Short answer
Treat a TGE or listing as a 4 to 6 week program, not a day. Week 1: narrative, docs, AI answers and attribution. Weeks 1 to 2: build a clip library and first creator wave. Launch week: same-day content, unique codes, daily reporting. Then two to three weeks of post-listing retention work measured on cohorts.
Why the plan has to run past launch day
- Most launches lose value after TGE. Memento Research tracked 118 token launches in 2025: 84.7% (100 of 118) were below their TGE opening valuation as of 20 December 2025, with a median FDV change of -71.1%. Launches with lower starting FDVs held up best in that dataset (Memento Research).
- A second dataset points the same way. CryptoTotem's register of 178 TGEs between 11 October 2025 and 19 August 2026 found a median of 0.30x the sale or reference price, with 19.2% at or above 1.0x (CryptoTotem).
- More listings compete for the same attention. CryptoRank counted 517 new tokens listed on centralized exchanges in Q3 2026, up 47% quarter over quarter, as reported by TechFlow on 1 October 2026 (TechFlow).
- The old launch stack is gone. X revised its developer API in January 2026 to stop apps that pay users to post; Kaito and Cookie announced they would sunset their incentivized posting platforms (The Block).
- Buyers ask AI first. Similarweb measured 770.7 million AI referral visits per month worldwide between June 2025 and May 2026, up 117.4% (Similarweb, 3 September 2026). What assistants say about your token on launch day matters.
None of this tells you how your token will trade, and no marketing plan controls price. It does tell you to measure users and holders, and to keep budget and content for the weeks after listing.
The four phases at a glance
| Phase | 6-week plan | 4-week plan | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0. Launch readiness | Week 1 | Week 1 | Set the story and the measurement before any spend |
| 1. Pre-launch build | Weeks 1-2 | Week 1 | Qualified demand and a content library ready for day one |
| 2. Launch week | Week 3 | Week 2 | Concentrate attention and convert it |
| 3. Post-listing | Weeks 4-6 | Weeks 3-4 | Keep activity after the spike and learn what converts |
If the date moves, move the whole plan. Launch week should always sit on the real event.
Phase 0: launch readiness
- One-paragraph narrative: what the product does, for whom, and why now. Every creator brief, FAQ and press note repeats it.
- Docs, website and token pages that answer "what is [token]", "how to buy [token]" and "is [project] safe" in plain language.
- An AI answer check: ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Overviews those questions and log what they say. See the crypto AI search checklist.
- Attribution live: UTMs, a unique code or link per creator and clipper, sign-up, wallet connect, first trade or deposit events, and a holder snapshot before launch.
- A creator and clipper shortlist scored on audience geography and engagement quality, not follower count.
- A content capture plan: founder sessions, AMAs, demos and Spaces booked, because they become your clips.
- A claims checklist agreed with your legal team: no price predictions, no return promises, geo restrictions where the product is not available. In the EU, MiCA requires marketing communications to be clearly identifiable and fair, clear and not misleading (MiCA Article 7).
- One owner per channel and one daily standup slot reserved for launch week.
Phase 1: pre-launch build
- Turn founder and community content into a clip library: hooks, captions and language versions.
- Clipping wave 1 in your target markets, with tracked links on every clip and bot screening before payout. See how clipping options compare.
- Creator wave 1 focused on the product: walkthroughs and education, no price talk, clear disclosure.
- AI search fixes shipped: FAQ and explainer pages, structured data, llms.txt, crawler access.
- A waitlist, sale registration or sign-up funnel with one clear next step.
- Co-marketing calendar with your launchpad, ecosystem and partners.
- A written run of show for launch week: who posts what, when, and who approves it.
Phase 2: launch week
- A war room: daily standup, live dashboard, one decision maker on call.
- Same-day clips of the AMA, the listing moment, Spaces and streams.
- Creator wave 2 on unique codes tied to first trades or first deposits; move budget daily to the creators who convert.
- Live sessions with traders or streamers where the venue and local rules allow.
- Paid media for the product, not the sale, and only where you are eligible. Token sales are banned as ad content on Meta, X, TikTok and Reddit (Adbench, 2 October 2026).
- Community support surge: moderators briefed, a pinned FAQ, scam warnings.
- A daily report on sign-ups, first trades or deposits, new holders and cost per outcome by source.
Phase 3: post-listing
- Creator wave 3 rebooking only the creators who converted.
- Clips about product use and community stories, not price.
- Holder and trader activation with quests only for verified on-chain actions behind anti-sybil checks.
- An AI citation re-check on the same questions as in Phase 0.
- Day-7 and day-30 cohort reads by source: which channels brought users who stayed.
- A final report and a decision on what to scale, what to stop and what to run next.
The weeks after listing deserve their own plan. The post-listing marketing guide goes deeper on metrics and retention.
Guardrails
- No price, FDV, volume or listing promises in any brief, post or deck.
- Every paid post disclosed. The ESMA finfluencer factsheet asks for words such as "Ad", "Paid partnership" or "Sponsored", and for creators to say if they hold what they promote (ESMA, January 2026).
- No bought followers, raids or engagement pods.
- Geo restrictions respected wherever the product is not available.
- When you report trading volume, say that volume is not revenue.
Sources
- Memento Research, "State of 2025 Token Launches: Year in Review", data as of 20 December 2025. mementoresearch.com
- CryptoTotem, report on 686 project profiles and 178 TGEs, token data to 24 August 2026. cryptototem.com
- TechFlow, citing CryptoRank, 1 October 2026. techflowpost.com
- The Block, X API change and InfoFi platforms, 16 January 2026. theblock.co
- Similarweb, "AI Referral Traffic by Industry", 3 September 2026. similarweb.com
- Adbench, crypto ad policies on Meta, X, TikTok and Reddit, 2 October 2026. adbench.io
- ESMA, MiCA Article 7, marketing communications. esma.europa.eu
- ESMA, finfluencer factsheet, January 2026. esma.europa.eu