Launch tiers and playbooks

Answer

Every change brands will notice gets one of three tiers, and each tier gets a fixed kit; each version opening, v1 to v4, has its own playbook; no launch date exists, so reads open in small batches as design partners tell us it works.

Today

Where we are

Fact	Source
Brew is in a design partner preview, free, and full terms come before it opens to everyone	brew/legal-pages.js:36-40
The landing says Design partner preview	brew/public/app.js:404
Five design partner prospects live on production since 25 Oct; Cozy Snugglet and Zenant are our test brands	memory brew-live-stores memory brew-prod-backend
Every release goes staging first, then the same image is promoted to production behind a clean gate	memory brew-prod-backend memory prod-clean-only
Release notes are written from the changelog on every build	handbook content/product-marketing/release-notes.md
No launch date, no public launch day, no product name decided	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-6 launch memory brand-directions-2026-10-25
The first market and the first 100 brands are not decided	handbook content/marketing-and-growth/go-to-market.md

The openings the old book planned

Opening	What it needs first	Source
Second partner cycle	First cycle notes reviewed, the first run pieces shipped	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-6 launch
Open reads	Read cost under control, the cap lifted honestly	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-6 launch
v2	Posting with approval and undo, tested with partners	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-6 launch
v3	How it went per live pick	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-6 launch
v4	Rules and budget limits set by the founder	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-6 launch

Each opening got the same small kit in the old book: a reel in the character's voice, a founder post, an email to the waitlist and a note to partners first brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-6 launch.

What may be said at each version

Version	May say	Must never say yet	Source
v1, today	Reads your store, drafts ideas, hands off to your team, your agency or our team	It posts, sends, schedules, launches or measures	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-1 gtm-versions brew/SCOPE.md:36-39
v2	Posts and schedules on your accounts, after your yes	It measures results	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-1 gtm-versions
v3	Shows how each live pick went	It runs ads alone	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-1 gtm-versions
v4	Runs ads inside rules and a budget you set	Anything beyond the rules	brand-directions/book/content/h.js h-1 gtm-versions

Tomorrow

Three tiers, proposed

Tier	What earns it	Example	Kit	Version	Tag
One	A new version, or a new power brands must say yes to	v2 posting with your yes	Partners told first by a founder, then a release note, a founder post, a reel, an email to everyone waiting, the demo and docs updated the same day	v2 to v4	New
Two	A new thing inside the current version	The Brand Book, the viral video finder, a new connector	Release note, a line in the Friday partner note, one post, the demo updated	v1	New
Three	A fix or a change in wording	A layout fix, a healed draft	Release note only	v1	New

The playbook for each version

Version	Before it opens	The message	Who hears first	Never	Tag
v1	Partners hand off weekly; reads cost under control	Your week's marketing, drafted. You pick, someone ships	The five partners, then reads in small batches	A countdown or a fake spot left	v1, New
v2	Posting with approval and undo tested on test brands, then partners	Your picks go out on your accounts, only after your yes	Partners who already hand off weekly	Auto posting without a yes	v2, New
v3	Results tied to the Play that made them, on real accounts	Every pick that went live comes back with how it went	Partners with posts live on v2	A lift we did not measure	v3, New
v4	Rules, a budget cap and undo, set by the founder	Ads run inside the rules and budget you set	Partners who ask for it	Spend beyond the rules	v4, New
Every version	Current customers keep their price for 12 months, then move with 30 days' notice, once pricing is live				v2 to v4, New, proposed brew working tree docs/pricing.md:40

How we do it

Name the tier when the change is planned, not after it ships.
Ship to staging, check on the five partners, then promote:

cd /Users/param/Documents/ChatGPT/brew && tools/promote.sh

Tier three: the release note writes itself from the changelog. Do nothing else.
Tier two: write one line for the Friday partner note and one post from the messaging framework. Update the demo store.
Tier one: a founder tells each partner first, by call or a personal email, before any public word. Then the full kit the same day.
Check every line against claims we can make. A version is never announced before it is live on production.
Log what went out in the campaign log.

Numbers

Metric	Definition	Where measured	Status
Partners told first	Share of tier one launches where every partner heard before the public	Campaign log	Proposed
Use in week one	Share of active brands that used the new thing in its first 7 days	Product events, once logged	Proposed
Read requests per launch	Asks for a read in the 7 days after a tier one or two launch	Pipeline	Proposed

Open

Is there a public launch day at all? Proposal: no single day; open reads in small batches and treat v2 as the first tier one launch.
Who calls the tier? Proposal: Param, at planning, in the release's first line.
Does the name come before any launch? Proposal: yes; no tier one or two launch goes public before the name and the direction are picked.
When do reads open past the five partners? Proposal: when two partners hand off weekly for three weeks running, the same bar as v2 planning.

Source file content/product-marketing/launch-tiers-and-playbooks.md · For agents: Markdown · JSON