Product Marketing is broken. Make it Right with Thematic Product Launches

Do you and your group of product marketers struggling to coordinate marketing resources to meet the demands of an inexhaustible release of new product launches, yet there is no announcement of the release date or an unending flow of product managers hoping to get tons of publicity for every launch? Do you have an alternative method to achieve this?

• You should pay the greatest concentration to the release of each product.
• Create a compelling story for your product that shows its totality goes beyond the sum of its parts.
• Be sure that marketing is well-organized and logical to enable them to perform their best at the promotion of innovative product.

If you're having trouble keeping track of a flurry of product roadmaps which are always on the move and never ending "t-shirt" sizes for agile project estimations, slipping product release dates and fretting over not being able to keep the product's managers on track It could be the appropriate time to research certain product releases. Learn how to achieve this on this show of Growth Stage!

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A complete interview, which includes a podcast: Audio

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     Transcript    

David Vogelpohl () (00:04)

Hello everyone! This is the most recent podcast episode of the Growth Stage podcast by . I'm your host, David Vogelpohl. I'm part the online community of digital products through my work . And I'm humbled by the privilege of able to bring the finest of community to community to the listeners here in this episode of the Growth Stage podcast. This episode, we're going talk to someone who is extremely crucial to me. He works with me within the area of . We'll talk about the fact that the field of product marketing is currently in a state of chaos and the only solution is to use thematic

announcements about new products are appreciated. being able to have you attend Growth Stage Mr. Braden Steel. Braden, welcome.

Braden (00:39)

Thank you for your time I enjoyed your introduction. I'm eager to discuss the promotion of our products in the coming early in the morning.

David Vogelpohl () (00:44)

Awesome. and I'm so glad to work with you here at , Braden. I had a moment of panic because I've never spoken your name the power. When I realized this, I was thinking: What could be the cause? Could it be a strange sound that I'm not conscious of, or may was lost in the course of time, or whatever, however I am glad to be to the site. Yes, absolutely. What Braden is likely to discuss is his views on the weaknesses of traditional marketing techniques for things and people and periodic thematic launches of products.

Braden (00:58)

Yeah. Yes, I'm grateful.

David Vogelpohl () (01:14)

for you to pay all attentively to the product launches you create. be sure to create the same story for your product that each component is more valuable than each of the components. Marketing professionals will become more organized and cautious so that they can deliver the most professional work for launches you create. I was at Spryng organized by Wynter, W -Y -N The -T-E-R is what I'm thinking of, which is S"S" is the contraction of the word -P-R-YN-G although it's not a conference.

The purpose of the meeting was to tackle various issues and challenges with marketing. The topic of marketing for product launches was discussed. Many felt overwhelmed by every single feature launch and new announcement of a product and tried to make a impact for every single thing. The idea of a thematic release was mentioned by someone was in the group who had previously suggested it. The idea was brought up by us some time ago.

So, I figured it might be fun to discuss this topic in the morning. It's that, Braden Are you ready to have a conversation?

Braden (02:18)

Yeah, let's do it. I'm eager to talk about the topic. it. it. it.

David Vogelpohl () (02:20)

Alright, good deal. I've been on here many times, however I'm not quite sure about what is the correct answer to the query. Which was the first thing you bought on the internet?

Braden (02:28)

Yes, it's an awesome idea. I spent some time thinking about this topic. It was the early high school years. eBay was at its height. The time I purchased a PlayStation 2 with a bundle of games. It included the sports game and a couple of other games. After that, I debated whether or not I should purchase the game. But I did and I was awed by the game. I got a lot of joy with this console, and had lots of entertainment.

The other options I had were using cash from me personally. The first thing I earned was a dogeridoo. It was the very first thing I bought with my own cash through the web. That was the second choice.

David Vogelpohl () (03:06)

Yes, I am in over the idea of how you have separated your own money from, I guess, the same amount to your parents' funds? What was the process that you employed to pay for your PSP?

Braden (03:14)

Sure, I could have earned this by gardening, cutting lawns or anything else. Another one was the amount I earned by myself.

David Vogelpohl () (03:24)

If you're trimming the lawn, it's your money, Braden. This is fine. Yes, I gave the impression of providing some of the information I mentioned in the intro, but are you given the chance to discuss your work with those who work there, or discuss the manner in which you work there?

Braden (03:27)

Sure, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, sure. I am the most senior Manager of Product Marketing here at . My main responsibility is overseeing the go-to-market process for all of our products. This is along with the numerous sectors we work in. If a product launches, launched that's when we're able to manage all the communication that goes with it and around it, and then also helping in games, B2B and various other sectors that we're eager to connect with. It is a retailer of record.

We take all of our actions beginning at the click of a purchase button, and end with an effortless digital selling experience. We work with SaaS firms, gaming businesses AI-based businesses B2B, along with other organizations such as. that. that. that.

David Vogelpohl () (04:18)

Excellent, excellent. In your next paragraph, describe what you accomplished and how and how you did it. many different topics. Releases of new product releases as well as feature release. You also touched on verticals. There was a mention of B2B. SaaS and video gaming. Nowadays, product managers tend to use vertical placements to promote a specific product. It just creates more challenges to market products.

So, what is wrong with the advertising of products? What didn't work for you when you used the conventional approach?

Braden (04:56)

Yes, that's a amazing subject. The release of products are contingent on many things which are beyond the marketer's product. Like, for instance, issues with engineering and commitments to customers necessary, or sales suddenly take on significance that's"hey" and we need to make this product available prior to when this other product gets released. There are lots of moving pieces around these product launches. So, working with the team members from product development to set commit dates, and also to comprehend,

When will these goods be available to be released? What's the significance of their release? Can you access the software in general, or is it still in the Beta phase? We're ready to ask our next query. If you're asked this question, when are we going to discuss the topic? What topics would we like to talk about? Can we afford to speak about the subject as the product is in testing? There's plenty of issues, and a lot of confusion stems from this particular model of how engineers and their products function. So, that one of the major issues is

It's a challenge to determine the time when it's difficult to imagine the product's final form, think about a launch date, and prepare the product's preparation for its launch. What happens is that product managers like me are caught up in the process, with just one week to go before the date of launch, and a week prior to GA which is when the product manager says,"Hey it's expected to be in the pipeline. Then, you can do the entire task. It's just a matter of holding it for a second. There are other things I need to do. I'm sure you've spoken about verticals. There's been plenty of debate on verticals.

It takes considerable amounts of time, also. The issue, you've probably guessed, I've been forced to solve and think about is, how do I plan the launch of my new product along with other aspects of my work, without any say in the time of the launch?

David Vogelpohl () (06:40)

If you're using a floating timeline, and this means that the program doesn't have enough time. A glitch is discovered in the very last minute. The team manages to get through the release and they complete it with speed. It's hard to manage the work of different Webmasters, marketers, designers and content experts and many others like this. This coordination by floating dates. This is what I've seen. Do you know of other possible sides? Just like the other side...

Yes, I've worked in the field of products marketing in various capacities over numerous years. Each time I speak to a person from product you'll be told, I'm making X and need to create massive excitement around the release. Are you feeling you're expecting to do too much with the work involved in making each of these releases is often excessive? Is that a factor of the issue with the conventional approach to product marketing?

Braden (07:28)

Sure. It's true that those product managers, they're product managers for a reason. They control the products. They're thrilled with this. They've been working on the items for probably, for some time, in the quest to bring products to market. Naturally, they'll want the same level of support the way they're receiving from these items. If it's hard to have anyone from the Product Management team visit you and inform you that they are extremely excited by this technology.

I'm in search of lots of support. This is a list of opinions that I'm willing to make: we'll take a breather in the case of A, B or C reasons, however I'm not in a position to help the request due to the fact that I'm not in the appropriate time or am just discouraging and hard to establish a solid connection with these manager of the product because, I'm sure they believe that they're not interested in helping their clients or doing something that doesn't happen. It's obvious that you don't want to assist everyone is in need of help.

David Vogelpohl () (08:26)

Yeah. It's the reason when you look at this in terms of coordinating the going-to-market process with the release of a new item, you're dealing with the floating dates, which constitute a fundamental component of the model along with every other product manager and rightfully so, as you mentioned considering the effort and expense and the fact that you should make an enormous announcement on this. But with all those needs, along with floating dates, it's like you're not doing your very best. You're dividing your time among multiple demands which makes it hard to do your best is kind of my impression. Is that the case?

Braden (09:01)

Yeah, yeah, that's right. There's a myriad of elements that collapsing at the same. You are the one to decide how to achieve all these. It is not just that there are always 24 hours in a day, but also to mention that you have to work for those all day and the strain of having to think about the best way to manage all the issues on your mind. Make the effort to learn these techniques as well as.

Create a design that is appealing to the market. There's no shortage of issues to be faced.

David Vogelpohl () (09:35)

It was discussed previously during our discussion on helping the product managers and their relationships with PMs, PMs or PMs. If you're not enjoying how you would normally experience product marketing, would you be capable of stating that there is a tension between the PMs and PMs?

Braden (09:58)

That's what happens. There have been times when it's true that I've had a bit an emotional conversation. However, it is necessary to acknowledge that I do not have the capacity to help with you with your request. When you're in a situation like this, it is essential to stay focused and know what the PM's seeking, but it could cause stress. The key is to communicate effectively to situations where you are there is a situation where you have to be in the room and attentive.

Being clear, adept at keeping track of your progress precise, tracking your progress and for this instance, using the thematic launch method to overcome a large number of the issues that arise from the traditional software.

David Vogelpohl () (10:41)

The product managers are seeking the loudest megaphone they could find on their advertisements. Marketing departments in other departments are thinking what we can do to be more organized, so we can be more efficient? Also, you've discussed your move to thematic releases of your products. So, let's start by defining the basics. What's a theme-based version?

Braden (10:59)

Yeah, great question. A theme release is the bundle of goods that fall that are grouped under a theme. In this case, B2B as the umbrella and the other products are supporting that theme.

David Vogelpohl () (11:16)

In the case of thematic releases, I'm guessing you don't need to publish these every week. It could be because you're dedicated, but do you publish them at an annual pace or monthly?

Braden (11:30)

Good question. There's a spring release as well as summer release as well as an autumn release. There aren't many people around at the time of the holiday, which is toward the end of the year. Therefore, we do not release in that period. However, we only do three releases per year, with occasional releases during the calendar year.

David Vogelpohl () (11:45)

The product department of the company plans to notify customers each quarter, they will see this theme-based improvement in the product line. We'll also see if it can be integrated in the marketing of the product, and we'll attempt to make it happen by launching a massive advertisement campaign. How would it be if we were to include the elements from each of the product as well as feature release in the same subject?

Braden (12:08)

It's. It's got these aspects. We review our customer roadmap and we say, Okay, what's on the table for this year? This allows us to categorize items into themes. This means that we don't need to take an upward-facing approach and say we'll need to come up with what theme A is. What products can be attributed to the subject of A? Instead, let's look at the products we'll launch in the coming year?

What's next? this product can be used under within those seasons.

David Vogelpohl () (12:44)

If you're lucky and it's a good thing, you'll be able to increase the impact. There's a chance that you'll miss out in the next period when a date for the release is announced, or at an occasion, but it may be a long time in the beginning. However, I'm guessing it'll be long until you know it's. Yeah. It means you're not a part of the GA because of what you'd like to do and also the promotion.

Braden (12:51)

That's correct, yeah.

That's correct. Yeah. This is a clever strategy. That's why we've included our GA activities that we do because these products require promotion when they become active. That's why they're part of a process of thematic. There are GA procedures and thematics that are available for every product.

David Vogelpohl () (13:18)

Each new release, if you're able have the chance to make it into the themes that are released. Then you can have a kind of smaller version of the GA release. This is secure. You will receive another version that is similar to.

Braden (13:31)

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. GA has been extremely useful in making sure that all our employees within the company have access to GA. That means customer satisfaction isn't just hearing from our clients. Our customers have been stating,"Hey I'm using this great product. I'd love to know more about this product. Our Customer Success team was never set up. This isn't the case since within GA we've released FAQs as well as information based on value to ensure our staff employees are conscious of the issue.

Furthermore, primary advertising messages, such as those that you mentioned, can be delayed from time to time. If you plan to launch your product in January, but cannot release any thematically based product in April, your product may not receive enough consideration from the department responsible for marketing at the beginning. But it'll be able to participate in the greater campaign later throughout the year.

David Vogelpohl () (14:17)

If you believed that it was a highly strategic decision could you think of an the X? know, a bigger release, which fell in within the other releases on this subject should you have the same GA schedule for the identical product, which you've been waiting on?

Braden (14:30)

Yeah, absolutely. Also, we've got an ad-hoc release that we offer help for. We're trying to limit them to a couple of releases as they are possible. After that, we've designed a system together with the product department of your company. Then we have a dialogue concerning the product, then we tell you that we're blown away by your product. It's not in the category, but it's important to know how discern between them. The plan is to work in a team to make sure everyone is aware of the action plan. And, as you could imagine, it will get its focus.

The benefit is that you don't need to offer fifteen different products simultaneously before they crash to the ground after the quarter's end as is often the situation in the event of companies that deliver simultaneously.

David Vogelpohl () (15:08)

Thank you.

One of my most popular business quips is not actually a joke, however, it is a factual observation. The concept is that executive Q3 marks the moment to begin Q3, while Engineering Team Q3 signals the close of Q3. Teams are each of certain of reaching the point of conclusion to meet the quarterly OKRs. Yeah. Okay. I've got you covered.

Braden (15:33)

It's absolutely right.

David Vogelpohl () (15:38)

The theme is expected to be released in within the next quarter or maybe in the next few months. However, there's a announcement about a different feature or product that does not belong within the themes. Is this one of those special ones you've been discussing which you can see during the time between the announcement of the theme?

Braden (15:55)

Absolutely, exactly like one would expect. Let me give you an example from what is happening at the moment. We released a payment release towards the start of the year. and so we had a lot of cool payments capabilities. One payment that was rejected by engineering simply wouldn't be able to get perfect when the when the launch occurred. The payment came via Google Pay and everyone knows Google Pay. Then we took a seat and sat down, and thought about what can we do to make sure that we're not in the right direction when we advertise Google Pay? It's not intended to be a B2B product. And so, yeah we launched a new version of this service that works with Google Pay.

It was created with some documents that FAQ documents. It was later included in a blog post or promoted via social media and other things similar to it.

David Vogelpohl () (16:29)

Then what happens when you're faced with an anchor product launch and another theme release which isn't quite as great? The impression was that some the anchor product it was included in the theme release, which Apple Pay slipped from or Google Pay slipped from. What do you do? Do you have to sit and wait for this thematic announcement until anchors are installed? What else can you do?

Braden (16:54)

Yeah, I mean, it depends. It's often an open-ended wait. It's happened. Indeed, I've had conversations with the product team today which led me to think that B2B might be something that we can be seeing later in the year. But the benefit of the focus-driven launch is that, it's not a date. We're setting that deadline for us. If we need to extend the deadline slightly, so as to accommodate engineering deadlines and product We are in a position to.

You can also alter the themes at anytime. If an important new feature is no longer launched perhaps we can take other features to create an array that is compatible with the theme in a new way. This is why there's some flexibleness in the system that permits the possibility of adjustments over period of.

David Vogelpohl () (17:47)

This is a great concept. If I look at the usual advertising campaigns that is used to promote the launch of a feature that is comparable to an announcement blog post Perhaps it's a press release or social media posts or emails to our clients, or send our clients email and the list goes on. What's a thematic press release like in regards to the structure?

Braden (18:07)

I've discussed this before previous. The events continue to happen. As of this subject, these happenings continue to take place. Additionally, we're working on GA actions. There are a range of options including internal enablement, alerts within the app. If you permit access to a piece of software or other technology, we'll be providing that technology to our clients and our internal team. We also separate that access from the theme's release.

At present, we don't pay attention to a large amount of features that have closer to features like "hey it's available, you know, as parts and pieces" we can tell a more powerful tale of what's most important by bringing all these features together. And so that's a big difference that I've observed is impossible to attain when releasing things in bits and pieces throughout an whole year or quarter.

David Vogelpohl () (19:04)

Yeah. Also, it appears that you have the ability to enhance the credibility of your narrative. Since my preferred example are the improvements in the quality of living which can be a challenge for engineers to implement however they don't necessarily make the items more appealing to customers. Because, do isn't it? Anyone who's not inside does not know that there's an problem. It's not easy when Phil is a worker for an organization that promotes products, to announce"Hey You! We've solved this. However, in the end it was an enormous advantage for both the business as well as the clients.

Braden (19:08)

Yeah.

David Vogelpohl () (19:34)

It's good that thematic releases don't only permit you to broadcast from your megaphone. They also make the effort of make the case for more high-quality upgrades to improve the quality of life.

Braden (19:43)

There is a chance to access, numerous features gain of this, and are not in a position to profit from marketing, or even receive an announcement from Pendo. They are instead housed on an online site which makes up a portion of the larger features which are in reality, using the same megaphone. Use that megaphone. There's also a lot worth even a small amount of improvement. This includes the quality of life improvement.

David Vogelpohl () (20:08)

If you follow this strategy, how many quarters do you have in your account?

Braden (20:13)

This is our third launch. in the coming month, we'll be having the third launch themed by theme the month of July. The event will occur in July.

David Vogelpohl () (20:20)

Now, three quarters after did you feel it has improved the ability of you to manage marketing resources as well as support the launch of new products? Or is it too early to say?

Braden (20:33)

I'd say it's certain to improve from my point of view. My perception is not simply that I'm able to support the team that is behind the product but assist them as well in collaborating with other departments in marketing specifically demand generation. The product can be used to gain a large quantity of lead time that they did not have prior to the product.

They can be included in campaigns previously considered difficult to carry out. That could be the most significant advantage. A further reason is it provides time for us to work in other methods for expanding vertically like video games. We may not have had the time or sufficient manpower for increasing the verticals.

David Vogelpohl () (21:28)

The video games segment has been operating for has been in operation for at the very least several months. It has video game customers since quite some time, almost since the start of operations. The article mentioned that the business is being more involved with this segment. Do you think that segmentation might have a significant role to play when it comes to thematic release? Do you think it's more about the array of features?

Braden (21:51)

Segments definitely play a big role. As I said, our next launch is geared towards B2B. It's a market we hope to penetrate and that we're enthusiastic about extending to. We can imagine a future where we're doing this by incorporating video games into our offerings as well. The changes we've made for Apple Pay and implemented Google Pay. This is the reason why expanding the vertical theme isn't just make it possible that it can be used in conjunction with...

The advantages of a themes-driven launch is that you also get the benefit of adding things like thinking leadership to the theme of the launch. This is something you'd not able to incorporate into a conventional launch. It means that you'll get an extensive campaign as well as more value for the campaigns for your company.

David Vogelpohl () (22:44)

Excellent. It's been fun, Braden. I am very grateful for your participation on Radio Talk to discuss this. It was such an interesting conversation that was held in the town of Spryng right within Austin. The idea was to incorporate this debate into the program, however it was a blast. Thank you for your time.

Braden (23:01)

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me. It was really fun.

David Vogelpohl () (23:04)

Awesome. If you'd like more about what Braden is currently developing, such as the upcoming theme-driven release check out .com. We thank you for joining us on this segment of Growth Stage. As host, I'm David Vogelpohl. I'm an avid supporter of communities that use digital items as part of the job I do . and am amazed at the prospect of showcasing the very best from this community to you at the Stage of Growth. Stage. We thank you all for your support.

David Vogelpohl David is the CMO of . In the last two decades, David Vogelpohl has led teams in the creation of high-end engines for growth as well as apps for the top companies like WP Engine, Genesis, AWS, Cloudflare, and several others.

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