Your launch process (probably) isn't the problem

Hi {{first_name}} ,

Welcome, or welcome back! Each month, I cut through the marketing noise to bring you real talk from other leaders, what’s actually worth reading, and the occasional hot take that makes you think.

In today’s newsletter:

You’ve built your PMM team into a launch machine: Tiers. Templates. Workback schedules. Review meetings. A Launch RACI.

And yet, every launch still feels like chaos.

Why?

I’ve had several PMM leaders reach out asking: ‘launches are a mess at my company, can you help?’ After leading Launch Strategy at Salesforce and launching dozens of products myself, I wanted to understand: is everyone fighting this same fire drill?

I conducted a highly unscientific survey of product marketers from companies ranging from 50 to 5,000+ employees about their product launches. It turns out, Product Marketers at companies of all sizes are brilliant, strategic operators trapped in fundamentally broken systems.

Before we can fix launches, we need to agree on what “launch” even means. The findings show PMMs define launch completely differently depending on their organization:

Some define launch as when the product ships (GA):

Others define launch as the announcement (which may happen months before GA):

This isn’t just semantics. The definition of launch determines whether PMM is reactive or strategic.

Product-led and engineering-focused organizations tend to tie launch to product release. If launch = GA, PMM lives at the mercy of product delivery dates. This leads to more reactive launches with moving target deadlines. On the other hand, you have a clear CTA at launch (”buy now” “try now”) and can more closely tie launch efforts to revenue. While these launches may feel more chaotic due to shifting release dates, you have the benefit of knowing the product you’re marketing will actually be in-market.

Marketing and sales-driven organizations with long sales cycles tend to tie launch to the announcement, not GA. While all PMMs say launches involve a product moment, whether that product is new or even available soon depends on the company. If launch = announcement ahead of GA, you risk lacking key elements like customer stories, product ROI data, accurate feature lists, or even accurate UX screens, all of which make a launch more “real” to a prospect. But, you have more flexibility in launch timing and aren’t beholden to product delivery dates, so you can plan bigger launch events.

There are tradeoffs to each approach. The key is agreeing on the definition of launch at your company so everyone understands the goal, timing, and implications.

Rather than planning a strategic launch cadence according to market timing or internal marketing moments, most PMMs wait until product teams tell them they’re ready. Even companies that define launch as a “marketing moment” take an ad-hoc approach to launch, waiting until product teams are ready to release to launch a product.

When I asked how companies decide when to launch, I heard:

What I expected to see was companies tying product announcements to strategic moments that actually impact customers and sales cycles. You know, back-to-school timing for ed-tech companies. Holiday windows for B2C products. Q4 budget flush for enterprise buyers. More launches scheduled around industry conferences and analyst moments like a Gartner MQ.

Instead, most companies launch whenever product says they’re ready, ignoring seasonal buying patterns, enterprise buying cycles, competitive timing, and sales capacity.

Successful launches need to find a balance between market timing and product readiness. This is where PMM as a strategic partner becomes critical, having the influence to recommend timing that may seem counterintuitive to product teams (“why would I announce a product X weeks before/after it’s actually ready?”). Every organization, market, and sales cycle is different. Understanding how these elements come together is the unique POV PMM brings to the table.

There will always be ad hoc launches. No one can perfectly time the market, especially with AI innovations evolving as quickly as they are. But anchoring to a few repeatable, predictable market moments for your big announcements means you can go all-in when it matters most and maintain flexibility to adapt smaller Tier 2/3/4 launches as they become available.

When I asked what the biggest launch challenge is, a clear theme emerged:

But one response stood out:

“Launch approach only works if product teams are bought in. We’ve built gorgeous docs and processes before, and they crumble as soon as product decides to GA on their own or delay.”

This is exactly what I see with my clients. Docs, processes, and plans are important, but they crumble without tight relationships with PM. Product teams need to understand why PMM is valuable, how to work with PMM, and what makes a launch successful.

PMMs know what they need to do for a successful launch. The challenge is when other teams don’t understand their role or the “why” behind PMM’s timelines, templates, and tiers.

Alignment suggests everyone’s at the table, but can’t agree. These insights show something different: PMMs aren’t at the table early enough in the product lifecycle. They’re brought in after roadmaps are set, timelines are committed, and positioning is implied.

You can’t align cross-functionally when you’re not in the room for the decisions that actually matter. You can’t lead a strategic launch if you’re not seen as a strategic partner.

I get hired to bring process, strategy, and scale to PMM teams’ launches. I can deliver all of that. But a launch process only works when PM teams are actually bought in, when they see PMM as strategic partners throughout the entire product lifecycle, not just the people who write the blog post when it’s time to ship.

Sometimes a launch challenge isn’t a process problem. It’s a relationship problem.

So how do PMMs build the kind of partnership with PM that makes launches actually work? That’s Part 2—subscribe and stay tuned.

Here’s where I share what I’ve found worthwhile among the myriad newsletters, podcasts, and open tabs across my devices lately. No fluff, just the good stuff.

⚙️AI-bubble or not, these tools are going into my PMM toolkit. This month in my “Tools to explore” tab are AI tools specifically designed to help PMMs with message testing and customer insights.

tl;dr: I’m excited to have AI scale insight analysis, but I’m skeptical about solely using AI to gather said customer insights. AI needs human insights to generate its ideas. What happens when we rely solely on AI for our insights? We get AI simulating more AI insights. Don’t forget about the human input part of the AI equation.

📽 “Is this a joke?” marketing moments are having a comeback. This marketing stunt for A24’s forthcoming Marty Supreme is both a phenomenal promo for a movie I’ve never heard of, and a PTSD-inducing experience for marketing teams. Using marketing campaign inception, Timotheé Chalamet hops on a Zoom call with A24’s marketing and promotions department to pitch his own ideas to promote the movie. “My designer took 6 months to create this, it’s genius,” and then proceeds to show….an orange square.

tl;dr: I’m sure most people watching this 18-minute satirical promo aren’t marketers, but still find it funny because Timothee’s deadpan delivery makes them question whether or not it’s actually satire. But as a marketer, knowing this is pretty much exactly how brainstorm pitches go makes this even funnier. Even the video title is 🧑‍🍳💋

A bit of my own writing, recent engagements, client updates, and things I’m doing.

💰 Why every corporate employee needs a Layoff Insurance Plan. Your time at your company will come to an end. And there’s a good chance it won’t be your choice. As I approach the first anniversary of my role elimination, I captured the 5 things I recommend every corporate employee put in their Layoff Insurance Plan, and how it helped me when I was laid off.

🐶 Stage-mom mode activated: Maisel’s first modeling gig. Technically, this is something my dog, Mrs. Maisel, has accomplished, but her first modeling moment is now live! If you’re in the market for adorable dog leashes, collars, and harnesses, check out Wag ‘N Wishes, my neighbor’s new line of dog accessories.

Your marketing team is stretched thin, launches feel chaotic, and you're not sure if your messaging actually resonates. You need strategic leadership but can't justify a full-time hire.

Sound familiar? I work with marketing leaders who need seasoned product marketing expertise on their highest-impact initiatives—bringing enterprise experience with startup speed.

Workshops and Keynote Speaking: Who doesn’t love interactive workshops and inspirational keynotes? I bring topics related to marketing, messaging, and storytelling to your events, off-sites, and experiences.

Perfect for: Marketing teams, sales teams, or leadership groups who want to improve how they communicate through messaging and storytelling.

Team Capacity & Capability Building: You know what good marketing looks like, but you're hitting bottlenecks in execution. I step in as an extension of your leadership team to provide strategic reviews, coaching, advisory support, and framework development that scale your team’s impact and make the most of your time.

Perfect for: Marketing teams that need senior-level strategic advising and coaching without long hiring timelines.

Fractional PMM Leadership: I help get things done, without the overhead of a full-time senior hire. Whether you need messaging frameworks, go-to-market support, or a new product launch strategy, I work alongside your team to execute, not just advise.

Perfect for: CMOs and marketing SVPs who need strategic marketing execution and leadership support, but don't have the bandwidth or budget for senior full-time talent.

Did you know I have a Substack? While I write monthly about marketing here, I write weekly(ish) about whatever strikes my fancy over there.

Jodi