign Milestones
What you're creating: Key checkpoints to ensure you're on track.
Deliverables
→Milestone checklist
→Weekly status update format
→Go/no-go criteria
How to execute
1
Set major milestones
·Milestone 1 (T-30) Foundation Complete: Positioning approved, Messaging finalized, Target personas defined, Competitive positioning done. Go/No-Go: Do we have strategic clarity?
·Milestone 2 (T-21) Enablement Ready: Sales materials complete, Internal training done, Demo environment ready, Support documentation complete. Go/No-Go: Is the team ready?
·Milestone 3 (T-14) Content Complete: All email copy written, Social posts created, Videos produced, Website staged. Go/No-Go: Do we have all assets?
·Milestone 4 (T-7) Campaign Ready: Emails scheduled, Ads running, Social posts queued, Sales actively training. Go/No-Go: Are systems ready?
·Milestone 5 (T-Day) Launch: Website live, Communications sent, Team activated, Monitoring in place
2
Create weekly status template
Every Friday report·Completed this week
·Planned for next week
·Blockers/risks
·Decisions needed
·Budget status
3
Define go/no-go criteria
Launch only if·Product is stable (< 2% error rate)
·Core messaging approved by leadership
·Sales team trained (100% attendance)
·Support team ready (knowledge base complete)
·Website tested (no critical bugs)
·Legal/compliance sign-off received
Who owns itProduct Marketing Lead
Review frequencyWeekly
← PreviousInternal Enablement
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