Pivot market categories like an Ember PMM
Here’s the truth about meaningful growth: you either sell more of your current product to more people, or you build something entirely new to attract fresh customers. Simple concept, endless possibilities.
The second path, new products, new markets, is where the real magic happens. It's where innovation meets strategy, where positioning becomes an art form, and where go-to-market plans can make or break a company's future. It's exhilarating, complex, and absolutely essential for sustainable growth.
Today's story centers on a product you've likely encountered: Ember's temperature-controlled smart mugs, those sleek beauties gracing Starbucks counters and Williams Sonoma shelves. But here's what makes this case study fascinating: Ember didn't stay content as a coffee mug company. They made a bold leap into an entirely different category, chasing a new audience with a completely different product.
This episode unpacks exactly how they executed this strategic pivot and what product marketers can learn from their approach. I'm joined by two exceptional guests who bring unique perspectives to this conversation.
First, Daniel Alvarez, who's led product strategy at Ember, Dole, and Jacuzzi. With his engineering background and MBA, Daniel brings that rare combination of technical depth and business acumen. He's built everything from connected hardware to CPG products, always with a keen eye on market trends and user experience—one of those PMMs who truly understands the customer, the technology, and the business.
Also joining us is Connor O'Neill, who's spent over a decade crafting brand stories and partnerships that genuinely resonate with luxury customers. From Ember to Babylist and Jaguar Land Rover, Connor's known for transforming real customer insights into campaigns that feel personal rather than performative. Whether launching new products or evolving established brands, she brings authenticity to every strategy.
The Art of Market Expansion
Staying ahead means evolving your strategy. One of the most exhilarating parts of growth is unveiling new products for fresh markets. For Ember, this meant evolving from a brand known for smart mugs to a leader in innovative, multi-category products. By sticking to their roots, sophisticated design and practicality, Ember captured not only coffee aficionados but also new customers eager for innovation.
In our chat, Daniel and Connor reveal key moves that can elevate a market expansion from a simple starting point to a roaring success. Here’s the lowdown:
1. Consumer Insight: The North Star
Every new venture begins with understanding your current and future consumers inside out. Daniel emphasizes the importance of digging deep into analytics and consumer behavior, this is your foundation for connecting with untapped desires and demands.
2. Innovation Rooted in Experience
While the allure of innovation is tempting, Daniel and Connor stress the value of leveraging proven technology. This creates a smooth transition for existing customers while inviting new audiences with open arms.
3. Aspirational Storytelling: The Game Changer
Connor brings to life the impact of authentic storytelling that resonates with customers. Whether through campaigns or catchy taglines like Ember's "Have a Grande," crafting a narrative that speaks to your audience’s dreams is essential.
4. Community and Collaboration: The Secret Sauce
Expanding into new market spaces requires more than just an innovative product; it demands a loyal community. Connor shared the magic of partnerships and influencer collaborations that introduce your product to wider audiences naturally and engagingly.
Messaging Critique: Oura Ring
Our messaging critique today is of the increasingly popular Oura Ring’s messaging strategy. While the Oura Ring is an innovative product combining technology with personal wellness, Daniel and Connor point out the challenges in clearly communicating its unique benefits to a broad audience. The key issue seemed to revolve around the complexity of translating intricate health insights into relatable and digestible messages. Without simplifying the advanced data the Oura Ring provides, the messaging risked alienating potential customers not fluent in tech or health jargon. It was a reminder that, in product marketing, even the most cutting-edge innovations must connect with everyday users through clear and compelling storytelling, focusing on relatable lifestyle enhancements rather than overwhelming technical details.
Wrapping up our chat, Daniel and Connor drop a wisdom bomb for product marketers eager to break through crowded markets: It’s not just about being different, but about being meaningful. Focus on addressing real customer needs and wants. As Daniel put it, market expansion is about taking purposeful steps so your audience can easily journey with you.
Let's take these insights, explore new market spaces, and dare to innovate beyond the usual boundaries. Until next time, may your product marketing adventures be as amazing as Ember’s inspiring journey.
LINKS:
Oura Ring: https://ouraring.com/
Connect with Daniel and Connor:
Website: https://revelhorizon.com/
Instagram:@revelhorizon
Connect with Elle:
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/elle3izabeth/
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[00:00:00] Elle: Daniel and Connor, welcome to the show.
[00:00:02] Daniel: Be here. Elliot, it's great to be talking to you today.
[00:00:04] Connor: Thank you so much for having us.
[00:00:06] Elle: Yay. Okay. I'm so excited. Let's just dive right in. All right, so market expansion is one of the most powerful levers a business can pull anytime it's on the table, product marketers should definitely be in the middle of it because. Expansion isn't just a business decision, it's go-to-market challenge.
and if you're a product marketer, you know that, that means audience, new product, new playbook, and all Of that is in our lane. I'm so excited to bring this to life with an Ember case study. So tell us what was happening at Ember when your team realized it was time to break into a new market.
Daniel, why don't you
kick us off?
[00:00:43] Daniel: Yeah. Interestingly enough, we've been working on a product plan for a new product in our drinkware line and all agreed that it just wasn't really working. We had the features, we had the customer insight, but the product development costs were going to be too high, and we just couldn't see a vision of this product meeting.
The quality that we had worked so hard [00:01:00] to build in our brand because it was such a big portion of the launch plan for the following year. We had to find an alternative. We decided to take a step back and investigate another direction that seemed promising, but needed some work and validating before we move forward.
[00:01:12] Connor: Yeah. The funny thing is Ember has made massive ships into new markets with the launch of the self warming baby bottle cold cube, which is a remarkable like cold chain shipping container for pharmaceuticals. In this case, our goal was still to create a new product that would help Ember move into new categories.
But we were also using proven technology so we could go to market quickly and meet our goals. In a way, we were kind of treading both paths that you mentioned earlier. At the same time, it was critical to expand our customer base, but also we needed to meet the needs of our existing customer to have an effective launch, we needed to sell more.
To more people and do it fast with limited resources, all while attracting those new customers easy. Right?
[00:01:56] Elle: Not at all
[00:01:57] Connor: No,
[00:01:59] Elle: specifically [00:02:00] bringing in new customers without cannibalizing existing product lines or, spiking costs. Totally.
[00:02:05] Daniel: exactly.
So in that vein, we had to build a cross-functional team. We dug into some consumer research and really looked for white space. We had a goal to marry the sleek design we were known for in the premium finishes that we were discovering with proven technology. Nothing over-engineered. So in doing so, we decided to build off the current product platform of our existing technology and create the 16 ounce Ember Tumbler.
[00:02:28] Connor: And crucially, we wanted to maintain brand integrity, like Daniel and I both value consistency across the product line. Even with ember's, very diverse offerings, it was paramount that we. Always honor the brand. Here we are like able to meet the company's needs while addressing the USPS that current customers have been asking for, for some time, and still attract the requested customers.
It was an effort, but it led to ember's most successful product launch ever. In fact, we actually tripled launch day sales over our previous [00:03:00] bestseller.
[00:03:00] Elle: That's amazing. I absolutely love that customer-centric innovation. okay, so as in with all of my episodes, let's break this down into a playbook for product marketers. Say, I wanted to do something similar in my role today. Obviously not, you know. Build a beautifully designed, connected Tumbler, but expanding into a new market.
Like I want to, work with my product team, work with my, my design team, expand my market into, you know, new audiences with a new product. Walk me through what the steps would be and kicking it off. What is step one?
[00:03:36] Connor: Oh, well, step one for us was digging deep into consumer analytics and market research. Not just who they are, but what they care about. We've been using Google Meta Analytics as well as survey data. Through a test to better understand our current customer's interests. Our original intent was to use this to create a three year strategy plan, post pandemic, and create the product that Daniel actually mentioned about [00:04:00] earlier.
But this information plus post-purchase surveys and customer insights that we pulled from CX were invaluable when it came to creating the Tumbler. And one of the things that we learned that our customers, actually had brand overlap with companies like REI, uh, Columbia, Patagonia. They were outdoor enthusiasts or at least, you know, they had outdoor aspirations.
[00:04:22] Elle: That is so interesting. Okay, so let's talk more about the data. not that I have hard experience, but just from what I have learned from others, it can be so hard to get data from consumers. So. Tell us the secret. How do you do it?
[00:04:38] Connor: I don't know if I have the secret, but this is always really difficult for brands and getting quality consumer insights is only actually like getting harder. A lot of what you can do depends on the budget you have. and a good relationship with your meta and Google Wrap, sorry. Rep, uh, is. An amazing starting point as they can help you decipher information from their respective platforms.
Um, [00:05:00] meta is helpful when it comes to consumer behavior through its social platform, and it's a great place to better understand user preferences and trends within specific communities. Google, on the other hand, utilizes the search data and Google ads to discover insights related to, uh, user intent, local services, and also high intent queries.
Additionally, like I mentioned, you can utilize surveys. We did a few paid surveys, through focus, mostly focused on brand perception and consumer behavior. And the reason we did this is it really gave us a better understanding of our existing customers and those that either did or did not know about our brand and had never even purchased an ember mug, for instance.
Uh, we now know that the Ember consumer is more likely to own a home. they're more likely to have children under the age of 18. Of course we utilized those post-purchase surveys and actually Daniel scanned like something like 60,000 customer experience tickets. maybe that number [00:06:00] is more close to 6,000, but it was a mess of tickets and he actually consolidated the requests and the complaints and gave us a much better picture of the customer's needs and what their wants were.
And. All of this data was so helpful because it helped us to build, you know, brand personas, for both our current customers, but also the future customers we were trying to obtain.
[00:06:21] Elle: I love this 60,000. That is a lot
[00:06:25] Daniel: was a lot of work. A lot of time,
[00:06:26] Connor: okay. That was the real number. Oh my gosh. I thought I had misremembered that wrong, but No,
[00:06:33] Elle: I love it. Okay. Tell me more about the surveys. How is this implemented? What kind of questions did you ask? How did you make sure. that customers actually took the survey and I guess even before you did the survey, did you know going into this that you wanted to introduce a Tumbler?
[00:06:51] Connor: Well, our paid surveys were done through a company called a test and, um, they were implemented on like a quarterly basis so that we could gauge which way the [00:07:00] needle was always moving. so questions like. Are more customers aware of the Ember brand compared to last month? Is cold coffee still growing in popularity over hot?
You can learn all kinds of things from a survey, for instance. Uh, 70% of respondents at one time said they drank at least one cup of coffee a day, which is actually pretty staggering. And we also learned that 18 to 24 year olds are less likely to choose hot drinks. Not probably a surprise to anyone here.
[00:07:27] Elle: only one cup of coffee a day.
[00:07:29] Connor: or more, one or more for sure.
[00:07:31] Elle: Okay.
[00:07:33] Connor: and we also learned that Ember customers had some of the most diverse preferences. And I mean, it's not a shocker. It seems like if you have a mug that always keeps your drinks hot, it's gonna lead to more experimentation. And let's see. We also had post-purchase surveys, so we sent those via email and it was part of a larger, like post-purchase email flow, which is really helpful to have.
Um, and we'd often offer a discount on future purchases when a survey [00:08:00] was completed. So that's one way to bring people back, um, and make sure those are actually completed. and yes, as you mentioned, we did know that we wanted to introduce a Tumbler. The surveys were vital in shaping the usps. and customers were just like not subtle in their request for a larger mug.
So we knew we wanted to offer something larger, and because of Google Analytics, we had a sense of that our customer was the type that liked to travel. So we wanted a Tumbler that could meet the needs of the everyday errand runner as well as an early morning hiker.
[00:08:32] Elle: Yeah. Okay. Hold on. Quick question for clarification. What is a USP.
[00:08:37] Connor: Unique selling point. it's like a feature, pretty much a feature, but it could be anything. It's a reason to buy this product. Like why is this unique in the market? Why does this meet the consumers need? and that's something that we really, you know, Penn a lot of attention on in order to create those features.
How can we make this different? How can we make this
[00:08:57] Elle: Oh, okay. That is very [00:09:00] helpful. so in regards to the development of the Tumbler, were you still defining the product details or like what stage were you at in terms of product development?
[00:09:11] Daniel: so there are a few different stages we go through in our process. Um, and at this point we are pretty early on in the process, so we like to front load a lot of the work ahead of time so we can ensure that we're getting a good product before any significant investment. So that comes with a lot of this research that Connor's talking through.
and with Connor's data, we were able to tell that we were on the right path. And having all this information helps to define that critical product details that we're talking about, the usps, uh, which always makes it easier for other teams to move quickly Through that process, we found it's really helpful in that cross-functional collaboration.
I.
[00:09:46] Elle: Yeah.
Okay. That's helpful. And you, you mentioned moving quickly in the process and actually also reminds me earlier in the conversation when you were talking about how you were trying to move very quickly, um, and how you landed on the, Tumbler product itself. I think that's a really strong call [00:10:00] out.
The time that you had available, right? Like the runway that you had to expand into that new market, can influence the decis, the decision to like what the product is that you create. I'm sure you have a plethora of use cases that technology like Ember could be used in. So, I guess my point is it sounds like for Ember and for many other businesses too, time was a very important variable in the consideration for like.
Selecting the use case to apply or where you wanna apply your technology. When you're in that like planning strategy mode, would you say that's that's
[00:10:33] Daniel: Exactly. I mean, whenever we're working with a consumer product company like Ember, really you're racing towards a ton of different, due dates. So you've got holiday timeframe, you've got retail reset date. So it's, it's always critical, to look at that end date that seemingly never changes, but your time in developing always
shortened.
[00:10:52] Connor: Yeah. And
I was just gonna add to what Daniel said is like you'll have those, he mentioned some like strong deadlines that do not move, but you'll also have [00:11:00] shifting ones. So you're, you're constantly having to be kinda light on your feet to address new concerns that crop up.
[00:11:06] Elle: and I bet for when you have a physical. item that you are building, right? It's probably not unimportant, but maybe less important when you're just working with like software for example. But if you're building something physical, like I work, I work at Cisco, we build physical hardware devices that obviously we have to get things manufactured and there's, that has its whole timeframe
[00:11:28] Connor: Yeah, Yeah,
You can't really make a boat go faster. Go ahead.
[00:11:32] Daniel: I was gonna say, it's constantly the handoff between other teams where your work then waterfalls into the next team, into the next team, and you're chasing deadlines for manufacturing dates, shipping dates, and just global economic conditions.
[00:11:49] Elle: Okay. Brilliant. All right, so quick recap. again, if we're thinking about expanding your market, with a new product type, step one is to, I guess before even step one, you have obviously [00:12:00] identified a product that you are going to use. That is, maybe timing is a variable that you use to determine what that product is going to be.
and then step one is to analyze customer data. Everything from sounds like survey data. We got some great tips from you Connor there to Google and metadata. and then like the goal here is to figure out what your customers want, what makes them tick, what their interests are. what happens after that?
When you do the analysis, what do you do with those findings? Does that lead us into step two?
[00:12:31] Daniel: Yeah, of course. I mean, step two is really important. We always talk about this as a, as a portion of our product development methodologies, our thought process, which is building that connection path from where you are now to where you need to go market-wide. I. Uh, so for the Tumbler, we had to fit it into our drinkware line, but make sure that it felt elevated and met the needs of this new adjacent customer that we'd identified in the outdoor space so that they continue to grow with us as we develop into new categories down the line.[00:13:00]
So, through CMF, color and material finish, uh, mindful UX and aspirational storytelling, we were able to create something that felt new, but attracted a different customer while utilizing our existing technologies. Which in turn minimizes risk and offers the same trusted experience that our brand was known for.
[00:13:18] Connor: Yeah. And just to add to that, the idea is also to balance innovation with practicality. So one of the things we knew was that our customers wanted a bigger mug, which is not a shock, I'm sure. they want more. And we knew a 16 ounce workhorse with em. Aesthetics, would make both our existing and future customers very happy.
[00:13:38] Daniel: Exactly. I think the key here is using tech that we knew worked. I mean, it let us scale faster, lower costs, while keeping margins really healthy for our product lines, which is always important for every business. We asked ourselves, what could we do better for our outdoor enthusiast customers who really hadn't known us all that well?
I mean, rough textures, durable design, interchangeable lids, and a longer [00:14:00] battery life, all catered to this outdoor lifestyle that we had researched. I mean, these features really resonated and helped drive the interest.
[00:14:07] Elle: Wow. Okay. I love what you're saying about attracting different customers while utilizing existing technologies and balancing that with innovation and practicality. So how did that come into play for storytelling? I feel like there's naturally lens. So, well to that, so how did you tell the story other than of course, like the beautiful product featured you just mentioned, like the rough textures and the durable designs, et cetera, all of that.
Like, was there anything unique or special that you did to engage with your new customers?
[00:14:38] Connor: Yeah, I can speak to that. Like for storytelling, we literally went with the big outdoors, at the time, it seemed so simple. It's our biggest mug, and it's outdoor friendly. But like it came together really beautifully and it was an aspirational story for the customer. We framed it around the features so that it felt like the Tumbler could take you anywhere and you [00:15:00] could do anything with it, and the campaign was Basically designed to do exactly what the product was, give our current customer more and attract a new audience. It was about telling stories that felt true to the consumer, what they were capable of, so that it felt aspirational, like I said, but still attainable.
[00:15:20] Elle: I can totally picture my, it's just as you were speaking. I can picture myself
[00:15:25] Connor: Yeah, exactly.
[00:15:27] Elle: being on the go. with my kiddos in toe.
Okay, so back up a little bit for me, because obviously this is, you know, has to be durable. You mentioned outdoorsy, et cetera. Like what did testing look like? How did you get to beta test with, with people? I can imagine that being kind of difficult for consumers, but I mean, you tell
[00:15:47] Daniel: I mean, luckily, like we said, we used a lot of the technology that we were known for. We had a lot of data to leverage of our historic products, but as soon as we had a sample in our hands, we took it out to test with our employees and our [00:16:00] retail buyers. I mean, anyone who was a frequent buyer of a Starbucks Grande drink was the perfect tester.
We had a lot of people really excited once we told them about this. and they were very happy with the look and feel of the product right away. I mean, our team took it on hikes and out to Boulder, and the outdoors and loved the ability to just be durable on the go. and our retail buyers also loved how much it offered to their customers.
They felt like it had a ton of value into it and really spoke and resonated to something new that they were looking for. and really felt happy about the value that it provided.
[00:16:32] Elle: How perfect. Okay. And then before you actually launched, do you have, obviously you, you did the beta, you have the storytelling and all of this to put together, How did you know that you had a total hit in your hands? Right? You mentioned very early in our conversation that it was like, I don't remember if you said it was like a day one sellout, but it was very successful.
did you expect those results?
[00:16:54] Connor: I would say that we hoped for the, those results. Absolutely. And we set ourselves up [00:17:00] for it. So, a really great example to give you sort of a timeframe on this is it launched not too long after the Pandemic. I. and this is kind of where people's heads were at, right? Like outdoor activities were on the rise, and I think this product helped to tap into the needs of the consumer at that time.
we were leveraging the sentiment through engaging marketing collateral that featured travel and outdoor experiences in a way that I think felt both relatable and like I mentioned, aspirational.
We put a lot of effort into like a teaser campaign and that prominently featured the concept of this larger product getting more out of life.
our tagline for the campaign was Have a Grande. and that alluded to the fact that this was like the first mug with the capacity to hold a Starbucks 16 ounce grande order and also a play on like have a grand day. so we were trying to make a connection to this concept of like on the go fun, right?
oh, I have to mention, we had some really great collaborations with outdoor influencers, like the Wander Diary, [00:18:00] which is a cold water swimmer. and her name is, and I'm, I'm gonna mispronounce this, I'm sure of it, but it was Zana VA, I believe. And we also had a super talented artist, Erin Outdoors, and she creates like these miniature landscapes with, uh, it could be vegetables and just like everyday household items.
So we were just, we were everywhere.
[00:18:18] Elle: fun and beautiful.
[00:18:20] Connor: was awesome. You gotta check her out on Instagram. She's amazing. And I think we were just sort of pulling all the levers being where we needed to be. and we really built a lot of anticipation in the launch. And so I think that's what led to, like you mentioned, it was like the single best launch day results we've had ever had at Ember, which is amazing.
[00:18:40] Daniel: It's incredible. I mean, we still see some of the content going viral to this day, even two years after the law.
[00:18:47] Connor: yeah. Oh, and I forgot about the one that was shot from above and she was like climbing up a mountain and she used, all these different props to like kind of create an outdoor landscape that she was roaming through while literally being on the floor.
[00:18:59] Elle: [00:19:00] That is so neat.
Oh my goodness. How creative. So I think this is so creative and really speaks to. Uh, it's a perfect example for how to use teasers, collaborations, influencers to help build that anticipation as of course have you, as you pointed out. But what a fun, pre-launch
tip. I think B2B marketers can take note.
And, both of you have mentioned the word aspirational so many times in this conversation and. I think the launch in and of itself was aspirational.
[00:19:35] Connor: Yeah, that's a great call out. We, uh, we were shooting for the moon.
[00:19:40] Elle: Yeah. It's so beautiful.
[00:19:42] Daniel: too.
[00:19:42] Elle: Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. Then after the launch, what was the reaction that you saw from your
[00:19:50] Daniel: We've got, obviously a very loyal customer group. Very vocal customer group. And really what we saw from their perspective was it really felt seamless. I mean, they got [00:20:00] a premium, intuitive product that fit right into their lifestyle, whether they were commuting on the subway, hiking, uh, or working from home.
Most of the feedback we got from people was, why didn't this exist already? They just day one. Were so excited to see this and we're very happy, and felt like we listened to them, which is, it's always amazing to be able to sell that.
[00:20:21] Connor: Yeah, and I think obviously the proof is in this, in the pudding. Like we sold more units on day one than we ever had, so I think this product clearly connected with the consumer just as we had hoped.
[00:20:33] Elle: I love it. Okay, so, we talked a lot about how this was a total hit, and you just mentioned that this was like the biggest day one success that you've ever had. What do you think was driving that success.
[00:20:46] Connor: Honestly, like just having a clear mission and alignment across all of our teams that. You know, from engineering id, product marketing, like that's, I have to say, rare. And we were all connected. We [00:21:00] had a very clear, well-planned go to market strategy. And when you have a great strategy and a great team that is focused on, a goal listening to your consumer, like you just can't go wrong.
[00:21:12] Daniel: And we've always thought that coordination between those different functions and just passionate people helped to really drive that success. I mean. Day one, we were hyper-focused on launching this product, right? We were looking at targeted costs, our customers, and the problem we were trying to solve and really just nail it.
Uh, it mirrors what Connor mentioned, which is that we were empowered to focus on that intersection of customer needs and just the business benefits, which then you get buy-in from the entire organization.
[00:21:40] Elle: Awesome. Okay. So our whole conversation has been about market expansion and how to do it. So of course we couldn't talk about that without touching go to market strategy. so I'm glad you called that out. but okay. Final question for you both on this topic. What advice do you have for A PMM who wants [00:22:00] to break through in a crowded market?
[00:22:02] Connor: I can tackle that first. Um, my feeling has always been to not. Face what's different, but what's meaningful. you never wanna underestimate the power of showing and not telling how this fits into someone's life. So instead of just trying to be, the first with something new and gimmicky on the market, you really wanna address what customers want and need.
And that, I think, is what really made this so successful as we really laid that groundwork.
[00:22:29] Daniel: A hundred percent, and I mean, don't feel like you really need to take large leaps to find those new customers. Really make purposeful steps where you feel like it makes sense for your product to go into. It's much easier for your customers to follow along with you in that journey when they themselves can tell where you're trying to go with that product.
[00:22:48] Elle: Yep. It is not about standing out. just for the sake of it. It's about solving something that people actually care about. So yes, of course differentiation matters, but it sounds [00:23:00] like, and I agree with this thinking relevance is what actually
sticks. Awesome. Okay. so, that's the close of that segment and, it's time to transition to our next segment, which is so much fun.
This is the messaging critique. So a quick shout out to my listeners. This is the part where we as product marketing experts get to analyze. Real world messaging and my guests get to pick the company. but before we do that, let me set some quick ground rules, just for new listeners, and Connor and Daniel for you two.
So after you guys reveal. The company. I want to know one thing that you love about the messaging, what's working or maybe what makes the product stand out and then, one thing you wish the PMM would've done differently. maybe make the messaging clearer, stronger. More impactful. And then finally, where could the product marketer iterate and take it to the next level?
Is there any creative campaign or content that they can think about? so without further ado, [00:24:00] uh, tell us what company you picked.
[00:24:02] Connor: Let's talk about or ring. I think they've done an
incredible
job. evolving. What, from what you could misconstrue as a niche wellness tracker into this full blown lifestyle product.
Yes.
[00:24:16] Elle: is lifestyle. Yeah.
I love that. Pick. Okay, so for those of you who don't know, aura is a super sleek, smart ring that tracks things like deep sleep and activity. this is one near to my heart. I have spent so much time in the Internet of Things world in my career, so I'm, pretty well aware of.
Connected devices and wearables. So, okay. Who do you guys see as the target audience for this one? For like a connected wearable
[00:24:43] Daniel: Yeah, I mean, and they're really going, um, for accessibility to the average person, just someone who cares about making health conscious decisions in their life. And you can really see that play out in their imagery, which makes it clear that no one is excluded and that health isn't just for elite athletes, which I think.
[00:25:00] You know, the last 10 years might have delved into that type of messaging. Uh, it really sets them apart from a lot of their competition while widening their appeal. I mean, we talk about finding those new customers and growing that customer base. That's really what they're doing here. I.
[00:25:14] Elle: Yes. Okay. I totally agree. So I'm gonna pull up their website now so we can start to dig into the actual like messaging and storytelling that they do. For those of you listeners who are following along, I.
would go to aura ring.com. That's O-U-R-A-R-I-N g.com. okay, so Connor, Daniel, what do you guys think about their messaging?
[00:25:34] Connor: I think what I really like about them is that they're focused on benefits, not just features, which we talked about earlier. so for them it's like knowing your body better is the hook, uh, and then their features can come out of that larger message, and that larger benefit that's real to the consumer.
it speaks to personal empowerment and not just text specs.
[00:25:54] Elle: Yep. Oh gosh. Text back gross. Uh, I don't even, oh, ugh, I don't like that In B2B marketing. I'm like, [00:26:00] God, this out of here. This is for only later someone else. Okay. Um, I can totally see how that would resonate with a health conscious person, but hang on, I, have to comment on something on the homepage.
So huge letters. They're beautiful letters. Very beautiful font, but huge letters on the homepage says, give us the finger. I mean, it's funny for, for like a ring. I know it's a little, um. cheesy for a ring wearable, but it's eye catching. It's funny, but it doesn't Really? match the brand that they've, at least the brand that they've presented as they presented it so far.
So what do you guys think about that tagline?
[00:26:41] Connor: I actually think it's pretty good. And I mean, my guess here is that they, like we did, uh, identified a new customer that they wanted to attract. it's funny, yes. But it also reads as empowering and I think it could, and I am sure that they're hoping for this go viral. Like it [00:27:00] feels so Gen Z.
And I think maybe that's like what they're aiming to do. They're aiming to appeal to like younger demographics right now.
[00:27:07] Daniel: Yeah, definitely an interesting choice for sure. Especially for a campaign. I mean, they may be wanting to move in a direction that Connor mentioned, and the only thing I can say is that, you know, they could really lean into it and commit. I mean, if it goes viral and starts to get that wide appeal, I mean, have a photo campaign to match, maybe have people.
Hope flipping off with their ring finger to show a bit more attitude. I mean, that way it might hit on that kind of edginess, but, you know, still be resonating
with their current customer.
[00:27:36] Elle: I really like that. I feel like Ooh, we're, we're getting ahead into, into the messaging critique, which is totally fine. I will say though, for that creative campaign, I love it. I wish they would have used a imagery of more Gen Z looking
people it's like,
[00:27:53] Connor: yeah, and sometimes you have to do this like your brand. It can't just be stationary. It can't be [00:28:00] stagnant. You have to make these changes and, and maybe this is that small walk to, you know, maybe it's not featuring Gen Z, but it speaks a little bit to them, and so they're able to kind of like meet both at the same time.
It's hard to know what's going on in their heads. Honestly, I.
[00:28:14] Elle: Yeah, totally. Okay, so what do you guys think they could, you wish they would've done differently?
[00:28:19] Daniel: Yeah, I mean, I mean from a product focused perspective, I think I'd like to see them lay the groundwork in branching out into alternative products. I mean, they're doing really well within this space, growing a lot, growing fast, uh, and there's clearly a desire for this type of health initiative that feels inclusive.
So I'd maybe look at. Setting up ways where people can support your messaging and brand after they've bought into the ring, you know, more accessory products or moving into something as a adjacent market.
[00:28:47] Elle: Totally a, a product expansion, dare we say.
[00:28:51] Daniel: Exactly.
[00:28:52] Elle: Yeah.
it sounds like their product marketing team and their product team for that matter, should listen to this podcast and get a head start.
[00:28:59] Connor: I [00:29:00] hope they do.
[00:29:01] Elle: it's a great call out and it's just so interesting because to your point, it's product expansion in maybe multiple ways, right? Like product expansion from the sense of just using storytelling, and highlighting different. Maybe features and benefits of the product to reach that Gen Z audience. And then also on the product side, Daniel, from your perspective, like there's a market expansion opportunity there too, so very interesting.
Okay. I know we kind of got into this a little bit already, but how would you take this to the level?
[00:29:33] Connor: I think I would actually just start working on creating community, giving your existing customers, yeah, a reason to come back to you as a brand is always good as well. so I definitely consider partnering with some other brands and maybe the health and wellness space in a way that integrates your offerings and promotes the lifestyle that you and your customers value.
[00:29:51] Elle: I love that and maybe there's, some tips or lessons to learn from how ember leveraged influencers [00:30:00] and community outside the customer community, but maybe community in the sense of here are other vendors or. Individuals or whoever who have the same spirit and, aspirations I feel like it's our
[00:30:11] Connor: Yeah. 100%.
Yeah. And if they're going for that younger customer or consumer like that just makes so much more sense too.
[00:30:19] Elle: It really does. I love it now. Okay. well shout out to the Aura PMM team. You guys have created such a powerful product and super sleek brand. we're all taking notes. I. okay. So before we go, I like to wrap up all of my episodes with a gratitude moment, and say thank you so much. Daniel and Connor, thank you for your willingness to share your knowledge and your expertise and your experiences with the product marketing community today. It's been incredible.
[00:30:46] Connor: It's been a, it's been a pleasure. Thank you so much for having us.
[00:30:49] Daniel: Thank you so much. I mean, you've been an amazing host and so easy to talk to, so really talk to, so I really appreciate us Of course. Yay. what I've found in my career is that, it's the [00:31:00] pmms around me, people like yourselves and other guests that I've had on, on the podcast and mentors, and. Everyone in between who have shaped me into being a strong product marketer, and I know it's no different for everyone else, so I am dying to know.
[00:31:15] Elle: We'd all love to know. Please tell us in the spirit of gratitude, who do we have to think to shape you guys as marketers?
[00:31:22] Daniel: I mean, I have to give a shout out to our VP of Global Marketing at Ember, uh, Shannon Shapiro, who was our fearless leader during that time. She started a number about a year after we joined, and right away you could tell she was a quality mentor. I mean, every challenge that came her way, it seemed to just be easily solved.
And her intuitions about customer insights, marketing strategies, campaigns, they always turned out right. I mean, she really made sure that we had the tools we needed to succeed and always advocated on our behalf. As far as leaders go, she nails it with heart, dedication, loyalty.
[00:31:57] Connor: I like, could not agree more. I mean, she just has this [00:32:00] innate ability to know what her team needs. And she always seemed to manage with this really light touch that gave you the sense that she, she just super trusted you. And that's like, that's hard to find honestly.
And God forbid there was a problem, And there always is, right? But she was so cool and collected about anything, and she just works with you to solve whatever problem. It gets sorted out and I just, I feel like I've learned so much working with her.
[00:32:23] Elle: Oh, that's so sweet. What a special shout out, Shannon. You have some fans. Thank you, Shannon.
[00:32:29] Daniel: Always.
[00:32:31] Elle: okay. And lastly, what's, what's up next for you guys? I mean, where can our audience find out more if they wanted to keep learning from you?
[00:32:38] Connor: Well, as you can imagine from what you've heard, um, like both Daniel and I are just super passionate about consumer products and we've had so much fun working together at Ember, you know, launching products, developing long-term brand strategies. It really inspired us to continue working together as much as we could.
So we started our own product marketing consulting agency.
[00:32:59] Daniel: We [00:33:00] couldn't get enough of working together and coordinating on these. So, it's called Rebel Horizon and we've really had such a great experience bringing this to life. Um, we both really live for building strategies and want to help share that knowledge that seems to just be hidden out there, you know, especially for small to medium sized companies looking to improve their product and brand strategies.
We wanna be that resource for them.
[00:33:22] Connor: 100%.
[00:33:22] Elle: this. Congratulations to you.
both. That's incredible. well, if there's anyone out there looking for a smart and creative duo to help take your product story to the next level, Connor and Daniel are your people. Okay. And with that, um, I wanna turn over to our listeners. Thank you. all for joining us on this adventure.
I hope today's conversation, has left you inspired and energized and ready to take the next bold step in your own product marketing journey.
