Most launch-day problems are actually planning problems that surfaced late. Market sequencing, staffing availability, and vendor lead times all need to be locked well before the creative is finalized.
Start with the launch date and work backward: permitting timelines, staffing recruitment and training, material production, and market-specific logistics all have different lead times, and the shortest one sets your real planning deadline.
Sequence markets deliberately. Launching flagship markets first lets a team pressure-test the activation model and fix issues before scaling to the full market list.
Finally, build the reporting structure before day one, not after. Knowing what 'success' looks like per market — and how it rolls up nationally — should be defined at the planning stage, not retrofitted once the campaign is already live.