Use Quarterly Themes to Organize Release Mayhem Across Your Product Portfolio
As I mentioned in last week’s article, most product launches fail. This risk only gets amplified when dealing with more complex portfolios of products. New releases get buried under competitors’ noise and your own scattered announcements. That’s where “Marketing Moments” come in – a smart way to bundle all that chaos under quarterly themes that actually get noticed.
What Are Marketing Moments?
They’re planned announcements that group multiple products under one theme rather than scattering releases like confetti throughout the year. Think of them as your quarterly marketing rallying cry that gets everyone on the same page.
Instead of obsessing over each product’s release date, Marketing Moments pull together your portfolio launches and align your entire team’s efforts. Done right, you’ll have four powerful moments per year that make a real impact in the market.
Why They Make Sense
I’m fully supportive of Marketing Moments because they bring much-needed structure to complex product portfolios. These moments are typically anchored to pivotal industry events like:
- RSA Conference
- Your company’s annual user event
- Black Hat
- Gartner’s Security and Risk Management conference
- Major cloud service provider (CSP) events
This approach helps your team focus, communicate, and align activities around common themes that resonate with your market.
Marketing Moment Planning Matrix – TEMPLATE
Here’s a practical template to help you organize your marketing moments throughout the year:
| Quarter | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theme | Secure OT Environments with Speed | Power Wind Turbine Security with Automation | Unify Satellite Operations with Context | Speed Up Cloud Response Workflows |
| Key Message | Message description (50 word) | Message description (50 word) | Message description (50 word) | Message description (50 word) |
| Key Releases and Phases | Release 1 (GA) Release 2 (Preview) Release 3 (Early Access) | Release 1 (GA) Release 2 (Preview) Release 3 (Early Access) | Release 1 (GA) Release 2 (Preview) Release 3 (Early Access) | Release 1 (GA) Release 2 (Preview) Release 3 (Early Access) |
| Key Events | Industry Event 1 Industry Event 2 | Industry Event 3 Annual User Event | Industry Event 4 Industry Event 5 | Industry Event 6 Partner Event |
| Key Activities | Report Launch 1 White Paper 1 Webinar 1 Content Item 1 | Report Launch 2 White Paper 2 Webinar 2 Content Item 2 | Report Launch 3 White Paper 3 Webinar 3 Content Item 3 | Report Launch 4 White Paper 4 Webinar 4 Content Item 4 |
The Implementation Challenge
While Marketing Moments sound great in theory, implementation can quickly become messy without proper leadership. Here’s what’s needed:
- Dedicated Program Management: You need someone who understands various business units and products – not just a single product or feature.
- Executive Sponsorship: The program must be managed from a “Chief’s” office. If a single department within Marketing takes ownership, you’ll struggle to get cross-functional support for campaigns, creative resources, and PR.
- Executive Alignment: The lead executive needs to “sell” the plan to other executives, including Product and Engineering, to set expectations for the quarter and secure resources aligned to priorities.
Common Obstacles
Two major challenges emerge when implementing Marketing Moments:
Product Team Disconnect: Product and Engineering teams think in terms of product releases, not market positioning. They often don’t see the big picture of how releases show up in the market.
Process Confusion: When Marketing introduces the “Marketing Moment” term alongside established launch processes, people get confused: “Is this a launch or a moment, and what’s the difference?”
Making It Work
To implement Marketing Moments, success hinges on several key factors:
- The “So What?” Test
For each proposed theme, ask: “So what? Why should customers care?” If you can’t articulate a compelling answer in one sentence, your theme needs a rethink. The best themes address urgent market problems in ways that feel fresh and insightful.
- Bridge the Communication Gap
When Product teams push back, explain Marketing Moments as a way to consolidate many priorities into focused moments that amplify impact. Emphasize that you’re still launching their product, but the Marketing Moment is the mechanism by which they can leverage the entire GTM engine for maximum impact. “Help me help you” is a useful phrase in this context.
- Create Clear Roles and Responsibilities
Ensure a Program Manager uses a RACI matrix that clearly defines who’s Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each aspect of your Marketing Moments. This prevents territorial issues and ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
- Develop a Standardized Planning Process
The Program Manager needs a documented process with timelines, deliverables, and checkpoints that’s consistent across all Marketing Moments. They should include templates for planning documents, creative briefs, and status reports to streamline execution.
- Institute Regular Cross-Functional Reviews
Schedule regular (weekly or bi-weekly) check-ins with representatives from all involved departments to maintain alignment and quickly address challenges. These touchpoints ensure everyone stays on the same page as launch dates approach.
- Prioritize Based on Business Impact
Not all releases deserve equal billing in a Marketing Moment. Develop objective criteria for evaluating which products or features should take center stage based on strategic importance, revenue potential, and competitive differentiation. PMM leadership will need to take the lead here.
- Create a Feedback Loop
After each Marketing Moment, the Program Manager should conduct a thorough post-mortem to identify what worked, what didn’t, and what needs improvement. Use these insights to continuously refine your approach for future quarters.
- Be Patient
Sometimes your product won’t be the headline during a particular moment – it might need to stand on the sidelines while another group takes the lead role. If your launch deserves more visibility, that’s a conversation for executives to have. They need to define organizational priorities that teams can align to.
Bottom line: without executive leadership or a Program Manager, Marketing Moments become frustrating exercises with no clear understanding of the why, who, what, when, and how.
Conclusion
Marketing Moments bring much-needed order to the chaos of cross-portfolio product launches. By bundling releases under quarterly themes tied to major industry events, companies can cut through the hype and make a bigger impact as a unified front. Success requires strong leadership from the top, clear communication between teams, and a process everyone understands. Yes, challenges exist – especially getting product teams on board and clarifying how this fits with existing processes. But when done right, this tactic helps teams focus on what matters, use resources wisely, and tell a story that actually connects with customers’ real security problems.
