Product Announcement (HERALD Protocol)

Generate coordinated, multi-channel product launch communications that tell a consistent story across every audience and platform.

When to Use

• New product launches
• Major feature announcements
• Platform/pricing changes
• Partnership announcements
• Milestone announcements

What You'll Need

Critical inputs (ask if not provided):

• What is being announced (product, feature, partnership)
• Launch date
• Target audience(s)

Nice-to-have:

• Position Lock output (messaging hierarchy)
• Battle Scanner output (competitive context)
• Approved quotes from executives/customers

Process

Step 1: HERALD Framework

Structure the announcement across 6 layers:

Layer	What It Covers	Key Output
Headline	The headline story -- why this matters to the world	1 sentence that would make someone stop scrolling
Echo	Persona-specific angles on the same announcement	3-5 message variants by audience
Reach	All announcement materials across channels	Full asset list below
Align	Internal alignment and stakeholder coordination	Stakeholder sign-off checklist
Launch	Timed release across channels for maximum impact	Hour-by-hour launch day plan
Distribute	Success metrics per channel and overall	KPI dashboard

Step 2: Big Idea Distillation

Create the announcement hierarchy:

• Internal headline (what we're really doing): 1 sentence, no jargon
• External headline (what customers care about): 1 sentence, benefit-led
• Press headline (what media would write): 1 sentence, newsworthy angle
• Social hook (what gets engagement): 1 sentence, provocative or surprising

All 4 must tell the same story from different angles.

Step 3: Multi-Channel Asset Creation

Generate content for each channel:

Asset	Length	Tone	Key Element
Press release	400-600 words	Formal, newsworthy	Quote from CEO + customer
Blog post	800-1200 words	Educational, excited	Problem-solution narrative
Email to customers	200-300 words	Direct, valuable	What it means for THEM
Email to prospects	150-250 words	Compelling, CTA-driven	Why they should care NOW
Social posts (LinkedIn)	150-200 words	Professional, insightful	Hot take or data point
Social posts (X/Twitter)	280 chars	Punchy, shareable	The one-liner version
Internal announcement	300-500 words	Celebratory, informative	What, why, and what's next
Sales enablement brief	1 page	Tactical, action-oriented	Talk track + FAQ + CTA
Partner notification	200-300 words	Collaborative, opportunity-focused	What it means for them

Step 4: Sequencing Plan

Design the launch day timeline:

Time	Action	Channel	Owner
T-7 days	Embargo briefings to press	Direct outreach	PR
T-3 days	Customer advisory board preview	Email	CS
T-1 day	Internal all-hands announcement	Slack/Teams	Exec
T-0 Hour 0	Press release goes live	Newswire	PR
T-0 Hour 1	Blog post published	Website	Marketing
T-0 Hour 2	Customer email sent	Email	Marketing
T-0 Hour 3	Social media barrage begins	LinkedIn, X	Marketing
T-0 Hour 4	Sales outreach begins	Email, phone	Sales
T+1 day	Partner co-marketing activates	Joint channels	Partnerships
T+7 days	Follow-up content wave	Blog, social	Marketing

Step 5: Success Metrics

Track per channel:

• Impressions/reach
• Engagement (clicks, shares, replies)
• Traffic to announcement page
• Sign-ups/demo requests attributed to announcement
• Media coverage (number of articles, reach)
• Social share of voice vs. competitors

Output

Save to outputs/announcement-[product]-[YYYY-MM-DD].md

Deliverables:

1. HERALD Brief: Complete announcement strategy with headline story and layered messaging
2. Content Package: All 9 channel-specific assets ready for review
3. Sequencing Timeline: Hour-by-hour launch day execution plan
4. Success Metrics Dashboard: KPIs per channel with targets

Chain Connections

• Next skill: Run launch-command to integrate announcement into full launch orchestration
• Also feeds: enablement-forge (announcement assets become sales tools), demand-engine (announcement drives demand)
• Enhanced by: Run after position-lock (messaging fuels announcement) and battle-scanner (competitive context shapes the story)