Brian Chesky’s new playbook

In 2023, Bryan Chesky faced criticism for announcing that Airbnb would no longer employ product managers. However, what really occurred was that he merged building responsibilities with the "go to market" function.

The key realization was that many companies have product managers create a product and then rely on marketing to sell it. This approach is flawed. The individuals constructing the product should also possess sales knowledge. After all, they should have the most comprehensive understanding of the users.

A lot of this was inspired by Apple, where product is part of marketing.

Understanding marketing and promotion techniques can be compared to lighting a room. Here's how:

• 🔦 Paid advertising is like a laser beam, precisely targeting a specific area.
• 💡 Organic promotion is like a lightbulb, illuminating a focused spot
• 🕯🕯Branding, on the other hand, is like a chandelier, radiating light throughout the entire room.

A company like Airbnb invested heavily in branding, positioning themselves as a chandelier in the marketplace. As a way ro fight against booking.com who ruled performance.