Working in Themes: The Big Unblock to Efficient Growth

The average person sees over 4,000 ads daily, gets 121 emails, and is generally flooded with marketing and sales pitches. One-off campaigns and messages just don’t work in 2024. To cut through the noise, you need to market in a consistent and memorable way.

And what’s a simple, yet overlooked, approach to achieve this and get the most out of your marketing efforts?

Thematic marketing.

Themes are exactly what they sound like. They focus your marketing across all channels around one concept, or theme. It could be a specific problem, a feature, or an event. You can stick with a theme throughout your marketing activities for as long or as short as necessary. It provides a cohesive framework that aligns with your marketing strategy.

In my career of driving growth at fast-growing startups and leading marketing teams of up to 30 people at Help Scout and G2 — both recognized among America’s fastest-growing companies, I have learned a ton. I’ve found that themed campaigns are one of the few consistent ways that work across companies regardless of industry or size.  

In this article, we’ll delve into how to adopt a thematic approach to marketing and what it can unlock for you.

The chaos of marketing

Marketing teams are constantly pulled in a million different directions. One day you're crafting an email campaign; the next you're planning a webinar. By the end of the week, you're scrambling to put together social media posts. 

It’s hard to build a cohesive brand story when you’re jumping from one campaign to the next, each with its isolated focus. This fragmented approach not only drains your resources but also dilutes your message.

Add to this the reality of cut budgets and limited resources, and you've got a recipe for chaos. 

The reality of cut budgets and limited resources

Marketing departments are often the first to feel the pinch when budgets are tightened. The pressure to do more with less can lead to hasty decisions, rushed campaigns, and a disjointed brand message. 

And let's not forget the internal silos. Even within marketing teams, there's often a lack of cohesion. Content teams, demand generation, and product marketers work in their bubbles, rarely collaborating on a unified strategy. This not only wastes resources but also undermines the potential for impactful, integrated campaigns.

Why themes matter

In any given quarter, you probably have emails, ads, webinars, outbound campaigns, podcasts, and events happening. These are usually treated as one-off campaigns. One-off campaigns can create buzz, but they're often short-lived. Once the campaign ends, the team goes back to brainstorming the next attention-grabber, often losing the momentum you just built.

Instead, consider building a theme around a month or a quarter. It could be about maximizing productivity, ensuring data security, or facilitating remote work. Choose a theme that aligns with your product's strengths and your audience’s pain points.

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The benefits of themed campaigns

Although themes may not guarantee success, you gain efficiency in your marketing efforts. It ensures that every piece of content, every campaign, and every interaction contributes to a bigger picture. Here’s why themes are the secret sauce for efficient growth:

• Seamless storytelling: Instead of isolated campaigns, a themed campaign offers a cohesive narrative. This consistency makes it easier for your audience to follow and engage with your story.
• Reinforced brand positioning: Let’s be honest: Most people won’t remember a message they see once. In the crowded SaaS space, a consistent theme helps reinforce your brand, making you more memorable. 
• Optimized resources: Teams can produce content, tools, and resources more efficiently when focusing on a theme. You get more ROI for each marketing effort because each can build off the other. Your social posts can point to your blog posts, which offer a more in-depth dive via a webinar, and so on.

How to implement themes in your marketing

Implementing themes in your marketing can be done in four steps.

Step 1: Choose a relevant theme

First, pick a theme that aligns with your product’s strengths and your audience’s needs. For example, if your product is a project management tool, you might choose themes that maximize productivity, ensure data security, or facilitate remote work. The key is to select a theme that resonates with your target audience and addresses their pain points.

Step 2: Plan across multiple channels

Once you have your theme, plan how to communicate it across multiple channels. Create a content calendar that outlines how the theme will be expressed in webinars, blog posts, social media snippets, email campaigns, and other marketing activities. The goal is to ensure that every piece of content reinforces the theme and contributes to a cohesive narrative.

Step 3: Create engagement loops

One of the significant advantages of thematic marketing is the ability to create engagement loops. For example, a blog post can introduce the theme and provide a link to a related webinar. The webinar, in turn, can promote a series of social media posts that delve deeper into specific aspects of the theme. This approach keeps the audience engaged and encourages them to interact with your brand across different platforms.

Step 4: Monitor and adjust

As with any marketing strategy, it’s essential to monitor the performance of your thematic campaigns and adjust as needed. Use analytics tools to track engagement, conversion rates, and other key metrics. Pay attention to audience feedback and be ready to tweak your content and approach based on what works best.

Thematic marketing in action

So how do you choose the right theme for your marketing? There are lots of ways to go about it and no wrong approaches as long as it aligns with your product's strengths and your audience’s pain points. 

 Let's explore how you can effectively implement thematic marketing by focusing on three common approaches: specific features, targeting particular verticals, and promoting key marketing messages.

Focus on a specific feature

Imagine you're marketing a project management tool with a new feature for real-time collaboration. For the quarter, you choose the theme "Real-Time Collaboration for Seamless Project Management." Every piece of content will now revolve around this theme in the following ways.

• Webinars: Host a series of webinars demonstrating how real-time collaboration enhances productivity and streamlines project workflows.
• Blog posts: Write articles showcasing case studies and success stories of teams that have benefited from the feature.
• Social media: Share tips, infographics, and short videos highlighting the benefits and best practices of real-time collaboration on social media.
• Email campaigns: Send targeted emails emphasizing the new feature to your users and leads, inviting them to attend your webinars or read your blog posts.

Targeting a specific vertical

Suppose you want to expand into the healthcare industry with your data security software. You choose the theme "Securing Patient Data in Healthcare" for the quarter. Here’s what you can do:

• Webinars: Organize webinars with industry experts discussing the importance of data security in healthcare and how your software can help.
• Blog posts: Publish articles on the latest trends in healthcare data security, regulatory requirements, and how your product meets these needs.
• Social media: Share relevant news, tips, and success stories from the healthcare industry to engage with your target audience.
• Email campaigns: Craft emails tailored to healthcare professionals, highlighting how your data security solutions protect patient information and ensure compliance.

Promoting a specific marketing message

Let’s say you want to market your remote collaboration tool with the message "Empowering Remote Work." This becomes your theme for the quarter. You could take the following steps in your marketing campaign:

• Webinars: Host sessions on remote work best practices, featuring guest speakers who are leaders in remote work.
• Blog posts: Write about the challenges of remote work and how your tool can solve these issues, providing real-life examples and tips.
• Social media: Run a series of posts highlighting features that make remote work easier and more productive, including user testimonials.
• Email campaigns: Send out newsletters and promotional emails focusing on remote work solutions, offering free trials or discounts to attract new users.

Choose wisely!

Thematic marketing is a powerful yet underutilized strategy that can significantly enhance your marketing efforts. By choosing a relevant theme and communicating it consistently across multiple channels, you can create a cohesive narrative that engages your audience, reinforces your brand positioning, and optimizes your resources.

Before jumping headfirst into another standalone campaign, take a step back. You could and should be telling a more compelling, longer-lasting story. Ask yourself — What is your theme going into the next quarter?

Remember, it's not about reinventing the wheel every single time. It's about driving it in a direction that builds momentum, traction, and impact.