Launch Parties and Networking Events

Your launch party and ongoing networking events are very important because they build the energy and excitement amongst the local businesses. It is also a great way to stay connected with many of your accounts and a great resource for obtaining new leads.

While they can help with customer retention, they can also be a distraction, if you don't have adequate support, and cause a decline in your sales.

Keys to a Successful Event

Location - These are best at high-end restaurants, but they will need space to hold a lot of people. Most launch parties now can pull in 100 people and ongoing quarterly events can run from 50 – 100 people. The location must be appealing to your target audience. Other, non-restaurant, locations that have been successful are Event Spaces and high-end Auto Dealerships.
Appetizers & Drinks - Typically the host of the event loves having the business owners and leaders in the local community come into their space. For that, they are willing to provide appetizers and drinks. Let them know you will confirm a head count a few days before the event so they can plan accordingly but this cost is on them. If that is a challenge, then offer trade out for ad space or an article to cover that cost. In some states, drinks can not be given for free. In this case, you can communicate that drink specials will be available by the restaurant… so you don’t have to cover that cost.
Door Prizes - You want to ideally only allow your advertisers to be the ones offering door prizes. Ideally, they are $100 in value or greater and you know these before you start sending out invitations. You want to promote them in your invitation and help to further promote your clients.

You will want a bowl at your sign-in table when people arrive to drop their business cards in for the door prizes. This is a key source for new leads. You can also allow those customers giving away the door prizes the opportunity to draw the winner for their prize and, if time allows, give them a few minutes to talk about their business.

Frequency - Following your launch party, you should continue running these events every 3-4 months.
Invitation List - These events are for your current customers, target customers and influential community members. The emails for contacts at your target customers can often be found through a directory provided by the Chamber of Commerce when you become a member.
Schedule - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings are the best. In most locations, running them from 5:00 – 7:00 are best as well. This enables people to leave work a bit early if they like and stop on their way home without interfering with other plans for the evening.

We recommend using Constant Contact, MailChimp, or a similar email communication platform for easily creating your invitations and managing your email contact lists. We also recommend sending your invites as follows:

1st Invite – 2 weeks prior

2nd Invite – 1 week prior

Final Reminder – 2 days prior

Strategy

Nov/December - Get out the teasers, build the hype.

Holiday gifts/swag for clients with your new logo.
Newsletter discussing the upcoming new look/brand.
Social Media posts to get readers excited about the new look/brand. (Coming from corporate soon!)

January:

First issue hits! Individual conversations with clients.
Publisher Letter - Discuss the new branding in your letter.
First round of invites go out late January (Depending on event date.)
Set up Eventbrite.

Feb/March:

Host your event
Work your follow up from the event.

General Guidelines for Launch Events

Creative Party Ideas

CL branded step and repeat for photos
CL VIP bags for clients and other swag
Loop of current clients premium listings showing at the party on a screen.
Blow up new covers and display them on an easel.
Have a local bakery make you a CL logo cake.
Have partners donate giveaways and bring them up to draw winners and give them a shout out.

Special Events + Promotional Ideas

Special promotions are used to create some extra incentives for both your readers and participating advertisers. This is often a way you can pull several, non-competing advertisers together to create a fun event for your readers and provide them with some great extra exposure.

Here’s a few examples of promotions that have been used in the past:

Weekend Getaway Offer a resort / hotel the option to give away a 2 night stay with meals for a couple in your readership. Run an extra ad for 2 months in your publication promoting this give-away and have it mentioned in the Editor’s Letter. Also create a static banner on your site where people must go to register for the event. Offer the resort / hotel the list of all registrants, including email addresses. Also run an editorial on the couple that won following their stay. They get to share their experience for further exposure of the resort.
Dinner Partner with a high-end builder with a $1M home on the market, a well known chef, sommelia, and high-end auto dealer. Run a promotion for 5 or 6 couples to have a chance to win a dinner with this top chef and sommelia. Have the dinner presented at the home of the builder and have the auto-dealer transport all 5 or 6 couples from their homes to the event and back that evening. Promote the event in Good Times.
Biggest Loser Partner with a local gym / trainer and healthy meal program service. Promote a 10 – 12 week event for 5 – 10 lucky participants in the publication. Have people register on your site to enter to win. Interview registrants with trainers to select candidates. Have updates posted in the publication during the event and do a final story on results, possibly have the winner on cover, once the challenge is over.
Poker Tournament Partner with a game room company. Run a poker tournament one evening. Promote this in your publication as well as through Constant Contact (emailing event info to your current customers). Have a registration fee of $50, $75 or $100 per person. Have proceeds go to a local charity. Get customers to sponsor tables by giving away prizes to winners.