Launch planning
How to plan a B2B product launch video, working back from launch day
Plan a B2B launch video backwards from your launch date. Decide the one message first, name who approves it, and leave room for changes. This timeline shows how.
When should you start planning a launch video?
Start at least three to four weeks before launch if the studio is fast, and six to eight weeks if your approvals are slow or the studio runs a longer schedule. The time you need depends on your review process as much as on production.
London studio Maverick Frame recommends starting six to eight weeks before launch, with four to six weeks of production for a film under a minute. On our schedule, a shorter runway can work: first direction within 5 days of kickoff, then most films 7–10 days after you approve it. That is about three weeks if approvals are quick, so we would still ask you to add a margin. To get these dates for your own launch, use the launch film planner.
| Time before launch | What needs to happen | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 4–6 weeks | Agree the audience, the one message and the page the film will live on | Marketing lead |
| 4 weeks | Brief the studio, get a fixed quote and name the single approver | Marketing lead |
| 3–4 weeks | Kickoff. Send UI references and anything that must stay exact | Product and marketing |
| 2–3 weeks | Approve the story and key frames | Approver |
| 1 week | Final film and revisions | Approver and studio |
| Launch day | Film live on the page, in email and in outreach | Marketing lead |
What should you decide before you brief a studio?
Decide who the film is for and what they should think when it ends. If you can’t write that in a sentence, the film will try to say everything.
Use this sentence: “After watching, a [role] at a [type of company] should understand that [one change], and then [one action].” It is harder than it looks, and it’s the most valuable hour of the project. Don’t list features yet. A launch film has room for one idea and perhaps three supporting moments.
Who should approve a B2B launch video?
One named person should collect all feedback and sign off. Everyone else can comment, but they shouldn’t each have a separate line to the studio.
Enterprise stakeholder reviews are listed among the high-impact cost drivers in one vendor’s pricing guide, and delay is the usual symptom. Identify legal and compliance reviewers early, especially in healthcare, finance or security. Bring them in at the story stage, because a claim is far easier to change in a script than in a finished film.
Can you make a launch video before the product is finished?
Yes, as long as the film isn’t tied to UI that is about to change. Build it around the customer’s situation and use only the screens you are confident will ship.
We can work from a staging link, Figma files or screen recordings, and we can sign an NDA for pre-launch work. Tell your studio which elements are final and which are likely to change. A film led by the customer’s story survives a late interface change far better than a walkthrough does. Never show a capability in the film that won’t be available when the film goes live.
What should you send the studio?
Send the product access, the one-sentence message, your brand assets and a short list of things that must stay exact. A URL is enough to get a quote, but production needs more.
- Product access or current screen recordings
- Logo, colours, fonts and any brand guidance
- Your audience, and what they believe today
- Claims you can and can’t make, with the evidence for each
- Three films you like, and why
- Your launch date, and where the film will appear
Where should a launch video run?
Put it where buyers are already deciding: the homepage, the launch page, sales follow-up and outreach email. A launch video that only runs on launch-day social posts is mostly wasted.
The film should keep working long after launch week. Before you brief, list each placement and its aspect ratio, because that determines how the film is framed. HELM packages include one master film, without separate hooks or cutdowns, so if you need variations, raise it at quote stage. Akka’s 11-second teaser is an example of a film short enough to work in an email, where it is the whole message.
What usually goes wrong with B2B launch videos?
Too many messages, too many approvers and a start date that leaves no room to fix anything. All three are decisions, so all three can be avoided early.
Two others come up often. The first is starting with the company story when the buyer wants to know what changes for them. The second is locking the film before the product and pricing are settled. Our product launch video page shows how we structure the work to avoid these.
How do you measure a launch video?
Choose one action, record the baseline before launch, and report that number afterwards. Keep launch-day traffic spikes separate from what the film does in the following weeks.
Launch weeks are noisy, because press, email and paid activity all move the numbers at the same time. Look at the page’s conversion rate rather than raw signups, and compare the same traffic source where you can. Be honest about what you can’t separate. One clean metric, reported plainly, is worth more than a dashboard full of views.
How this guide was made. HELM researched and drafted it with AI assistance. Every outside figure links to the page it came from, which we opened and checked on 7 November 2026. The examples come from HELM’s own films and project records.