Your company is launching a new product next month. Your boss wants you to host the event. And you can’t say no to his request. If you haven’t handled this kind of assignment before, you may feel intimidated just thinking about what to say or do.
But you shouldn’t. Here are a few pointers you may find useful in order to make your hosting of the launch a success.
Before The Big Day
1. Have a meeting with the launch team. Ask lots of questions and take plenty of notes. When is the launch date? Where will the event take place? What is being launched? Why is it being launched? Who will be invited? How many people are expected to attend? What form will the event take? The answers to these questions will give you a clear picture of what will happen on the day. After this initial meeting, send an email to the key team members confirming the information you gleaned from the questions you asked. This will ensure that everyone is on the same wavelength regarding the event.
2. Get a running order and script. These two documents are critical to your success. The running order will give you an overview of the entire launch event right from the MC’s welcome through the actual unveiling to the media interviews . From it you can ask the event director to furnish you with the names of speakers and VIPs to be acknowledged. Your script will have key points that need to be highlighted when you take the microphone to speak. Print out the script. It will come in handy on the day if your tablet freezes or your mind goes blank.
3. Attend the dress rehearsal. A professional event director will insist on a rehearsal and as the MC, you should be part of it. Use this opportunity to familiarize yourself with the room and the stage. Run through the entire programme. Agree with the event director what your entry and exit points will be. Practice how the actual unveiling will take place. Will a curtain be drawn? Will your CEO flip a switch? Will the lights go out and a video come on? Will there be a pyrotechnic display to cap everything? You the MC must know exactly what will happen because for the duration of the event, you are in charge.
On The Day
4. Get to the venue early. This means at least an hour ahead of the scheduled start time. Find the event director and confirm whether the programme has changed or not. Anything can happen. A speaker may send her apologies at the eleventh hour and you need to know who her replacement is. Another advantage of arriving early is that you can have a last minute rehearsal to run through the key moments of the launch. Test your microphone. Make sure the event director assigns one person with whom you can communicate during the event proper. This will eliminate the possibility of unauthorized people interfering with the flow of the event.
5. Make your introduction memorable. A way to achieve this is to link the launch date with another important occasion. Let me give you a few examples. The day that Africa World Airlines was launched coincided with Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday and so I linked both events in my opening remarks. The launch of the MTN Cloud service took place on the 100th day of this year and so I worked that fact into my introduction.
6. Build up to the moment of unveiling. Don’t disappoint. Your voice should reflect drama and anticipation as you get closer to the moment everyone in the room has been waiting for.
7. Let the boss shine. As the MC, it is likely that during the rehearsals you would have sighted confidential information in the presentations that will be made during the launch. Try your best not to describe the new product or service before the official unveiling. You’ll have enough time to wax lyrical about it during the question and answer session (see 8 below).
8. Ask one or two obvious questions. Examples include “Why have you launched this product?” and “Who are you targeting?” Once the audience realizes that even simple questions are being entertained, they will venture with smarter ones of their own. From then on, your task will be to manage the flow of questions making sure you paraphrase longwinded ones and get answers from the relevant executives.
After the launch
9. Maximize the publicity. You don’t want to have your boss standing in front of the buffet table when your launch features on the business news. Direct the TV journalists to a designated area with a branded backdrop where interviews will be conducted.
So there you have it, your 9 pointers to help you MC a launch. Can you do it? Yes you can
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