---
name: tidb-launch-brief
description: >-
  Produces the execution-level launch brief for a TiDB product launch, feature
  release, or GTM campaign — translating the approved GTM Brief and Messaging
  Platform into a concrete plan with milestones, owners, channel calendar, assets,
  success metrics, and rollback options. The single document all launch
  participants operate from. Use after strategy-review PASS and messaging-review
  PASS, when moving from strategy to execution.
---

# TiDB launch brief

**Role:** Launch Orchestrator. You convert approved strategy and messaging into executable plans. A launch brief that says "publish content" is not a brief. A launch brief that says "DevRel publishes a migration story targeting fintech backend engineers on TiDB blog + LinkedIn on [date], owner: [name], draft due [date-2]" is a brief.

---

## Prerequisites

Before writing the launch brief, confirm:

- [ ] `tidb-strategy-review` has PASSED (GTM Brief approved)
- [ ] `tidb-messaging-review` has PASSED (Messaging Platform approved)
- [ ] PM has confirmed product is GA (or beta/preview with clear label)
- [ ] Legal has cleared benchmark claims and customer references (if applicable)
- [ ] Launch window is confirmed and doesn't conflict with major competitive announcements or TiDB community events

---

## 1. Launch scope definition

| Component | Define clearly |
|-----------|---------------|
| **What is launching** | TiDB version / feature / tier / capability (exact, with version number) |
| **Launch type** | Major release / Feature GA / Preview announcement / Campaign launch |
| **Target segment** | Primary ICP segment from GTM Brief — one segment per launch brief |
| **Launch window** | Specific date range, not "Q3" |
| **Geographic scope** | Global / China only / EN market only / Simultaneous EN+CN |

---

## 2. Milestone timeline

Work backward from the launch date. Typical TiDB launch timeline:

| Milestone | Owner | Days before launch |
|-----------|-------|-------------------|
| Launch brief approved | GTM Strategy | T-21 |
| Content drafts completed | PMM / DevRel | T-14 |
| Internal review (content) | PMM + PM + Legal | T-10 |
| `tidb-content-review` PASS | PMM | T-7 |
| Press/analyst briefings (if applicable) | PMM / Comms | T-5 |
| Social copy + assets ready | Growth / Design | T-3 |
| WeChat/CN content ready | CN marketing | T-3 |
| Final stakeholder sign-off | GTM Strategy | T-1 |
| Launch day execution | All owners | T=0 |
| Launch log completed | GTM Strategy | T+1 |
| Metrics first read | Growth | T+7 |
| Full measurement report | PMM + Growth | T+30 |

Adjust timeline per launch type. Minor feature announcements may compress to T-7 → T=0.

---

## 3. Asset inventory

List every asset required. Don't leave any as "TBD" — TBD becomes missed.

| Asset | Owner | Draft due | Review due | Status |
|-------|-------|----------|-----------|--------|
| Technical blog post | DevRel | [date] | [date] | [ ] |
| Product announcement (short form) | PMM | [date] | [date] | [ ] |
| LinkedIn post (EN) | Growth | [date] | [date] | [ ] |
| Twitter/X thread | Growth | [date] | [date] | [ ] |
| WeChat post (CN) | CN marketing | [date] | [date] | [ ] |
| HN post | DevRel | [date] | [date] | [ ] |
| Sales enablement deck update | PMM | [date] | [date] | [ ] |
| Website landing page / docs update | PM + DevRel | [date] | [date] | [ ] |
| Demo or video (if applicable) | DevRel | [date] | [date] | [ ] |
| Press release (if applicable) | Comms | [date] | [date] | [ ] |

---

## 4. Channel plan

For each channel, specify: role in the launch narrative, sequence timing relative to other channels, and owner.

| Channel | Role | Timing | Owner | Notes |
|---------|------|--------|-------|-------|
| TiDB/PingCAP blog | Primary deep-dive | T=0 morning | DevRel | Anchor all other content to this |
| HN | Developer credibility | T=0 morning (same as blog) | DevRel | "Show HN" format; first comment = methodology |
| Twitter/X | Amplification | T=0 morning | Growth | Thread linking to blog |
| LinkedIn | Business/professional audience | T=0 late morning | PMM | Different framing than Twitter/X |
| 微信公众号 (WeChat) | China market | T=0 China morning | CN marketing | Separate brief with local context |
| 知乎 | China developer credibility | T+1 | CN DevRel | Longer form; technical community |
| AI community channels | AI developer audience (Discord, Slack) | T+1 to T+3 | DevRel | Organic; do not spam; contribute to discussion |
| Newsletter / Developer digests | Long-tail distribution | T+3 to T+7 | Growth | Pitch to relevant newsletters |
| Conference/Event | If launch coincides with event | As applicable | Field | Use field brief template |

---

## 5. Success metrics

| Metric | Baseline | Target | Window | Owner |
|--------|---------|--------|--------|-------|
| Blog unique visitors | [current monthly avg] | [target] | T+7 | Analytics |
| TiDB Cloud Starter signups | [baseline] | [target] | T+30 | Growth |
| HN upvotes / GitHub stars | 0 (new post) | [target] | T+48h | DevRel |
| Demo requests (if applicable) | [baseline] | [target] | T+30 | Sales |
| LinkedIn post engagement | [baseline avg] | [target] | T+7 | PMM |

Define success threshold before launch — not after. If the launch doesn't hit threshold, document the post-mortem hypothesis.

---

## 6. Rollback and contingency

| Scenario | Trigger | Response | Owner |
|----------|---------|---------|-------|
| Technical error in published benchmark | Community identifies reproducibility issue | Pull or update post within 4h; post correction | DevRel + PMM |
| Customer reference retracted | Customer requests removal | Update content within 24h | PMM + Legal |
| Competitive counter-announcement | Competitor launches simultaneous response | PMM evaluates; may accelerate customer stories | PMM |
| China launch blocked by compliance | Regulatory review needed | Delay CN launch; proceed with EN | CN marketing |

---

## Launch brief output format

```markdown
## TiDB Launch Brief — [Product/Feature Name] — [Launch Date]

### What is launching
[Exact product, version, tier, capability]

### Target segment
[Primary ICP from GTM Brief]

### Launch window
[Date range] — [Geographic scope]

### Milestone timeline
[Table from Section 2]

### Asset inventory
[Table from Section 3]

### Channel plan
[Table from Section 4]

### Success metrics
[Table from Section 5]

### Rollback plan
[Table from Section 6]

### Sign-offs
- GTM Strategy: [name] — [PASS / PENDING]
- PMM: [name] — [PASS / PENDING]
- PM: [name] — [PASS / PENDING]
- Legal: [name / N/A] — [PASS / PENDING]
- CN Marketing (if applicable): [name] — [PASS / PENDING]
```

---

## Pairs with

- `tidb-strategy-review` — required PASS before this brief is written
- `tidb-messaging-review` — required PASS before this brief is written
- `tidb-field-brief` — if launch includes event activation, field brief extends this document
- `tidb-content-review` — each content asset goes through review before publishing
- `tidb-channel-copy` — social copy is produced from the channel plan in this brief
- `@tidb-gtm-brain/playbooks/messaging.md` — approved messages for all launch content