Product Marketing is Not Working -- Fix It With Thematic Product Launches -

Do you and your team of product managers trying to coordinate your marketing resources so that you can manage the constant flow of product launches, a absence of a release date and a continuous stream of product managers requesting lots of attention from marketing with each and every release? Are there alternatives to handle it?

• Make sure you keep an eye on all new product launches.
• Make a memorable product narrative which is worth more than the components.
• Marketing should be organized and rational so that they are able to give their best product releases.

If you're running yourself ragged with an ever-changing plan of your project or an incessant "t-shirt" size estimates of projects that are constantly changing as well as shifting date of release for your product or worrying about making your team members feel comfortable Maybe it's right time to look at the ideas you're considering for new launch of your product. Discover how in this segment of Growth Stage!

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     Transcript    

David Vogelpohl () (00:04)

Hello everyone! I invite you to be a part of The Growth Stage podcast by . I'm your host, David Vogelpohl. I'm a part of the community for digital products through my role as . and I am awed by bringing all the great things happening in community-to-community and to you through this episode of the Growth Stage podcast. This episode, we're going meet with someone that is, uhm, extremely significant to me. I'm working with him here at . We'll be discussing about marketing for products, as well as the methods you can use to solve it using thematic

new product launches, and I'd like to invite new launch of products and welcome to the this stage of expansion stage the Mr. Braden Steel. Braden, welcome.

Braden (00:39)

Thank you for taking the time. I truly appreciated your presentation. I'm looking forward to discussing how to market products in the present.

David Vogelpohl () (00:44)

Awesome. It's great working alongside you at Braden. There was a moment of anxiety because I've yet to pronounce your name when I'm on the street. It's like I wonder if this was an odd pronunciation I didn't recognize, or forgot throughout the years, or what. However, welcome to the forum. Yes, it's. The subject Braden is going to discuss are his views about the flaws of the traditional approach to marketing product launches and ways to make it better by having quarterly themed launches of products.

Braden (00:58)

Yeah. Yes, I'm grateful.

David Vogelpohl () (01:14)

Make sure you pay attention to every detail for launch of new products, and you have to ensure that you create a coherent product story where the whole is worth more than its pieces. Marketing will be more organized and careful in order to deliver the best quality work in your releases of products. The Spryng conference was held at the hands of Wynter, W -Y -N T -E-R, I think it was S -P -R -Y -N"G," but that's just an acronym for the conference.

There was a roundtable talking about the various elements of marketing, as well as difficulties. Marketing products was brought up. A few felt more than a little annoyed, and they needed to deal with every little announcement of a new feature, or release of new products. They were trying to create a massive effect for everything. A theme-based approach to the launch of products was proposed by one of the group that thought of it, and we've took the idea to heart a while ago.

Thus, I thought that it would be fun to discuss this topic today morning. It's that simple, Braden do you think it is time to get started?

Braden (02:18)

Yeah, let's do it. It's exciting to talk about this topic. it. it. it.

David Vogelpohl () (02:20)

Alright, good deal. I've looked around for a length of time however, I'm not able to find the right answer for the inquiry. Was the first item you bought online?

Braden (02:28)

It's certainly an intriguing subject. I was thinking about it. I was in high school. Auction sites were booming. It was also the time I got the PlayStation 2 with a bundle of games. The bundle included sports games and some different games. It was then a debate as to whether I should buy the game. Then I decided to purchase the game and was enthralled by it. I gained a great deal of joy from this console and also experienced a great deal of pleasure.

Others were purchased with money, but my only purchase was an instrument. The first purchase I made using my own money on the internet. That was the second option.

David Vogelpohl () (03:06)

It's all right. I like the way you separated your personal cash and the money you believe is how you used it in the way of your parent's money? What method did you use to finance your PSP?

Braden (03:14)

It's true that I could have accomplished it by weeding the garden or trimming the lawn something. However, the second one is exactly the same as the cash I earned on my own initiative.

David Vogelpohl () (03:24)

If you're cutting grass, you're making cash, Braden. It's fine. Ok, so I gave the information away at the beginning. However, can you share the thoughts of viewers regarding your job here or your current work?

Braden (03:27)

Sure, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, sure. As a Senior Product Marketing Manager, I am responsible for . My primary responsibility is going-to-market for our entire range of products. This includes in the field we work in. When a product new to the market launches, it's all a part of messaging that goes beneath the product and the surrounding environment. In addition, we offer assistance in fields like B2B gaming, B2B and more fields that we're eager to grow into. Merchant of Record.

This means that we incorporate everything that occurs from the moment you click to purchase and transform the experience into a sales experience. We collaborate with SaaS enterprises, gaming businesses AI-driven businesses B2B. that. that. that. that.

David Vogelpohl () (04:18)

Excellent, excellent. While discussing the project you worked on, you covered various elements. The release of new product releases as well as the release of new features. Also, verticals were mentioned. There was also a mention that of B2B SaaS as well as video game. And the modern product marketer is more likely to adopt the vertical aspect of the product. In my view, it can increase the complexity of marketing.

What do you think that is wrong with the marketing of goods? What did you think was not clear to you with the previous model?

Braden (04:56)

This is an excellent query. It's true that releases of new products are influenced by a variety of moving elements which are beyond a marketer's sphere of influence. Like, issues with engineering or promises to clients made by the sales are important that's"hey you need to complete this project before the launch of a different product. There are a lot of things to consider when launching. Therefore, it is important to coordinate with the groups within the team responsible for product development in establishing dates for commitments. Also, keep track of

What date will these items become available to be released? What is the definition of release? Are you able to access the program in general, or is it in the beginning stages of development? Then the questions begin to be asked, what time do we wish to discuss the program? What are the topics we'd want to discuss? Can we afford to talk about it because we're trying it out? There are a myriad of questions that are being asked, and a lot of confusion is arising from the specific understanding of how engineers and products work. In my opinion, that one of the biggest issues is

It's difficult due to the fact that it's hard to envision the final product's design and to think of a release date. Then, you have to prepare an item that's prepared to go live. So what can happen is that product marketers like me get to know that, say, a few weeks before the date of launch, or a week before GA and then the product manager of the product saying"Hey, this is scheduled to be completed. In the next few weeks, you'll in a position to complete this project. This is like believing in my God. There are other things that need to be completed. There was a discussion about verticals. There's been plenty of talk about verticals.

It consumes a significant amount of time. It's something I've been forced to think about and consider what I can do to finish my task of launching the product and also other aspects of my work with no influence over when the launch date will be?

David Vogelpohl () (06:40)

In case you're running a floating timeline. It's not ready. The team finds a glitch ahead of the scheduled date. They're able to get the release occur as they decide to make the update available sooner. They're working to collaborate on resources and marketing across different web designers, developers of websites and content creators, and things similar to that. This coordination involves floating dates is something I'm experiencing. Is there another side? Like the one I've...

There's a truth to it that I've heard of me, having worked as a marketing manager for product launches and various capacities throughout many years. I'm thinking that I feel like I meet with a sales person and they're saying, there's going to be a release of X and then I'm planning to make an enormous announcement regarding the release. Do you think that expectations regarding the amount of time and effort needed to announce the various launch of new products could be too much? That could be reasons why you aren't capable of doing traditional marketing?

Braden (07:28)

Sure. I mean, the managers of the product are managers because of an explanation. They're the ones that control the items. They're super excited about the product they've created. The team has been working on the products for quite a while. For a number of years they've tried to get these items to release. Naturally, they'll have to get as much support as they can get for these products. It's difficult to locate someone of the team responsible for product development to say that I'm very enthusiastic about this specific new feature.

I'd appreciate some assistance. here's a few of my ideas that I'll be making the final decision on whether we'll let the brakes run in a different direction for B or C. I'm not able to accept the idea but, maybe I'm just not feeling the vibe to support it. It's very frustrating and it's difficult to maintain relations with these management teams because, you know you could think it's due to their inability to support their cause or take a different action. It's not the case. You don't want to assist everyone you're able to.

David Vogelpohl () (08:26)

Yeah. You're viewing it as a manager of a marketing plan within the context of a launch. You're having to deal with the date that is floating of the conventional model and each manager for an item is doing so because of their energy and time they're investing in it. We're making the decision to launch a massive event in this regard. With all the expectations, along with dates floating around, it feels a bit that you're not doing the best job you can. There are many things which can make it hard to perform at your most efficient job. That's the general impression I've received. What do you think that means?

Braden (09:01)

Yeah, yeah, that's right. It's the position in which all the pieces fall apart all at once. You must then figure out how you can accomplish all of it. It is not just that there are only the 24 hours of a day, let alone the strain of having to work for a full day, and the strain of having to work out how you can keep all these things in the mind. Consider these complex things.

The size of the item can be reduced to make an item with a market focus. There's no doubt that there are many obstacles to be overcome.

David Vogelpohl () (09:35)

You mentioned this during the time we were discussing the role of PMs and their relationships with PMMs and PMs as in. You believe this is the typical form of marketing for products and services? Does it make sense to say that it is a source of conflict with PMs as well?

Braden (09:58)

Yes, that's what's happening. There's been occasions where it's had a somewhat uncomfortable debate in which I declared, "I do not have the funds to support your request. There's no doubt that in such circumstances, it's essential to stay alert and aware of what the PM's looking for, however it does create tension. You must be in a position to effectively communicate during situations where you're placed in a position which requires you to stay present and alert.

Be clear, be good in tracking your progress. Be precise and keep track of your progress as well as using the process of thematic launches, you can solve a range of problems with traditional solutions.

David Vogelpohl () (10:41)

You've now got manager of the product who wants to have to have the largest megaphone they could get for announcing their new product. The marketing team is asking"can be more strategic, so we are able to do more effectively? In addition, you've discussed thematic releases of your offerings. We'll start by discussing the fundamentals. What exactly is a thematic release?

Braden (10:59)

Yeah, great question. Thematic releases consist of items that fall within the context of the theme. As an example, B2B as the umbrella and other releases help to help promote the theme.

David Vogelpohl () (11:16)

If we're talking about thematic releases, you can be sure that there isn't a weekly release that's a single one. Maybe, I guess that if you're extremely determined, but are you releasing the releases frequently or on a regular schedule for example, quarterly or monthly? monthly?

Braden (11:30)

Good question. There is a spring, fall and summer release. The market is not huge in the Christmas season towards the end of the year, and we don't release it until the end of December. True, we only release three releases a year. Additionally, we release occasional releases every now and then.

David Vogelpohl () (11:45)

This is due to this fact. The company's product line has plans to say each quarter that there will be this themed improvement to the line of products, following when we'll integrate it into the marketing of our products. We're going introduce this through the launch of a massive marketing campaign. Are you sure it'll incorporate elements from each of the product lines and features that are related to the theme?

Braden (12:08)

Indeed. It has those elements. After that, we look over the maps of our customers and ask, OK, what's coming up for next year? This allows us to categorize these things into categories. So, we don't have to use an order-of-preference approach to say that we need to find a solution to the theme A. What products correspond to theme A? We also consider which items we are planning to launch this year?

Then what's the main concept that these items will fit within at these specific times of the year.

David Vogelpohl () (12:44)

The difference will be evident as it gets amplified. You could be missing by a quarter in the event that the release date is a distinct issue. However, it could be an issue with delays, which I think about the possibility of a delay before recognizing that you've had the issue. Yeah. It's separating the GA in the event that you'd like to do so, and separating the campaign.

Braden (12:51)

That's correct, yeah.

That's correct. Yeah. It's a plan, which we've previously implemented the strategy. Additionally, we have GA tasks we carry out to ensure these products need to be promoted whenever they're launched. Therefore, under the approach of thematic, we could have GA tasks, and thematic tasks that we can apply to the various products.

David Vogelpohl () (13:18)

Every product release that you choose to include it, will be in the themes you can choose from. It also has a type of a smaller version with similar reasons, such as the GA launch. So you kind of get the double dip It sounds similar to.

Braden (13:31)

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. It's definitely helped ensure that our internal staff has access to GA. This means that customer satisfaction doesn't just suddenly getting feedback from our clients. They're saying Hello I'm a customer of yours. I want to know more about your product. The customer service team wasn't enabled. It's not the case since inside GA we're always releasing FAQ documents as well as values-based communications to make sure that our internal teams understand the context.

In the meantime the most well-known advertising messages like those that you listed, could be delayed at times. If the product you're planning to launch in January but there's no theme-based release in April it may not receive the same level of marketing focus at beginning, but it will be able to tag along in the larger campaign later in the year.

David Vogelpohl () (14:17)

If you were extremely tactical, can you add the release of an X that's a bigger release in between the two themes if you were in a position to obtain similar, for example, GA dates in the same highly strategic occasion you're in the middle of preparing?

Braden (14:30)

Yeah, absolutely. Therefore, we do provide a couple of ad-hoc release that we help in. We try to limit them to a couple of releases when we're able to. We've created a process that we employ together with our group of designers and developers. We engage with each other and think"okay that's great, I'm sure we've got this awesome role to play. The process doesn't belong to the subject, but it's essential to the reasons listed in A and B. We've put it into our collective plans to make sure that everyone knows what goals we're aiming to accomplish. Then, as you can imagine it's a separate care.

There's not any chance of an abrupt crash of 15 items to the ground in the final quarter. It's the norm where the product has to deliver everything in one go.

David Vogelpohl () (15:08)

Thank you.

One of my most favorite business jokes isn't just an amusing joke, but rather an observation. The belief is that executive Q3 signals the beginning of Q3 while engineers Q3 means the end of Q3. It seems like everyone is entering into the closing phase to complete the quarterly OKRs. Yeah. Okay. I'm here to help you.

Braden (15:33)

Yes, precisely.

David Vogelpohl () (15:38)

This theme will be released in the next quarter or some such thing but there's also a significant new feature or product that does not match the overall theme. It could be an unlucky announcement you've been discussing you might appear at the time of theme release?

Braden (15:55)

Absolutely, exactly like you'd imagine. So I'll give you an example of our current research that we're conducting. Payouts were made available at the beginning in the year calendar. That meant we were able to offer several exciting payment features. One payment that didn't be incorporated into the theme could not make it operational before the themes were launched was Google Pay and everyone knows Google Pay. Then we sat down at it, and then thought what can we do to promote Google Pay? It's not an enterprise-to-business service. We have made a minor version available of Google Pay.

The documents used to create it include FAQs, FAQs, or a blog post or blog post that are shared on social media platforms such as those.

David Vogelpohl () (16:29)

If there have been this kind of release for an anchor product as well as a thematic release which falls? It appeared that you're still with an anchor company It appears that this is an issue with the release. Apple Pay slipped from or Google Pay slipped from. What can you do? Wait to release this thematic release until anchors have been installed? What else could you do?

Braden (16:54)

Yeah, I mean, it depends. Oftentimes it can be an unrestricted wait and see. There are instances when it has occurred. It's happened to us. speaking with our Product team in the morning, and they informed me that B2B might delay the launch until a point later during the year. The benefit of a theme-driven launch is that it's not an exact date. The deadline is set on our own. If we must move the deadline back to meet the deadlines regarding product or engineering, it's possible to accomplish that.

You can also modify these themes at any point. In the event that one of our most important features abruptly doesn't exist or isn't going to be made available it is possible to add one or two features in order to create the ideal program that can work with a certain theme using a different approach. There's flexibleness in the structure which allows for these adjustments that occur every day.

David Vogelpohl () (17:47)

It's a fantastic idea. In my mind, a traditional campaign for promoting a product in the event of a new feature would look like the announcement of a blog, possibly a press release or the announcement via social media, and then emailing our customers. It is possible to send emails out to prospective customers and clients, for example. What's the difference between thematic releases and the form?

Braden (18:07)

Yes, I have mentioned this before. Most of these incidents continue to occur. In the present, they are occurring, but there is what we refer to as GA activities. GA activity. That means there's several similar to internal enablement within-app notifications. When a user is allowed to access the technology or application, we're granting them access as well as our internal teams. This access is separate from the release of this theme.

And then at the thematic moment, instead of making note of the significant number of the same features offered by pieces, we can be able to tell the story of the total value of pieces. It's a stark difference that I've observed and is not possible when you launch the same item you've always known about parts throughout the year, or even during every day of the year.

David Vogelpohl () (19:04)

Yeah. The same can be used to improve the story's quality. Because I'm a big fan, an example that I believe to be the best for me are the improvements to the quality of life, which can be a challenge to engineer, but they can't necessarily improve your product's marketability. Because, do are you even aware of what I'm talking about? Everyone who is outside does not realize the issue or issue. It's sometimes difficult for Phil or the manager of the product to say"Hey we're here! We've come up with a solution. In reality, it is extremely beneficial to both customers and the business.

Braden (19:08)

Yeah.

David Vogelpohl () (19:34)

It is believed that thematic releases aren't just a way to broadcast on your megaphone. They help to enhance the stories of a handful improvements to improve the high-quality of life improvements.

Braden (19:43)

Absolutely, yeah there's a chance to make a variety different functions profit through this. These functions won't be able to benefit from promotional activities, or for that matter an announcement made by Pendo. Instead, they live in an online page which is definitely an e-commerce site, other purposes. Also, you should like what you've said utilize the megaphone. It's important to consider even the most minor things, like improvements in the quality of your life.

David Vogelpohl () (20:08)

How did it work? What is the number of quarters?

Braden (20:13)

This is our third launch and we're preparing our third theme-based launch themes in the month of June to be held during July.

David Vogelpohl () (20:20)

The three quarters are over, are you convinced that it's improved your abilities to organize marketing resources as well as to aid in the introduction of new product lines? Are you able to say?

Braden (20:33)

It's certain that it's been increased from my standpoint. What I've seen is not just that I can better assist the team behind the product. Additionally, it is feasible to support them effectively, but also to cooperate with the other aspects of marketing and the demand generation. They also have a huge deal of lead-time that it did not have before in relation to their product.

We are also able to integrate them into campaign that we used to fight for. This is by far the greatest benefit. It also provides us time to contemplate different strategies to grow vertically, like to play video games or other kinds of games. This is something we might otherwise not have opportunity or the power to propel the verticals ahead.

David Vogelpohl () (21:28)

The video game segment in the past and 's had gamers playing video games for quite long time ago, almost from the start of the business. It was a bit more involved with this sector. Do you believe that segments could play an important role in releases that are thematic, or do you think they're focused on specific features?

Braden (21:51)

In fact, segmentation plays an important part. In the same way, our upcoming launch will be specifically geared towards B2B. This is a market we'd like promoting to and we're excited to look into expansion into. There's a possibility where we're doing that with video games, too. There's been a discussion of how we've upgraded the functionality of Apple Pay and implemented Google Pay. This is due to the fact the fact that expanding the usage of vertical themes allows for this capability, but also you know, for...

you get the benefits of the launch that is based on themes, but you benefit from adding elements like thinking leadership in your event. It is a concept that you may struggle to incorporate into the typical launch of a product. And so you can benefit more and perhaps an even bigger push in your promotion and gain more worth from the form of launch you choose to the bigger company.

David Vogelpohl () (22:44)

Excellent. This has certainly been quite an experience, Braden. It was a pleasure to have you on the air to speak about this. This was an incredible exchange with Spryng Austin, the capital city of Austin. I was thinking it would be great to include conversations on the show but it was a wonderful encounter. Thanks for being a part of the show.

Braden (23:01)

Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you inviting me to join you. It was a blast.

David Vogelpohl () (23:04)

Awesome. In case you'd like find out more about Braden's work You can go to www.braden.com. Braden does as well as his forthcoming thematic release visit .com. Thanks everyone for joining this program of Growth Stage. I'm your host, David Vogelpohl. I am a fan of helping out the communities of digital media as part of my job . and am thrilled by getting the opportunity to present everything this community has to provide for you to view at the growth Stage. We thank you all.

David Vogelpohl David is the Chief Marketing Officer at . Over the past 25 many years David Vogelpohl has led teams which have developed high-quality growth engines in addition to programs for major companies like WP Engine, Genesis, AWS, Cloudflare, and various other brands.

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