Product Marketing isn't Performing Make it right by implementing thematic Product Launches

Do you have a product marketing team working to coordinate resources for marketing to manage an interminable amount of launches without a time frame for release and a constant stream of product managers demanding tons of marketing attention with each launch? Do you think there is an easier way?

• Make sure you give attention to each new release of your product.
• You must present a narrative broad and greater than the sum of its parts.
• Help marketing be planful and thoughtful to be the best at their job for product releases.

If you're tormenting yourself through the night with your over-active product roadmaps, the endless "t-shirt" size for your estimates for projects that are agile, slipping product release dates or worrying about not letting the product management team down It's the time to consider themes for your launch of your products. Learn how to accomplish this on this show of Growth Stage!

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David Vogelpohl () (00:04)

Hello everyone! Welcome to Growth Stage. Growth Stage podcast by . I'm your host, David Vogelpohl. I am a part of the digital products community through my work as . and I am awed by bringing the very best from the community back for you to listen to in The Growth Stage podcast. This episode, we're talking about someone who's really significant to me. He is a coworker here at . We'll be discussing about product marketing and the way you can improve it by using thematic

announcements of new products, and I'd like to be a part of Growth Stage Mr. Braden Steel. Braden, welcome.

Braden (00:39)

Thanks for the kind remarks, I am really grateful for your introduction. I'm looking forward to chatting with you about marketing for the products of today.

David Vogelpohl () (00:44)

Awesome. and I'm so grateful to be working with you at Braden. It's like I felt an instant of anxiety since I do not say your name out loud. It's like, what is it that could be a strange pronunciation that I didn't know about, or have forgotten over time or something, but welcome here. Of course. And what Braden's going to discuss are his views about how conventional products aren't working marketing, and how we can improve that we deal with quarterly thematic product launches.

Braden (00:58)

Yeah. I appreciate it.

David Vogelpohl () (01:14)

To ensure that you give the greatest attention to new releases of your products make sure you create a cohesive product narrative which is more valuable than it's components. This will help your marketing be more planful and thoughtful in order to deliver most professional work for your releases. I was at Spryng hosted by Wynter, W -Y -N Then -T-E-R I'm guessing, and then S P -R – Y -N G, however it's not an event.

The meeting was discussing the different issues and challenges related to marketing. Additionally, the problem of marketing for products was raised. Many were complaining that they felt overloaded and needed to deal each new feature or new product announcement, in order to get the best of every single one. The concept of thematic releases to products was brought up by someone was in the group who suggested it and we had decided to adopt it here sometime in the past.

So I thought it could be fun to hold discussions on this topic today. In addition, Braden, are you ready to begin the discussion?

Braden (02:18)

Yeah, let's do it. It's fun to talk about the subject. it. it. it.

David Vogelpohl () (02:20)

Alright, good deal. I've been here for awhile now, but I don't know the answer to the question. Was the first item that you purchased on the internet?

Braden (02:28)

This is an intriguing concept. It took me a long time to think about this subject. And it was in the junior high school. eBay was booming. When I bought an PlayStation 2 with a bundle of games. The bundle included sports games and some various other games. It was a constant debate over whether or not I should purchase it. However, I bought it, and was extremely pleased with the adventure. I got plenty of use out of that console, and I also enjoyed a lot of amusement.

Another option is to utilize the cash I acquired to buy the purchase of a guitar. This was the first item I bought using the cash I earned online. Also, this was the second option there.

David Vogelpohl () (03:06)

OK, I'm impressed by the way you distinguished your personal money from your What was it identical to the money of your parents? How did you fund the PSP?

Braden (03:14)

Sure, I could have earned this by weeding my yard or mowing the lawn some other thing. But the other one is the same as the money that I earned from my own initiative.

David Vogelpohl () (03:24)

If you're cutting your lawn, you're paying for it. Braden. Okay, then. It's true that I did it a bit in the opening, however, can you tell your audience the things you are doing and how you work in this area?

Braden (03:27)

Sure, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, sure. This is why I'm the top Product Marketing Manager at . My responsibilities include everything related to marketing throughout our product lines, as well as the different fields we work within. So when a product launches it is, well, every aspect of messaging that goes under the product as well as around the product, as well as helping with things such as B2B-related games, video games or other fields which we're excited about selling into. is a retailer of record.

This means that we connect everything from the purchase button, and culminating in a digital sale experience. We work with SaaS companies, gaming companies, AI companies B2B companies in addition to other organizations such as. that. that. that.

David Vogelpohl () (04:18)

Excellent, excellent. When you talk about the kind of work you did, it's because you covered various areas. It was also a chance to discuss new product launches, feature announcements, and feature. The discussion also included verticals. Additionally, you spoke of B2B SaaS and video games. And the modern product marketer prefers the vertical position to promote an item. It just increases the complexity of the marketing of products.

However, what is wrong with product marketing? What was not working with the old method?

Braden (04:56)

Yes, this is a excellent idea. The fact is that product launches depend on many moving factors that are outside of the product marketing manager's reach. Engineers, for example or customer commitments required and sales are suddenly something which is like"hey, we need to complete this product prior to when the release of another product. There are a lot of pieces moving around a new product launches. And so working with teams of product developers to establish commitment dates, and to understand

What time will these items be to be available for release? What exactly does "release" mean? Are you able to access it in general or is it currently in a beta stage? The next question to be asked: What date do we have to discuss the software? What are the things we'd want to discuss? What can we discuss about this while we're testing the product? This raises a variety of questions, a lot of uncertainty happens with this model of how manufacturing and engineering work. Therefore, I think that one of the biggest concerns is

There's a reason why it's difficult to visualize the ultimate product. You then have to think about a release date and plan for a product that's ready to go. The problem is that product managers like me end up you knowing, one week prior to the launch date, and one week prior to GA, and the product manager says, This is going to be completed. And then, finish the job. Then it's like: okay. I'm holding the faith. It's not the only thing I need to finish. I know you've mentioned verticals. There's been a lot of debate about verticals.

That's right, it takes up a lot of time, too. The main question I've had to answer and had to contemplate is: How do I tackle the job of launching my product as well as the other facets of my work with no the ability to control when it launches?

David Vogelpohl () (06:40)

It's not uncommon to see these floating timelines. It's not yet in the process of being ready. There's a glitch that's discovered within the last minute. They are able to push through the release, and they get the release to the market in the early hours. You're trying to coordinate the resources of other marketers, web designers, designers, content specialists, and things like such. This orchestration is a result of these floating dates that I'm hearing. What's the other side? Similar to the side I've...

As you know, I've worked in marketing for products and various capacities throughout the years. Every time I speak to a product person you'll hear them say, I'm planning to launch X and then announce an announcement about the release. Do you think you have unrealistic expectations about the amount of work needed for these various product launches are too much? Could that be part of the reason for why you don't like the traditional way of conducting product marketing?

Braden (07:28)

Sure. The product managers are the ones who manage products with a purpose. They're the ones in charge of the products. They're extremely excited about it. They've oftentimes been working on these items for a long time, up to the point of several years in which they've tried to get these products out into the marketplace. And so of course they'll have to get as much support as they're able to get with these products. When it's not, it's hard to have someone from the product management team to meet you to say I'm very excited about this product feature.

I'm seeking a large deal of help, so here's a list of my thoughts, as and the confidence to declare: let's take the brakes off a bit for the B, A or C reasons, but I just can't back your suggestions, or do it because it's just that I'm not feeling the vibe or it's difficult for me to keep relationships with management of products, since they could think that you aren't interested in helping their cause or take a different action. It's not a common thing. Obviously, you don't wanna help everyone you can.

David Vogelpohl () (08:26)

Yeah. So it feels like then when you think about running a marketing campaign that you have in mind that is announcing a new product and the floating dates which are a part of the normal model, and every product manager is, rightly, concerned about it. as you mentioned, given the money and effort that they're spending on this, you're thinking it's time to be able to make an impact on this. However, with all the demands, plus the floating dates, you feel that you're performing less than your very most effective job. You feel like you're distributing yourself amongst all these things and you're having a hard time doing your best work is kind of the gist I'm getting. Are you fair?

Braden (09:01)

Yeah, yeah, that's right. There are a variety of elements are ruined at once. You're then forced to figure out how to, the best way to handle every one. There are only a 24-hour day, let alone, you know, working all day long, but also the, the stress that comes with having to, keep all of those things in your the mind. Therefore, take that you have the time to study these technical aspects as well as.

Condense them into something that is commercially relevant. So yeah, there's plenty of issues to be faced.

David Vogelpohl () (09:35)

This was mentioned in the past, when we discussed the importance of assisting PMs as well as their relationships with PMMs, in the event of a conflict. If you're feeling this is an usual form of marketing for products, would you say that it is not without friction with PMs as well?

Braden (09:58)

It's true. I've experienced situations where yes, it's definitely an awkward conversation to simply admit that I don't have the funds to support the way you'd like to proceed. It's true that when you're faced with this, you need to be attentive and attempt to understand what person in charge is searching for. However, it also creates tension. It's important to to effectively communicate in situations where, you know, you need to be in the room and pay to the situation.

Be clear and proficient in logging the activities you're engaged in along with being organized, and in the case of applying the technique of thematic launches in order to solve some of the issues associated from traditional products.

David Vogelpohl () (10:41)

You've now got product managers requesting the most powerful megaphone possible in their announcements. There's the other marketing departments asking"Can we be more planful so that we can be more effective? You've also mentioned the switch towards thematic releases of your product. Let's start with the fundamentals. What is a theme-based product release?

Braden (10:59)

Yeah, great question. A thematic release is a bundle of items under an under the umbrella of a theme. As an example, B2B as the umbrella and the other products help to promote that theme.

David Vogelpohl () (11:16)

When we speak of themes-based releases, I'm guessing we're talking about not one every week. Perhaps, if you're really determined to release them regularly, on a monthly basis or quarterly? monthly?

Braden (11:30)

Good question. The spring release as well as a summer and fall release. People aren't around in the Christmas season towards the close of the calendar year. That is the reason we don't publish during the holiday season. But yeah, just three releases per year and occasional releases during the year.

David Vogelpohl () (11:45)

This means that the org for product is aiming to say like every quarter we'll see this increase in the style of the line, and we're going to integrate it into the advertising for the products. However, we're planning to bring the theme to life as one large campaign. Are the components of each of the product categories and features in the same theme?

Braden (12:08)

It is indeed. It's got those parts. Then we review our customers plans and ask, what's planning for this calendar year? This allows us to categorize these items into themes. Therefore, we're not necessarily heading down a path of downwards declaring that we must come up with a solution to the theme A. What products are relevant to the theme of A? Instead, we take a look at the suite of products that will be introduced in the coming year?

What's the primary concept that all of these items can fall into during these seasons.

David Vogelpohl () (12:44)

What you'll hear is this You'll hear more. It's possible that you'll miss out by about an inch, perhaps when the release date is or some other thing or something else, however it could be a delay suppose, but before you realize you're missing. Yeah. This means you're separating the GA in the event that you want to regarding the promotional.

Braden (12:51)

That's correct, yeah.

That's correct. Yeah. This is a good strategy, since we've already deployed the plan, and have already got GA actions that are executed since the products need to be promoted once they become active. Therefore, as a part of our thematic approach, we have GA actions and themes that we're able to use for every product.

David Vogelpohl () (13:18)

Any new product that you can, sort of can be considered a part of theme releases. And then you have kind of a compressed version. Such an instance known as the GA release that is effective. The result is a double dip, it appears to be.

Braden (13:31)

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And it's really helped to ensure the teams within our business have access to GA. Thus, success for customers does not happen through hearing feedback from our customers. The feedback is like "Hey, I'm utilizing this awesome product. I'd like to know more about this product. The customer success team at GA has not been active. It's not the case since in GA we're going to release FAQ documents as well as values-based communications to be sure our staff members know the status of.

And then the go -to market messages, as those you mentioned, might be delayed at times. If you're planning to make your product debut in January, but aren't able to release an item that is thematically related until April, your item may not receive as much advertising support in the early stages However, it'll have the chance to be part of the greater campaign later on in the year.

David Vogelpohl () (14:17)

If you thought this was a highly strategic plan and strategically planned, could you add an X or a larger release in the middle of the other thematic releases if you just happen to own a few, or GA dates for a similar highly strategic item you've been waiting for?

Braden (14:30)

Yeah, absolutely. Also, we have releases on occasion which we assist with. We strive to limit these releases to just one or two releases when we are able to. We've devised a method that you and we use with your Product team. We have conversations, and later think, okay it's obvious that there's an amazing product. This isn't in the theme however it's essential to the reasons B or A. We prepare for it together to make sure everyone knows what we're planning to accomplish. It is treated differently.

The advantage is that you don't need 15 different products simultaneously, which would crash into the ground at the end of every quarter. That's typically the case in the event of goods that provide all at once.

David Vogelpohl () (15:08)

Thank you.

One of my top business jokes is that, is not a joke it's an observation. The idea that executives Q3 is the beginning of Q3 and the engineering team Q3 is that the quarter is over. It sounds like the teams are clearly, moving toward the close to reach the monthly OKRs. Yeah. Okay. I've gotcha.

Braden (15:33)

Yeah, exactly right.

David Vogelpohl () (15:38)

You have a theme scheduled to be released in the coming quarter, or the next one or some other time, however you have a big announcement about a new item or service that isn't compatible with the theme. Is it one of those special ones you said could pop up within the time between the publication of the theme?

Braden (15:55)

It's true. Let me give you an example of what we're working on. Payments were released earlier in the year. and so we had a variety of interesting payment options. One of the payment options that was snuck into the cracks in engineering, and was not able to reach at the time the theme launched was Google Pay and everyone knows Google Pay. So, it's no surprise that we met to review Google Pay and ask what can we do to help spread the word about Google Pay? The feature isn't really a business-to-business feature. And so, yeah we launched a version of this feature for Google Pay.

I have created some documents to go with it. They are FAQ documents, blog posts or blog posts that are advertised on social media sites such as that.

David Vogelpohl () (16:29)

What happens when you've got this type of product that anchors the release and has a theme release which falls? It sounded like you still had some anchor product, perhaps, in the thematic release Apple Pay slipped from or Google Pay slipped from. What do you do? You can wait until the release of the thematic products is complete and the anchor products have been installed? What do you do?

Braden (16:54)

Yeah, I mean, it depends. Sometimes it's waiting to see. There have been times when that has happened. Yes and I talked to the team behind products today and said: Hey, it could be that B2B is an in-waiting stage and is to be coming within the next couple of months of this year. But, the benefit of an event driven by theme is that A, there's no deadline to meet. We're setting that deadline for us. So if we want delay that deadline slightly so that we're able to better keep the timeframes for engineering as well as the final product, we can.

Or, we are able to alter those themes at any point. In the event that an important new feature cannot be released anymore it is possible to take a couple of smaller features in order to make the collection that matches a theme in a different way. That's why we have an elasticity in this system, which allows for an opportunity for changes during the year.

David Vogelpohl () (17:47)

That's a good idea. As I imagine a traditional promotion campaign for a feature release It's similar as an announcement post or perhaps a press release with some social media and emailing our clients. contact our prospective clients, those kinds of thing. How is thematic release different in regards to its design?

Braden (18:07)

Yeah, I alluded to this issue before. Many of these things are still happening. At the moment, these things continue taking place However, we've also got what we'll refer to as GA actions. So a lot more than internal activation via notifications in the app. When someone could access that device or software We're providing that technology to our clients andwho work within us. We also separate that technology from the this theme release.

In the end, instead of focusing on the many aspects that look similar to it's widely available in parts and pieces, you can use it to tell a more narrative story about the value broadly of all of the elements. It's a major difference isn't possible for a release, in pieces through the course of the quarter or an entire year.

David Vogelpohl () (19:04)

Yeah. It helps because it is like you are capable of improving the quality of your tale. Because I think my ideal example is the enhancements to high quality of life that can be a challenge for engineers and don't always make the product more marketable. This is because you are aware of what I am talking about? The person outside isn't aware that there was a problem or something. So, it's generally difficult for Phil is the product manager to announce"Hey everyone! we've sorted this out. Actually this fix is valuable both for the business and the customers.

Braden (19:08)

Yeah.

David Vogelpohl () (19:34)

This is why it's felt like these new releases don't only allow you of broadcasting your Megaphone but they also convince you to consider some of these more quality of life improvements.

Braden (19:43)

Yes, absolutely, you are able to access many apps that gain from this. They normally wouldn't be eligible to market or get the benefit of a quick announcement via Pendo. Instead, they're in the form of a site which is a component of the other features. Also, be able to use the megaphone. Additionally, there's lots to gain from the less improvements such as the quality of life improvement.

David Vogelpohl () (20:08)

Now having this strategy what percentage of your time do you have?

Braden (20:13)

The third time we've launched this theme, next month we'll have our third theme launch of the month, which will be in July.

David Vogelpohl () (20:20)

After three quarters of the course Are you satisfied that you've been able to organize marketing resources and aid in the introduction of new products, or is it still too early to tell?

Braden (20:33)

I'd say it's certain that the product has been improved and as I'm the person who helped make the change take place. The improvement that I've noticed is not just can I assist the development team and not just assist them effectively, but also to collaborate with the other departments of marketing, particularly demand generation. They have a lot of lead time in the past that they didn't before with this product.

We could also incorporate them in the same campaigns we used to fight to do. This is probably the biggest advantage. But, another benefit is that it has opened the way for us to pursue vertical growth across other fields, for instance such as gaming, where could not have been possible had we not had as much time or sufficient manpower for pushing those verticals forward.

David Vogelpohl () (21:28)

The video gaming segment several years, and 's had video game players for quite a while from the beginning of the company. The company was told that its business has a tendency to be more a part of the video game segment. Are you of the opinion segmentation may play an important role in thematic release or do you believe they are more focused on feature sets?

Braden (21:51)

Segmentation is an important part. Like I mentioned, our upcoming launch will be specifically geared towards B2B. It's an area we're hoping to sell into and are excited about growing into. It's possible to imagine a future in which we're working by using video games, too. As we've mentioned, there's the improvements we've made on Our Apple Pay and implemented Google Pay. Also, extending the vertical theme doesn't just give you the ability, you know, to...

you get the benefits of the thematic launch, but you also gain the benefits from incorporating aspects like thought leadership into the launch that you might have difficulty integrating into regular releases of goods. This means you get a greater, and possibly a more powerful push for your campaign and more value out from these launches for your overall organization.

David Vogelpohl () (22:44)

Excellent. Well, this has been very interesting Braden. I am very grateful for your coming to talk on air about this. It was a great conversation during the Spryng conference this time in Austin. I thought it'd be neat to incorporate this topic into the show. It was fun. Thank you for coming along.

Braden (23:01)

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for inviting me. It was super fun.

David Vogelpohl () (23:04)

Awesome. If you'd like to find out more about Braden's work, go to www.braden.com. Braden is working on and possibly his next release based on themes Please visit .com. Thank you for taking part this week's episode on Growth Stage. Your host is me, David Vogelpohl. I love supporting the community of digital products as part of my role as . It is my pleasure to present the best of the digital community to you at the Growth Stage. Thanks to everyone who has participated.

David Vogelpohl David is the Chief Marketing Officer for . Over the past 25 years, David Vogelpohl has led teams that have built top-quality engines for growth as well as software for leading companies like WP Engine, Genesis, AWS, Cloudflare, and several others.

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