Starting with the Story: Breaking the Sea of Sameness and Why Product Marketing Belongs at the Start

How does early-stage positioning help hospitality tech vendors stand out, scale faster, and stop guessing? And what can you do when your messaging sounds just like everyone else’s?In this episode of dojo.live, we welcome Jacki Brown, strategic product marketing leader and founder of Jacki Brown Marketing. This conversation dives deep into the power of early-stage positioning—and why product marketing should never be an afterthought for hospitality tech vendors.Jacki breaks down the common misconceptions around marketing in the B2B hospitality space and explains what’s really behind the industry’s “sea of sameness.” She shares a practical 3-part research framework—market, competitors, and buyers—that helps companies define what truly makes them different and valuable. From confronting the fear of narrowing focus to knowing when (and how) to bring in product marketing, Jacki offers candid advice and actionable steps for vendors at any stage of growth.Plus: where product marketing should live, how to build the muscle without a full team, and what trends are reshaping messaging in 2025 and beyond.About Jacki BrownJacki Brown is the Founder and CEO of Jacki Brown Marketing, LLC, a consultancy that helps hospitality and travel technology companies navigate growth by identifying and crafting their positioning and messaging, then scaling that across digital channels and into lead-generating marketing campaigns.With nearly two decades of experience in marketing, Jacki honed her skills working with renowned brands such as Amadeus Hospitality, Demandware (now Salesforce Commerce Cloud), Shark Vacuums, and Nexxus Haircare, where she shaped global marketing strategies that significantly impacted pipeline growth and sales. She lives in Portsmouth, NH with her husband and two young children.