Product launches are often treated as moments of success, but growth teams know the truth shows up later, in the data. Engagement drops, acquisition stalls, audiences churn, and the signals rarely match the launch-day narrative. In this session, Hope Barrett brings an operator’s perspective from leading audience intelligence, MarTech, and marketing analytics at SoundCloud and CNN to unpack what actually happens after the launch. She’ll explore how growth teams read performance signals, diagnose what’s really broken, and decide where to invest - or pull back - once the spotlight fades. This isn’t a talk about launch planning or messaging. It’s a candid look at how data exposes the gap between perceived success and real audience behavior, and what product marketers can do to close it by partnering more effectively with growth, analytics, and product teams. Key takeaways: - The post-launch signals growth teams trust—and the ones they ignore - Why strong messaging can’t compensate for weak audience fit or distribution - How MarTech and analytics reveal where launches actually break down - Common disconnects between launch success and sustained growth - How PMMs can use data to influence what happens after launch