A launch evening can be a terrifying and stressful ordeal, but it should also be viewed as a necessity. It’s still the most immediate and instantly successful way of getting a group of people together and putting across your brand message, showcasing who you are and what you do.
The first order of business is to contact the press, both local and national if you can, and all the industry people you can find the details for. You can’t have a good launch without people being there! The next step is to concentrate on the must-haves for the evening of the launch itself. Here is what you need to make your launch a roaring success:
Something to Eat and Drink
It sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget the basics when focusing on the bigger picture, such as getting clients and making sure everything runs smoothly. Put a budget together, hire an outside caterer to put some nibbles on, and get plenty of champagne and cocktails at the ready. Your guests will be expecting something to eat and drink, and they will judge your business based on first impressions. Make sure they’re great by hitting them right in the taste buds on your launch evening.
Showcase Your Past Work
In the lead up to starting your agency, focus on getting together as many portfolios and prints of your past clients as you possibly can, so you can showcase what you have done for clients in the past. Any agents and potential clients who come to your launch will be expecting to see what you can do for them, so make sure you highlight the best of your past work. If you have worked with celebrities in the past, they should be front and center, for the extra wow factor.
Optimize Your Screens at Your Agency
If you are going to put on a show for your guests, you should consider having screens put around your agency. You can use these to showcase your clients, highlight what you can do for them and have a live social media feed running throughout the event. Screens are a truly great investment, as they can put messages across without having to cross your fingers that your guests will read all the printed materials you have on display.
To make sure your screens look amazing, consider using a background generator to design professional slides including any information, images, and video that you want on those screens. They are simple to put together as they have templates available to you, and they will provide a great counterpoint to your evening.
A Way to Capture Your Guests Information
You want to your guests to be fully fueled with food, drink, and information, but if they walk away without giving you any contact information, the launch evening is not as successful as it might appear on the surface. Have a box on display for business cards to be dropped in, and have somebody at your agency walking around with a clipboard, talking to guests and taking down their details based on what they’re interested in. Whether that is working with you or for you, building that list is essential for any future follow-ups to take place.
Something for Your Guests to Take Away
In the weeks running up to the launch of your agency, you will be creating your website and getting your promotional materials, including business cards, brochures and flyers, printed and ready. These should be front and center on your launch evening so that your guests can take them away with them at the end of the evening. By doing this, you take some of the pressure off you and your team from having to spend time with everybody who attends, as you know there are takeaways for your guest to take advantage of.
Images from MMSCENE PORTRAITS: Wilhelmina LA Fresh Faces by Jon Wong – See the full story here
