Organising a Launch

On the day itself

Stand out from the crowd

Be clear on your promotional material about when and where you’ll be meeting. Many people that come for the first Walk and Talk will be strangers to you and your volunteers, so make it easy for them to find you. Get there nice and early.

Be prepared

Some launches attract a large number of people, eager to see what’s going on. Try and make sure you have plenty of volunteers and helpful friends and family attending to make everyone feel welcome.

Say a few words

Every launch needs a few words and this is an ideal opportunity to welcome people and explain what will be happening. It needn’t be long or wordy; below are some notes you might want to use, but the main thing is to be positive and welcoming. If you’ve invited local councillors or dignitaries, they may want to say something in support too.

• Welcome everyone to our first Walk and Talk!
• Our aim is to bring people together in this beautiful green space so that anyone and everyone can benefit from exercise, meeting new people, enjoying nature and engaging with the local community.
• We’ll be Walking and Talking here every Saturday at 10.30am and you are always welcome to join us. There is no charge, booking, registration or ongoing commitment required – simply turn up whenever you want to and say hello.
• To ensure our success going forward, we’d love more volunteers. All we ask for is that you support or lead a Walk and Talk at least once a month and no experience is required – just a willingness to Walk and Talk together! So please do talk to me if you can get involved.

Keep your first Walk and Talk simple

Don’t be too ambitious about the distance you’ll cover or what you will do. Gathering everyone to meet and explaining what you’ll be doing will take up some of your time, so it’s better to plan a short, relaxed walk and then perhaps end with some cake or a coffee and a chance for everyone to continue talking, ask questions and make connections.

Everyone loves a cake

You can make your own or buy some basic cupcakes from the supermarket. If you want to be fancy, you can even order some personalised cake toppers to stick on the top: https://eatyourphoto.co.uk

It’s a good idea to have a list of ingredients to hand, so that people with allergies can check, should they wish to. Avoiding nuts and alcohol is always best.

Who to invite to your Walk and Talk launch

Local dignitaries

Local government officials are often keen to attend events in their community or constituency and their presence can help you get more publicity and spread the word about what you’re doing. Their schedules often get booked up weeks in advance, so get your invites out as soon as you can. Some suggestions are:

Member of Parliament

You can find out who your local MP is and how to contact them here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP 

Mayor

Many councils have a civic mayor who carries out ceremonial duties, including visiting local organisations and events. Some have a consort who accompanies them – usually a spouse or other family member or friend. Larger local authorities have a deputy mayor they can delegate responsibilities to. Check your local council page to see who your mayor is and how you can invite them to your launch – many now have an online form that you need to fill in.

Councillors

Local councillors are elected for four-year terms by the local community to represent its views. Councillors represent particular areas known as ‘wards’. They often love to be involved with local events and initiatives and can be a great source of support and promotion (they might even volunteer!) You can find out who your local councillors are and how to contact them here: https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-councillors 

As well as inviting the councillors local to the wards you’ll be walking in, you can also invite those from neighbouring wards or from across your local council. In particular, look on your council website to say if any councillors have relevant interests – they might be on a Committee that focuses on health and wellbeing or community involvement, for example.

If you’re really lucky, your local area might have a Town Crier that will come along – guaranteed to generate some publicity! It’s always worth checking your council’s website, as often you need to apply to invite them, in a similar way to the mayor. 

Other community organisations

It’s always a good idea to link up with other organisations working in your community. They can tell the people they work with about your Walk and Talks or you can signpost walkers to other services that can provide help, support or more opportunities to meet new people, have fun and develop new skills. So, the launch event is a great opportunity to contact these organisations, promote what you’ll be doing and invite them to come and find out more. And, when you contact them, don’t forget to ask if they’d like postcards or posters or if they have a publication, website or social media that you can advertise the launch in.

Some ideas are: charities that work with carers, older people or those who are socially excluded; ‘Friends of’ groups that organise local events or help to maintain spaces; churches or other religious spaces; local history societies; social groups like the WI, Rotary Club, Lions Clubs or British Legion; GP surgeries; community centres. 

The community!

The most important people at your launch will be the people who keep coming back, week after week. See our sections about How to Promote your Walk and Talk and Using Social Media for some great tips about how to let as many local people as possible know about what you’re doing. In addition, we can provide you with all the templates you need for postcards, posters, press releases and email invites.