Go-to-Market & Value Proposition: How to Plan a Launch
Bruna Pavani explains why refining positioning and product maturity prevents wasted media spend.
Without a clearly defined value proposition, product launches risk burning through media budgets without generating sales traction. Bruna Pavani details the importance of aligning planning, creative, and product maturity before going to market.
A lack of market fit and the absence of a consistent value proposition rank among the primary reasons new product launches fail. In a conversation with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast, Bruna Pavani discussed the challenges of building an intentional go-to-market process where strategic alignment precedes any investment in media and performance channels.
The featured excerpt is part of an episode that also explores brand building, data, and business management. In the video above, you can watch the full conversation and reflections on the dynamics between clients and agencies during product development.
The Trap of Briefs Lacking a Clear Value Proposition
In the communications and consulting industry, agencies frequently receive briefs that treat marketing as a silver bullet for products that have yet to achieve genuine market validation. For Pavani, expectations placed on the agency must be grounded in the reality of the business model: "What I notice often is that briefs arrive—at Frati it's funny, I think I feel this less, but at some agencies I've worked at, I experienced this several times—briefs arrive for a product without a clear value proposition. And then the client comes with this expectation, as if the agency were going to save the situation."
During the discussion, Bruno noted that the lack of market need accounts for 35% of startup post-mortem failures, according to a Story Flow survey citing CB Insights by Uncore, and that over 70% of Brazilian startups shut down before their fifth year, based on data from Ab Startups and Sebrae with Montreal Ventures 2026. Pavani emphasizes that rushing into go-to-market execution often bypasses the discovery phase: "Clients are sometimes in such a rush to launch the go-to-market quickly—let's make it agile, let's speed things up—and awareness, really understanding what it is in depth, ends up getting, I wouldn't say lost, but often superficial."
Integrated Planning and Human Behavior
To keep budgets from being drained without returns, Pavani advocates for structuring go-to-market efforts through coordinated collaboration among planning, media, and creative teams from day one. She highlights internal team dynamics, involving Lu leading planning and Gui heading media management, to thoroughly examine consumer behavior before determining distribution.
This investigative approach makes it possible to challenge fragile assumptions before turning on paid campaigns. "We are not prescriptive at all in the sense of saying, 'Look, this is the way forward, blah blah blah.' No, let's understand, let's structure, let's truly understand the product's value proposition to see how much sense its trajectory makes in communication," Pavani explains.
While the mantra "done is better than perfect" is standard in everyday business operations, Pavani argues that certain strategic phases require rigorous upfront analysis: "I believe there are things that demand close attention during the embryonic stage to truly flow. It deserves depth so that when the wheels start turning—when you put money into media—you do it assertively, knowing exactly where it's going and trusting the strategy."
Product Maturity and Efficiency at the Point of Sale
Clarity regarding brand territory and product maturity directly impacts commercial results. As a new business director, Pavani highlights that an in-depth diagnosis boosts both end conversion and scope expansion with existing clients, preventing brands from pouring resources into aimless efforts.
"To truly understand things deeply, so communication isn't superficial or off-target," Pavani explains. "In the end, at the point of sale, if you invest the time to go deep early on, the commercial engine turns with far greater precision."
Stepping back during the briefing process to solidify foundational assumptions prevents premature launches. "When we begin unpacking the brief and pulling more information, we realize, 'Wait, should we take a step back?' We say, 'I don't think now is the time; let's work through preliminary points first so we can do it right when it hits the market,'" Pavani concludes.