The top 7 “must haves” for a tech startup launch party.

Planning the launch party for your product is very important for 2 reasons:

– To kick off the promotion of your product the right way

– To celebrate with your team for all of the hard work that you put in to getting your product to this point

Now that you’ve got that down, you’re probably asking yourself “That’s easy, what else do we need?”.  In this post we’ll tell you what the must haves are for a successful (and awesome) launch party.

1. Make a list of the key people that you want to invite to your launch party

Get a pad of paper, hop on your Evernote or grab your tablet.  Who are the influential people that you want at your launch party? Some to consider are the business journal for your community, journalists, and popular bloggers who write about what’s trending in your community.  Once you’ve decided who these people are, make sure you include a guest pass for each of them.  Allowing them to bring a friend or coworker with them will only add to the buzz.

2. Event Marketing App – Which one to use? 

We all know that Mobile Development is huge in the tech community, so it only makes sense to utilize one of the fantastic event marketing apps out there.  This only adds to creating more buzz to the social media network, and your community.  The best part is with some of them, you can print out QR cards, roll-ups, and handle your registration, ticket sales and networking all in one platform.  Some apps to consider are:  Eventbrite, Bizzabo, and Event Farm.  We must admit, though, that we have been using Bizzabo the most because it integrates with Eventbrite and LinkedIn (FYI).

3.  Giveaways aka “Event Swag”

Rad! You got them in the door.  High fives all around, but there’s still something missing here: Don’t leave your attendees hanging without a “Thank you for coming” gift.  Just think about all of the parties/events you’ve attended, and remember how excited you were when someone gave you that colorful stress-ball or nifty lanyard that you have your car keys on now.  We’re not suggesting that you give away stress-balls and lanyards, but think of some cool gifts you want to give to your attendees.   Even better, consider gifts that directly relate to your product somehow.  For example, Instagram is a mobile app we all use to share our pictures with our friends.  If we were to throw a launch party for Instagram, we’d suggest they pass out little disposable cameras decorated like the Instagram app, and have them share all of the pics from the party on their website after. Catch our drift?  Also, if you’re going to have other vendors at your event – encourage them to have their own goody items that you can include in one big event swag bag for each of your attendees.

4.  Themed cocktails

This may not seem like a big deal, but it is.  Themed cocktails are not only awesomely delicious, they are a conversation starter between your guests.  “Hey dude, what did you get?” “I got the tech tequila cruncher”  “Awesome, I got the startup sizzler with mint leaves”. CHEERS!  Of course, make sure you carry the regular items like beers, wines and mixers, waters, sodas for your guests, but the themed cocktails is a for sure way to get all of your attendees interacting with each other.

5.  Have a theme, and tie your activities in to it. 

Think of a theme that you want to have for your event.  Let’s say your theme is “Surfing through the world of technology”.  Consider renting a booth that has a simulated surfing encounter for your attendees, where they can hop on the board and “catch a few waves”.  Add a photo booth where guests can wear silly beach attire/hats/sunnies and take funny pictures with tropical backgrounds.  Decorate the venue with surfboards and palm trees, and if you want to get real crazy, drop 10 tons of sand on the ground and encourage all attendees to wear flip flops and tropical gear.  A tech luau launch party? Can we say “Grab some shell, dude”?

6.  End the party while it’s still going

Leave your attendees with wanting more.  Set a timeline on when to end the party, and suggest local spots to “after party” for all of the attendees who want to continue to mingle, socialize and party on their own time.

7.  Take away treat

Have something at the door for your attendees to take away with them.  Try cookies or cupcakes with your logo on them.  Or, perhaps candy kabobs that have candies with your logo colors on them (we got this wonderful idea from our friends at Office Ninjas).  If you don’t like the treat idea, perhaps have some energy drinks, waters or healthy snacks.

Now that you have all of our tricks to the trade, if you have a launch party coming up, you should get in touch with us.  Let us make you look and feel like this guy, while you focus on your final touches of your product!