Product Marketing is Not Working Repair It by Using Thematic Product Launches

Do you have a product marketing team trying to manage resources related to marketing, in order to deal with the endless number of releases that have no release date as well as an unending number of product managers requesting lots of attention from marketing with every release? Do you think there is an alternative?

• Be sure to be attentive to any new product announcements.
• Make sure you tell a major story which is more than components.
• Marketing needs to be organised and properly organized so that they are able to do their best to market new products.

If you're dragging yourself into a bind with frantic product roadmaps, constant "t-shirt" dimensions adjustments to agile project estimations or slipping dates on the release date of your products and worried that you're letting your managers to down, perhaps it's time to think about thematic product releases. Learn how to go about it on the latest episode on Growth Stage!

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David Vogelpohl () (00:04)

Hello everyone! You are invited to join The Growth Stage podcast by . I'm your host, David Vogelpohl. I'm part of the digital product community by working at . and I am awed by bringing the best of community-to-community for you on the Growth Stage podcast. In this episode, I'm going to talk with one person that is extremely crucial to me. I work with him here at . He's going to be talking about how marketing for products is a mess and how to make it better through thematic

product releases We'd be pleased to receive to Growth Stage Mr. Braden Steel. Braden, welcome.

Braden (00:39)

Thank you for your time. I really appreciated your intro. I'm eager to chat about marketing for products today.

David Vogelpohl () (00:44)

Awesome. And I am so happy to have you as a partner here at  Braden. There was a brief moment of panic since I don't frequently pronounce your name in a loud way. And then I thought about it I wonder if this is an odd pronunciation I did not know, and had forgotten in the past or something, but welcome to the forum. It's a given that it's. What Braden will discuss are his views on what's wrong with the traditional method of marketing and how the methods we employ is using periodic thematic launches of product launches.

Braden (00:58)

Yeah. Thank you.

David Vogelpohl () (01:14)

To provide the greatest treatment to the new launches of your products so that you can tell a coherent product story where the whole will be worth more than the elements, and assist marketing to be more thoughtful and strategic so that you are able to give your best effort to your releases. I went to Spryng held with Wynter, W -Y -N T - E -R I believe, and also S.P. -R. -Y.N. -G, but it's an incident.

The participants were discussing various issues and problems related to marketing. The issue of product marketing was brought up. People were complaining that they were running ragged, you know dealing with every single feature launch and new product announcement and trying to create a big impression for each of the launches. The idea of theme-based product launches was raised by someone was in the group that had suggested it. We had adopted that here at the time of a few quarters back.

Thus, I thought it would be fun to speak about this topic today. That's it, Braden Are you ready to start?

Braden (02:18)

Yeah, let's do it. I'm looking forward to discussing the subject. it. it. it.

David Vogelpohl () (02:20)

Alright, good deal. I've been here quite some time now, however I'm not sure what the answer is to this question. Did you purchase the item that was your first ordered online?

Braden (02:28)

This certainly is a great idea. I thought a bit about the idea. The time was the junior high. eBay was booming. After that, I purchased a PlayStation 2 with a bundle of games. There were sports games, and other games. It was a constant debate over whether or not to buy it. However, I bought it, and was extremely pleased with the game. I gained a lot from the console and had a lot of enjoyment.

Another alternative is to make use of the cash I've earned was a didgeridoo was the first thing I purchased using my own money online. That's the third choice.

David Vogelpohl () (03:06)

All is well. I love the way when you had your own money with the funds of your parents how was it similar to the money of your parents? What was the method you used to fund your PSP?

Braden (03:14)

Yes, I could have earned it by pruning my yard, or weeding my lawn, or even something else. The other was the same as the money I earned of my work which I earned on my own.

David Vogelpohl () (03:24)

So, if you're trimming the lawn, that's your cash, Braden. That's all that's needed. Okay, so I let it slip during the introduction But, would you be willing to share the thoughts of viewers regarding the things you're working on or what you're working on here?

Braden (03:27)

Sure, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, sure. So I'm the Director of Product Marketing. the Senior Manager at . My principal responsibility is to manage go-to-market across all our products and the sectors we work involved in. So when a product launches it is, well, all of the messaging underneath the product and around the product, in addition to helping in games, B2B and other industries that we're really eager to sell to. Merchant of Record.

This means that we connect everything from the buy button onwards and provide an all-encompassing online selling experience. We collaborate with SaaS businesses, gaming firms AI firms B2B companies along with other organizations such as. that. that. that.

David Vogelpohl () (04:18)

Excellent, excellent. Now, when you describe your experience it was you were able to cover a variety of elements. You touched on the latest product launches and feature announcements, and other product launches. You also mentioned verticals. Also, you mentioned B2B SaaS or video games. Today's product marketers is often embracing the vertical position relative to the particular product. It just even further amplifies the complexity of marketing products.

What do you think could be broken in the marketing of products? Was there something that didn't make sense in the traditional model?

Braden (04:56)

Yes, that's a excellent topic. You know, product releases depend on numerous factors which are beyond the control of a marketer's product. For example, the engineering process and commitments from customers that must to happen or sales have an important aspect that's"hey, we need to get this product completed prior to the date it's scheduled for release. There are a lot of moving parts in these new product launches. So, working with the teams in the production team to find commitment dates, and understanding,

When do these products are scheduled be released? What is "release" mean? Can you access it on a regular basis or is it still in the Beta phase? Then the question begins to be asked how soon do we plan to talk about the software? What is it that we'd like to share? Are we even able to talk about this since we're currently testing the product? There's plenty of concerns and a lot of unease is created by this model of, you are aware of how engineering and product functions. So, my opinion is that the major thing that's broken is

it's so difficult to know when it's so hard to see the end product. You then have to decide on the date of release, and plan the product to be prepared to launch. And so what can happen is that professional in product marketing like me get to know, a week before launch, one week prior to GA and then the product manager of the product tells them"This will get done. And then, do all of this work. Then it's like but hold on. I've got other tasks to do. I know you've mentioned verticals. It's been discussed.

It's true, it can take up a lot of time, too. The issue I've been forced to resolve and contemplated is how can I finish the launch of my product as well as the other aspects of my job when I have no control over when the event will occur?

David Vogelpohl () (06:40)

If you're using a floating timeline. This product isn't fully functional. They discover a bug at the very last moment. They are able to push through the release, and they manage to get it out on time. It's a challenge to coordinate the resources of other marketers along with designers, webmasters, content people and other things that are similar. And so it's this arrangement of floating dates I'm hearing about. Is there a different aspect? As the one I've...

As you may know, I've been in the realm of marketing products in various roles over time. It seems like every time I talk to a product person They're saying"I'm going to release X and am going to make a big announcement about the launch. Do you believe that expectations of the level of time and effort needed to advertise the various launches of products can be excessive? Does that make up a part of what's missing from conventional marketing of the products?

Braden (07:28)

Yes, absolutely. They're product managers are product managers with a purpose. They own those products. They're extremely excited about the product. They've oftentimes been working on them for probably, many years that they've been trying to get these items to be released. Naturally, they'll seek out as much help as they can from these items. It can be difficult to find an executive from the product team come up to you and say, I'm really thrilled about this product.

I'd like a lot of back, so this is a comprehensive list of my ideas I'm going the courage to propose: let us to slam the brakes just enough to allow for A or B, and I'm not able to back your suggestions and/or do it due to, well, I'm just not at the right moment, or, and that's discouraging and hard to maintain an ongoing relationship with these product managers as they could feel that they do not wish to assist you with anything, but that isn't the case, obviously, it's not your intention to help every person you're able to.

David Vogelpohl () (08:26)

Yeah. It's the reason you're looking at it from the perspective of coordinating a go -to marketing strategy around a launch. It's a matter of floating dates within the conventional model and then every product manager is right there, because, as you've said, given all the investment and effort they're putting into this, you're like that we need to make a massive splash with this. but with all of those demands and floating dates you feel as if you're not performing the very best job. This is like you're trying to divide your time among all your obligations and having a hard time being productive at work. That's what I'm getting. Is that right?

Braden (09:01)

Yeah, yeah, that's right. You end up at an area where many things go wrong in a single moment. Then you must determine what to do about each one of them. There are not only 24 hours in one day, and that you are working a all-day, every day. But also the, anxiety of the various things in your mind. Therefore, take your time spent learning these technical aspects and.

Condens them into something that is focused on the market. That's why there are many obstacles to conquer.

David Vogelpohl () (09:35)

You mentioned this only a few minutes ago when we discussed the importance in supporting PMs in addition to the connection to PMMs as well as PMs in the sense of. If you're feeling this is the typical form of marketing for products and services, can you suggest that it may have a bit of tension with PMMs and PMs?

Braden (09:58)

It's true, I'm imagining that. I've experienced situations where sure there's a uncomfortable conversation to simply admit that you don't have the resources to support the way you'd like me to move. And, you know, in these situations it is important to be attentive and understand what the PM is looking at, but it causes tension. You know, it is crucial to speak effectively in those situations when it is necessary to be there and engage in the discussions while being aware.

Be clear and proficient in logging your progress doing and, in the case of applying the method of launching based on theme in order to eliminate some of that challenge which comes with traditional software.

David Vogelpohl () (10:41)

Now you've got the Product managers demanding the most powerful megaphone to announce their new product. Marketers saying we need to be more organized to be more efficient? Also, you've discussed your move to thematic releases of your goods. So let's just start simply. What is a theme-based product release?

Braden (10:59)

Yeah, great question. Thematic releases are a group of goods that are grouped that are related to the theme. As an example, B2B as the umbrella and all the items are aligned with the subject.

David Vogelpohl () (11:16)

If we're talking about themes-based releases, then I'm assuming that there's not a single release every week. Perhaps that if you're very determined do you release them on a monthly basis, quarterly or each month?

Braden (11:30)

Good question. We have a spring and summer release, aswell as a autumn release. It isn't a lot of people to be seen during the holidays at the conclusion of the calendar year, so we do not make it available during this season. However, there are only three releases each year. We also release a few times occasionally.

David Vogelpohl () (11:45)

So the product org intends to announce that each quarter we're going to make this theme-based improvement to this particular product line or series of products. We'll then to incorporate it into product marketing, we're going to bring it to life in a single marketing campaign. How would it work if you contain the key elements from each of the product lines and features release within the subject?

Braden (12:08)

It will. It includes those elements. As we go through our customer plan and say yes, what exactly are we thinking about for the coming year? This allows us to categorize the products in categories. This means that we don't have to take the top down approach, telling ourselves, if we have to identify a solution for theme A. So, what is the product that's appropriate for theme A? Instead, we look at what items we are planning to launch in the coming year?

What's the most important matter that these merchandise can fall under during those season.

David Vogelpohl () (12:44)

You'll experience, you'll amplify the effect. It could be off by a quarter, maybe when the date of release is an important event, however it could also be delayed that I can imagine. And the user will know that they've got it. Yeah. That means that you're segregating the GA, if you will with respect to the promotion.

Braden (12:51)

That's correct, yeah.

That's correct. Yeah. This is a great method. you know, we've deployed our GA activities that we implement since our products will require a promotion once the launch. So, as a component of our process, which is thematic, we can include GA activities and themes can be applied to each of our products.

David Vogelpohl () (13:18)

Every launch, if it is so desired, will be a part of the themes announced. You also get some sort of a miniscule version that is similar to the GA release. It's basically a double dip, which sounds similar to.

Braden (13:31)

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. It's been extremely helpful in making sure that our internal teams of our company are able to access GA. It means that satisfaction of customers isn't just suddenly being able to hear feedback from clients. The feedback is like "Hey I'm using this amazing product. I'd like to know more about this product. Our customer success team wasn't established. However, this is not the case because in GA we're currently releasing FAQ documents and value-based messages in order to make sure that our employees are aware of exactly what's happening.

Also, go-to market messages which you've mentioned could be a little slow at times. If your product is scheduled to launch in January but aren't able to release a thematically-related product till April, the product may be unable to receive the same amount of marketing support in the beginning However there's a chance to take part in the larger campaign later in the year.

David Vogelpohl () (14:17)

If it was extremely strategically planned, would you include an X or a larger release in between theme releases in case you happen to be able to secure a similar, GA date for some similarly strategic product you've been in the process of awaiting?

Braden (14:30)

Yeah, absolutely. So we have ad hoc releases that we are able to assist with. We try to limit them to just a few releases, if possible. We've developed a procedure in conjunction together with the team of product developers where we engage in an exchange and think, okay, we have an awesome function. This isn't in the same category but it's really important for reason A as well as B. It's something we plan as a team so everyone is aware of the procedure we'll use. And then, you know, that does get separate consideration.

It's a benefit that there no chance of having to deliver 15 different items being delivered at the same time and falling to the ground after the quarter's end and, as you know, oftentimes when the entire product line is delivered simultaneously.

David Vogelpohl () (15:08)

Thank you.

One of my most popular business jokes actually is, observation that executive Q3 is the time to start of Q3 whereas engineering teams Q3 marks the moment to conclude Q3. They're well, you know, obviously moving towards the close to meet those quarterly OKRs. Yeah. Okay. I've got you.

Braden (15:33)

Yeah, exactly right.

David Vogelpohl () (15:38)

So you have this theme due out the next quarter, or maybe some time in the near future yet, and you've got a big product or feature launch that isn't in the overall theme. Could this be one of those unique ones you were talking about you could see within the time between the release of the thematic theme?

Braden (15:55)

Yes, precisely as you would think. Let me give you an example from what we're working on. We released a payment release earlier in the year. We also had many amazing payment features. One of them was able to slip through the cracks in technology and was not able to access when that the thematic launch occurred. This was Google Pay and everyone knows Google Pay. We sat and looked it over, and wondered, how can we make sure that we're in fact promoting Google Pay? It's not an online service for business to business. So we've released a small release to Google Pay.

Created some documents for it FAQ documents blogs, blog posts or a blog post that is promoted on social networks like this.

David Vogelpohl () (16:29)

What happens when you've got this type of release for an anchor product, as well as a thematic release that does not sound as impressive? The sound was like there was an anchor product which was in the thematic release. Apple Pay slipped from or Google Pay slipped from. So what can you do? Hold off on releasing the thematic release until the anchor products are in place? What else can you do?

Braden (16:54)

Yeah, I mean, it depends. The usual approach is to wait to see. We've had that happen. True that I spoke to the team behind this product and they told me"Hello, B2B may be something we'll see coming up a little more later in the year. One of the advantages of Thematic Launch Thematic Release is there's no deadline to meet. The deadline is set by us. And so if we need extend that deadline just a to more efficiently meet the demands of manufacturing and engineering, then we can.

We could also alter the themes at any time. If an important feature suddenly isn't gonna get launched perhaps we can take some additional features in order to create an array that is compatible with a particular theme in an alternative way. There's plenty of possibilities to change the design to accommodate the changes that occur all during the course of time.

David Vogelpohl () (17:47)

It's an excellent idea. As I see it, an old-fashioned campaign to promote thematic releases, it's like an announcement blog or perhaps a press release, an email or social media coverage our clients, emailing our clients such as this. What makes thematic releases different in regards to format?

Braden (18:07)

True, I've talked about it a little in the past. Many of these things are still happening. And at the thematic moment they're taking place, but there are what we'll call GA tasks. This means that there's more to it than internal enablement within -app notifications. If you grant access to devices or software, we're enabling our customers, as well as- the internal teams within us. This differs from a releases that are thematic.

At the same time, instead of being able to pay attention to a huge portion of the more like the same features there's this one available in bits and pieces and bits, we're able to construct a narrative story about the value in all of these areas. And so that's a big contrast that's hard to accomplish by releasing something like, as a fragmented release over the course of a quarter or a year.

David Vogelpohl () (19:04)

Yeah. This is a good thing, because it seems to help improve the quality of your story. Since I'm a fan, my favorite example of improvement in high quality of life that are really difficult for engineering however they don't necessarily increase the marketability of your product. Because, do isn't it? Someone who's on the outside doesn't realize there was a problem or something. And, and so it's usually difficult for Phil is an employee of a company that markets products is required to say, Hey y 'all, we, we fixed this. Actually, it's very beneficial to the business and the clients.

Braden (19:08)

Yeah.

David Vogelpohl () (19:34)

The releases not only allow you to give away the megaphone. They assist in making the case for some of these more quality enhancements to your living.

Braden (19:43)

The result is that you realize, many applications benefit from this. They normally wouldn't receive any marketing or, for instance, quick announcement in Pendo. Instead, they're displayed in websites that are component of a larger feature. So, yeah they can use, like you stated, utilize that megaphone. In addition, there's a lot to gain from the less than ideal improvement in quality of life.

David Vogelpohl () (20:08)

Okay, now that you know this approach, how many quarters are in?

Braden (20:13)

This is our third launch and we'll begin the theme for our third month of launch, which will be in July.

David Vogelpohl () (20:20)

Three quarters into the program, do you agree that it has increased your ability to oversee marketing resources and assist in the introduction of new products? Or is it still too early to judge?

Braden (20:33)

The experience has definitely improved on my part. The difference I've noticed is that I now have the capability to assist more effectively the development team but also help them out and coordinate with other departments in marketing as well as demand generation. They also have many lead times that they did not before with this product.

And we could slot them within campaigns we have struggled to do. This is the most significant benefit. Another benefit is that we have time to think about other ways to expand vertically for example, games and other sports, that wouldn't have been able to do with enough time or the manpower needed to push the verticals ahead.

David Vogelpohl () (21:28)

It was mentioned that you had a gaming video segment for at minimum a few months back too. The company has had video games customers for a while at least since the inception of the business. You talked about the company kind of leaning into segments. Do you believe segmentation could have a role to play in the thematic release or do you think that they are more focused on set of attributes?

Braden (21:51)

Yes, segmentation plays a big role. As I said, our next launch is focused on B2B. It's a niche we're hoping to tap into and that we're enthusiastic to grow into. It's possible to imagine a future where we're making that happen with video games as well. As we've mentioned, there's the improvement we've made in Our Apple Pay and implemented Google Pay. That's why increasing the vertical theme will not only give you an option but lets you use it in the form of...

you get the benefits of the you benefit from the. However, you also gain advantages by incorporating elements like thought of leadership into your launch. It's something that you'd have a difficult time integrating with traditional release of goods. So you're able to get a bigger, potentially bigger campaign and greater worth out of this type of release for your overall organization.

David Vogelpohl () (22:44)

Excellent. This was really fascinating, Braden. I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with us about this. This was an amazing discussion during Spryng here in Austin. It was my thought to have it to be part of the show. It was awe-inspiring. Thank you so much for joining.

Braden (23:01)

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for inviting me to join you. It was really enjoyable.

David Vogelpohl () (23:04)

Awesome. If you'd like to learn more on Braden's work, go to www.braden.com. Braden is working on and preparing the release of his theme-based product, go to .com. Thank you for taking part in this week's episode of Growth Stage. The host for this episode this week is David Vogelpohl. I am an avid supporter of the online product community in my job at . and am thrilled at the prospect of presenting everything that is great about this community here on Growth Stage. Thank you for your support.

David Vogelpohl David is the CMO of . Since the age of 25, David Vogelpohl has led teams that have built elite engines for expansion and developed software for major firms including WP Engine, Genesis, AWS, Cloudflare, and various other brands.

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