Product Marketing Meeting (weekly) 2021-06-28

GitLab Unfiltered
28 Jun 202142:41

TLDRIn the weekly Product Marketing Meeting of June 28, 2021, the team discussed restructuring event support and赞助策略. They explored the idea of using the go-to-market team to sponsor events and campaign managers to run campaigns for these events. The team also discussed the challenges of making product announcements due to GitLab's public roadmap and the small, frequent feature releases. They brainstormed on how to highlight significant feature developments over the past year and how to present these at the upcoming Commit event. The conversation touched on various topics, including vulnerability management, integrations, and the importance of tracking and supporting corporate events effectively.

Takeaways

  • 📋 The meeting focused on restructuring event support and sponsorship strategies within the company.
  • 🤝 There was an emphasis on the collaboration between the Go to Market (GTM) team and campaign managers for event-related activities.
  • 💬 Communication through Slack was highlighted as a key method for team updates and discussions.
  • 🚫 The challenge of making product announcements at GitLab due to the public nature of the roadmap was discussed.
  • 🎯 The strategy for product announcements involves highlighting features that have matured out of beta over the past year.
  • 🌟 The importance of UX as a key area of focus for product launches was recognized.
  • 📈 Excitement levels for features were discussed, with some using metrics like MAU (Monthly Active Users) to gauge interest.
  • 📊 There was a suggestion to stack rank features based on excitement levels and importance.
  • 🔄 The conversation touched on the balance between fixing existing issues and showcasing new, exciting developments.
  • 📝 The process of identifying and prioritizing key features for upcoming product keynotes was a significant part of the discussion.
  • 🎉 The assembly was mentioned as a positive example of the company reflecting on its wins and successes.

Q & A

  • What is the main issue being discussed in the meeting?

    -The main issue discussed is the restructuring of event support within the company and how the go-to-market team will sponsor and support corporate events.

  • How does the company plan to handle event support moving forward?

    -The company plans to have the go-to-market team sign up and sponsor events, with campaign managers running campaigns for these events.

  • What was the feedback from the GTM teams regarding event support?

    -The feedback from the GTM teams was not directly mentioned in the transcript, but it was noted that there was some discussion on Slack and that some teams had already provided their input.

  • What is the current status of regular events at the company?

    -Regular events have been put on a two-week cadence, and some events like GitOps have been cancelled after the enablement.

  • What is the strategy for product announcements at GitLab?

    -The strategy involves highlighting features that have matured over the past year and are now full-fledged, out of beta, and ready for general availability (GA).

  • How does the company decide which features to highlight during product announcements?

    -The company looks at features that have been in development over the past year, which are now mature and ready for GA, and bundles them together for a more impactful announcement.

  • What is the role of the corporate events team in this new structure?

    -The corporate events team is responsible for cat herding and tracking down commitments from campaign managers for specific events.

  • What is the significance of having a public roadmap in making product announcements?

    -Having a public roadmap makes it challenging to make product announcements as the entire plan is already known. The focus is on highlighting features that have reached a significant stage of development.

  • What is the role of community contributions in the company's product development?

    -Community contributions play a significant role, as seen in the VS Code integrations and the Terraform module, where community modules became officially supported.

  • How does the company measure the excitement level of new features?

    -The excitement level is measured using a combination of metrics such as monthly active users (MAU) and qualitative judgments based on demand, upvotes, and customer feedback.

Outlines

00:00

📋 Restructuring and Event Support

The paragraph discusses the restructuring of the company and the challenges in solidifying event support. The speaker mentions a recent discussion on Slack about the issue and the current approach of having the go-to-market team sponsor events. The speaker is looking for feedback and suggests working closely with GTM teams for better coordination. The paragraph also touches on the importance of updating headers and maintaining communication channels.

05:01

🚀 Product Announcements and Roadmap Transparency

This paragraph focuses on the difficulty of making product announcements at GitLab due to the public nature of the roadmap. The speaker proposes highlighting features that have matured over the past year and gone from beta to a full-fledged state. There's a discussion about grouping features like vulnerability management and reusing content from previous launches. The importance of managing expectations and excitement levels for announcements is also emphasized.

10:01

📈 Measuring Excitement and Feature Importance

The speaker delves into the challenge of measuring excitement levels for features, considering using metrics like monthly active users (MAU) as a gauge. The paragraph discusses the need for a benchmark and the subjective nature of judging excitement levels based on demand and usage. The concept of stacking ranked features is introduced to manage a large number of potential announcements and to prioritize them effectively.

15:03

🎉 Event Announcements and Press Attention

The paragraph centers around the strategy for making announcements during events like GitLab's Commit. The speaker acknowledges the challenge of creating excitement for features that have been in development for a while. The goal is to identify mature features that can be spotlighted during product keynotes to capture press attention and interest.

20:07

🤝 Competitive Analysis and Messaging

This paragraph discusses the process of conducting a competitive analysis and comparing features across different stages of the product lifecycle. The speaker emphasizes the need to focus on tier one competitors and to ensure that the comparison is accurate and trustworthy. There's also a discussion about the importance of including GitLab-specific features and differentiating between proprietary and competitor features.

25:09

🎨 Infographic Design and Messaging

The speaker shares insights about the design and messaging of an infographic related to platform players. The paragraph highlights the decision to use stages instead of specific feature names and the intention to make the infographic more descriptive and value-based. The speaker also discusses the importance of color choices in the infographic and the goal of creating a helpful industry asset rather than a competitive marketing piece.

30:09

📝 Crafting Catchy Messaging Statements

In this paragraph, the speaker is engaged in crafting catchy and impactful messaging statements that encapsulate GitLab's value proposition. The speaker discusses the importance of tone, parity, and catchiness in messaging and shares several iterations of potential statements. The goal is to create statements that are memorable, convey the benefits of GitLab, and resonate with the target audience.

35:09

🏎️ Emphasis on Speed and Confidence in Messaging

The speaker refines the messaging statements to emphasize speed and confidence. The paragraph includes a discussion about avoiding trade-offs and focusing on delivering more speed with less risk. The speaker also suggests adding 'high confidence' to the messaging to further convey the assurance provided by GitLab. The goal is to create a strong, memorable message that highlights the benefits of using GitLab.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Product Marketing Meeting

A scheduled gathering of team members involved in the marketing of a product, aiming to discuss strategies, campaigns, and other marketing-related activities. In the context of the video, this meeting is weekly and took place on June 28, 2021, focusing on various marketing initiatives and event support strategies.

💡Corporate Events

Organized activities or functions, typically large-scale, that are sponsored or hosted by a corporation for various purposes such as brand promotion, networking, or product launches. In the video, there is a discussion about the need for better structuring of event support and how the company can handle sponsorships and involvement in such events.

💡Go-to-Market (GTM) Team

A group within a company responsible for developing and executing the strategies required to bring a product or service to market effectively. The GTM team's role is crucial in ensuring the product reaches the target audience and achieves market success. In the context of the meeting, the GTM team is expected to work closely with other teams to support corporate events and manage campaigns.

💡Campaign Manager

An individual responsible for planning, executing, and monitoring marketing campaigns to ensure they meet specific goals and objectives. Campaign managers often work closely with cross-functional teams and utilize various marketing channels to drive results. In the meeting transcript, the campaign manager is mentioned as the person responsible for managing the campaigns for corporate events.

💡Slack

A proprietary business technology and service that provides internal communication and collaboration capabilities for teams. Slack is often used for messaging, file sharing, and integration with other software and tools to streamline workflow. In the video transcript, Slack is mentioned as a platform where team members communicate and share updates regarding event support and other work-related matters.

💡GitLab

An open-source software development lifecycle tool that provides a repository manager for Git repositories, continuous integration, and continuous deployment. GitLab is often used by developers to manage and collaborate on code projects. In the context of the video, GitLab is the company and product around which the marketing strategies and events are being discussed.

💡Product Announcements

Official statements or disclosures made by a company to reveal new or improved products, features, or services to the public. Product announcements are a key component of marketing and public relations strategies and are designed to generate interest and awareness. In the video, the team is planning for product announcements at an upcoming event and discussing which features or improvements to highlight.

💡Vulnerability Management

The process of identifying, classifying, and mitigating vulnerabilities in software or systems to prevent security breaches. Vulnerability management is a critical aspect of cybersecurity and is often a feature included in software development tools like GitLab. In the context of the meeting, vulnerability management is considered as a key feature for a product announcement due to its significance in security and improvements made over the year.

💡Integrations

The process of combining two or more systems or applications so that they work together, allowing for data sharing and streamlined operations. Integrations are important in software development as they enable developers to use various tools and services in conjunction, enhancing productivity and efficiency. In the video transcript, exciting integrations are mentioned as a notable aspect of GitLab's recent developments.

💡User Experience (UX)

The overall experience a user has while interacting with a product, system, or service. It encompasses design, usability, accessibility, and the user's emotional response. A good user experience aims to make the interaction as simple, efficient, and enjoyable as possible. In the context of the meeting, UX is considered a key area of focus for product development and announcements, with improvements in this area being significant for users.

Highlights

Restructuring and trying different approaches for event support.

Market team to sponsor and support corporate events.

Campaign managers to run campaigns for sponsored events.

Need for better communication and coordination with GTM teams.

Regular syncs and meetings have been adjusted to a two-week cadence.

Platform events like reinvent, CI/CD on Google, and Get Ops on KubeCon.

Corp events team needs assistance in tracking event support commitments.

Product announcements challenge due to public roadmap and frequent releases.

Focus on features that have matured out of beta in the past year.

Grouping features like vulnerability management to highlight progress.

Reusing successful features from previous releases like 14.0.

Excitement levels assigned to features based on demand and usage.

Community contributions like VS Code integrations are notable.

Official support for community modules increases their value.

Product keynotes at events like Commit to include press-worthy announcements.

Identifying top features for competitive analysis and messaging.

Using a market lens for competitive comparison, not just GitLab-only features.

New infographics for better visual representation of product stages and features.

Messaging framework focuses on transparency, single source of truth, and possibilities.

Punchy statements like 'More speed, less risk' capture the essence of GitLab's value proposition.