AMA: Adobe Head of Product Marketing (APAC), Jeremy Wood on Messaging

April 18, 2024 @ 10:00AM PT

Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan · Adobe

Hi all, my name is Jeremy Wood. 👋

💼 Job: Head of Solution GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan @ Adobe (previously Director, Product Marketing (APAC) at Adobe (formerly Hootsuite, Box, Xero, Google)

📍 Location: Sydney, Australia

🍦 Favorite ice cream flavor: Mint Choc Chop

What is your strategy to crafting messaging around features that your competitors already have?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

Nothing revolutionary. Focus on your competitive differentiators so that customers fully understand why 'you and not them' This seems like it's basic advice but it's very easy to lose sight of what sets you apart. What is your USP? If a large portion of the functionality is 'table stakes' then own that! This will in turn discredit the competitors if they are positioning these as innovative! Again, always focus on the customer..what matters to them and why is your solution superior to the others!

1,558 Views

1 request
How do i use multiple customer quotes and case study stats to create a 2 pager sales enablement asset?

Im not sure how i can structure this document, but i have (numbers) on how our product benefited the customer and why they chose us over a competitor and multiple quotes from different customers. What is the best way to tell a story?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

I think the general rule of thumb about any content creation still applies here. Use a structure/framework that lets you layout all the key details in a logical order. In terms of 'key details' think about the end user and the use of the asset. Who is using this asset and for what purpose? What 'job' does this asset need to do? What are the key objectives of an asset like this one? The answers to these questions will then help you prioritise emphasising the key content that addresses these quest ...Read More

3,108 Views

2 requests
How important is to identify the impact of your messaging?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

Incredibly important! Thats not to say it has to be quantitatively measurable..but the business needs to know if there is positive business returns on messaging work. There is a huge sliding scale as to what that can look like and thats where the difficulty often lies. From qualitative brand reporting all the way to 1:1 ROI measurable activities such as purchases etc. Either way you need to ensure you have a foundation to track effectiveness that can align to key business priorities.

1,547 Views

2 requests
How do you approach messaging for a technical audience vs for a non-technical audience?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

This is a very common circumstance and can be conflated when a companies products bridge both audiences. Think of a consumer product that also has developer tool versions of their software. API's, open source etc. On one hand one core audience group simply wants to know 'will this product do what I need? whereas the other one will need a much more detailed and technical breakdown of a similar question! Similar to another question here, I would always put myself in the place of the intended audie ...Read More

1,594 Views

2 requests
What are you best practices for creating differentiated messaging while still keeping it simple/not too full of jargon so it best resonates with customers?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

Always put your customer hat on! Put yourself in your customer/consumers position and use that lens to pressure test the 'realness' of the messaging. Does it make sense? Is it clear? Is the value proposition clear/unique/and resonates? It's amazing how often you can get caught in your own bubble and becuase you're close to your products/solutions/services..you do add jargon, you do describe things from an inside->out nature vs ensuring your customers are truly understanding your USP!

2,109 Views

1 request
How do you go beyond basic messaging to create messaging that converts and wins?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

It all leads back to business goals but also the where/why of your messaging. What I mean by that is messaging plays a key role in a multitude of assets, resources, and content. It would be unfair to ask your sales enablement messaging to 'convert' whereas you absolutely would have that expectation when it came to demand generation right? I think what spans any 'use' is something that is compelling, intriguing, thought provoking but relevant enough to have an end consumer/customer want to take t ...Read More

1,925 Views

2 requests
How have you dealt with leadership that doesn't buy into the messaging despite the market data?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

All too often! haha Most of the time I find it best to combine quantitative data (i.e market data) with a healthy dose of qualitative data to ensure you have balance. Gut instinct and anecdotal feedback can still be valuable when it comes to inputs. Ultimately you want to test test test! It's hard to argue with results and once your messaging starts to deliver..leadership tends to come onside pretty quickly!

1,875 Views

1 request
We often hear that messaging should be differentiating. How can that be achieved?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

Easier said then done but do a 'pinch test' when reviewing your messaging. Ask yourself if you removed your companies brand/name from the message could any other brand/name be swapped in and the message still hold true? If so, it's not very differentiated is it? However, if its unique enough then it would be harder for another business to 'mirror' your messaging/value prop etc. It's a great litmus test to continually apply as you work through messaging evolutions as it keeps you 'honest' on whet ...Read More

1,479 Views

2 requests
When you're messaging for a product that doesn't fit into a category, should you use messaging that alludes to products they're familiar with to make it easier to digest or be bold and describe it as something new?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

What a great question! I've been a part of some of these 'category creator' products/services and your question is at the forefront of any work thats gone into shipping those products! I'm not sure there's a 100% right/wrong answer to this but in my experience it's really come down to how much brand cache you feel you have that can build/sustain something like building and creating a new category. We often here the examples such as Netflix, Uber, and AirBnB as changing the landscape of their ind ...Read More

1,558 Views

2 requests
How often do you re-iterate on messaging and why do you do it at this interval?

Jeremy Wood

Adobe Head of GTM Strategy, APAC & Japan • 2y

I think this question depends on a lot of factors mostly which revolve around the release rate of updates to your products and services. There's a careful balance of ensuring your message is in market long enough to gain traction and to get positive recall while still being fresh/updated. If you are adding significant functionality to your products you want to be evolving your message to add weight to it. You also want to ensure you're staying relevent in market and that your value proposition e ...Read More

1,454 Views

1 request

AMA: Adobe Head of Product Marketing (APAC), Jeremy Wood on Messaging

View AMA Answers

What is your strategy to crafting messaging around features that your competitors already have?

How do i use multiple customer quotes and case study stats to create a 2 pager sales enablement asset?

How important is to identify the impact of your messaging?

How do you approach messaging for a technical audience vs for a non-technical audience?

What are you best practices for creating differentiated messaging while still keeping it simple/not too full of jargon so it best resonates with customers?

How do you go beyond basic messaging to create messaging that converts and wins?

How have you dealt with leadership that doesn't buy into the messaging despite the market data?

We often hear that messaging should be differentiating. How can that be achieved?

When you're messaging for a product that doesn't fit into a category, should you use messaging that alludes to products they're familiar with to make it easier to digest or be bold and describe it as something new?

How often do you re-iterate on messaging and why do you do it at this interval?