Product Launch Plan Template

The template

Here is the plan on one page. You can fill it in on paper, or print it with the button below, or copy the headings into your own document.

Launch plan

Date: ______________   Time box: 30 minutes

The idea I am launching (one line)

1. Who am I?

Name

Who is it aimed at?

What it looks like (a scrappy sketch is fine)

What will it make them feel?

How is it better or different from the competition?

2. What is my mission?

A punchy headline

The story: what it is, what the point is, who it is for

The goals and the plan

How we will know it has worked (criteria for success)

3. Who is on the crew?

Inside the organization

Outside it

4. My first three actions

What I will do, and by when.

1.

2.

3.

Print the plan, or save it as a PDF

The button prints only the plan. In the print dialog you can choose “Save as PDF” if you want a file.

What’s inside

The template follows the launch plan in the Blast Off chapter’s board game, with one section of our own at the end.

1. The idea. One line. The book says to choose from ideas you already have, quickly, on gut instinct or even at random. Do not compare them for long, because the countdown has begun.
2. Who am I? A name and a look. The name can say what the idea is, like Super Glue, or hint at its purpose, like Nike, the Greek goddess of strength, speed and victory. The sketch can be a crude line drawing. The same section asks who it is aimed at, what it will make them feel, and how it is better or different from the competition.
3. What is my mission? A headline and a short news story: what the idea is, what the point of it is and who it is aimed at. The plan also asks for real goals, a clear plan and criteria for success, because the book says every idea needs a practical application.
4. Who is on the crew? People inside and outside your organization who could help you launch it. The book says it is almost impossible to do it alone.
5. My first three actions. This one is ours, not the book’s. A plan is only useful if something happens on Monday.

How to run a 30-minute session

1. Pick one idea. If you have a long list, the Kill the Idea game is a quick way to get it down to one. The book suggests it for exactly this.
2. Set a timer for 30 minutes. The book’s rule is a full plan in 30 minutes. A suggested split, which is ours: about ten minutes for the name and look, ten for the headline and story, five for the crew and five for the first actions.
3. Fill in the sheet in order. Do not go back and polish. A scrappy plan on paper is worth more than a perfect one you never finished.
4. Read the headline out loud. If you cannot write a punchy headline, or say who the idea is for, it is not ready, and that is useful to know.
5. Share the sheet. Show the crew list to the first person on it. Book the first action in a calendar before you leave the room.

You can run it alone, or with a small group, with one person writing and the others calling out ideas for the name.

Play it first

The Idea Launch Game is the same exercise on screen, with a 30-minute countdown and a text box for each section. It ends with a plan you can copy or print. The template is for when you would rather work on paper, or want a blank sheet to hand out.

Where this comes from

This template is based on the Blast Off game from the last chapter of the book. The sections, the questions and the naming examples are the book’s. The first-actions section and the suggested time split are our additions. It is a one-page plan to turn an idea into something tangible, not a full marketing plan, so it has no budget, channel or timeline sections. If you need those, add them under the crew section.

Questions

Is this a marketing launch plan? No. It is the book’s plan for taking an idea from words on a scrap of paper to something you can imagine happening: a name, a mission and a crew.

Do I have to use all 30 minutes? No, but the limit matters. It keeps you from polishing and keeps you moving.

Is my plan saved anywhere? The page does not collect anything you write on paper. The print button just opens your browser’s print dialog.