Event Planning: How to Successfully Host a Launch Event from Scratch

It's mid-year again, and the second half of the year is often when major internet companies rush to hold launch events. Various product launches and industry summits keep us busy. Often, we are just attendees witnessing the brilliance of industry leaders. But what if one day your boss asks you to plan a launch event yourself? What should you do?

This year, I was fully responsible for or indirectly assisted in the organization of three launch events. When I was first asked by my boss to plan and execute a launch event with over 500 attendees, I was completely at a loss. Fortunately, after nearly two months of overtime work with my colleagues, we finally brought the event to a successful conclusion. Looking back, I believe I have some experience to share on how to successfully host a launch event.

For organizing a launch event, I have summarized a method that involves three core elements and two key lines:

The three core elements are the event theme, the event segments on the day, and the event guests. These three core elements directly determine the quality and popularity of the event, making them extremely important.

The two key lines are the event promotion line and the event resource implementation line. These two lines directly affect whether the event can be held smoothly and successfully. If you achieve the above, congratulations, you are not far from successfully hosting a launch event.

In my opinion, the influence of a launch event largely depends on the three core elements: the theme, the segments, and the guests.

1. Event Theme

The Significance of the Event Theme

The theme of a launch event is like the title of an article; it directly determines whether people are willing to learn about the event. Moreover, the theme sets the overall direction for promotion and the message to be conveyed to the target audience. The theme also defines who we hope to attend. For example, the UC launch event I was responsible for, titled "Your Creation Deserves More," clearly conveyed that the core purpose was to enhance the value of content creators, making them the primary audience. Thus, the theme effectively excluded people from other industries.

Common Types of Launch Events

To determine the theme, we usually need to understand the purpose of the event. Based on different purposes, we can more precisely define the event's essence and convey focused information to the public.

Common launch events, according to their purposes, are generally divided into four types: new product launches, strategic upgrade launches, partnership launches, and industry launches.

The first type, new product launches, are typically held by companies to promote new products, such as Apple's annual autumn new product launch.

The second type, strategic upgrade launches, are usually held when a company has a major upgrade in product direction or brand image that needs to be announced. For example, UC's strategic upgrade launch "New UC, Dancing with Media" announced the official upgrade from "UC Browser" to "UC," fully upgrading to a "big data new media platform."

The third type, partnership launches, are held when two companies collaborate or jointly invest to establish a new company. For instance, the launch event for the joint venture between 360 and Coolpad falls into this category.

The fourth type, industry launches, are usually held to promote industry exchange, such as the GMIC Mobile Internet Conference.

2. Event Segments

Composition of Event Segments

Whether the event segments are interesting and reasonable is a key factor in attracting attendees to register and keeping them until the end.

For a launch event, common segments may include: opening remarks by leaders, core product presentations, guest sharing, launch ceremonies, panel discussions, and lucky draws. Depending on the scale, resources, and focus, an event can consist of one or several of these segments. For example, at the Smartisan phone launch, it was basically Mr. Luo's stand-up comedy performance, talking about the new phone for two to three hours. Because of Mr. Luo's unique charisma, the audience still enjoyed it. On the other hand, some events lose half the audience before the midpoint due to a lack of highlights.

Notes on Setting Event Segments

When setting event segments, the following three points should be considered:

First, the most important consideration is how to cleverly introduce your product. For example, when introducing a new phone, Mr. Luo Yonghao used an emotional appeal, while Xiaomi focused on hardware specifications. Both used the event to promote their key product in the most suitable way.

Second, consider the highlights of the event. The highlight is the most attractive point of the event, such as the introduction of the iPhone 7 at Apple's event, or the announcement of a major plan, or a creative segment.

Third, the event should not be too long, and segments need to be prioritized. The total duration should ideally be controlled within 4 hours; otherwise, the audience's attention will wane, and they may leave early. Additionally, longer events require the organizer to consider providing meals, increasing complexity and cost. For important segments like product introductions, more time can be allocated, while for less important ones like opening speeches, 10-15 minutes is sufficient.

Finally, after determining the segments, create a detailed schedule for the event, specifying what happens at what time. This schedule can be used for on-site control and to inform attendees of the day's agenda.

3. Event Guests

The importance of event guests is self-evident. If a launch event has heavyweight guests, it can significantly enhance the event's appeal. Many attendees come specifically for the guests' sharing.

Common event guests can be divided into two types: industry leaders and celebrities. Industry leaders are top influential figures in the industry, and their sharing often elevates the event's level and value. Celebrities, on the other hand, greatly boost the event's popularity. However, considering cost and effect, inviting industry leaders often has a more focused impact and better results.

When selecting guests, first, pay attention to whether the guest's image and connotation match the overall theme of the event, achieving a complementary effect. For example, vivo, which targets young and trendy consumers, invited Li Yifeng, a young idol, as a guest, which was a good match. However, for Xiaomi Note 2, choosing Tony Leung as a guest, I personally don't understand the strong connection. Second, it's important to invite several backup guests. Since event preparation takes a long time, it's possible that some guests may be unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts. Therefore, always have backup plans. In critical times, the second lead can also play the leading role.