CASE STUDY · GOOGLE CLOUD PARTNER, ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING
How a Google Cloud Transformation Partner Rebuilt Demand Generation Mid-Rebrand
More leads than projected
Across the six-month programme
Cost per lead on the flagship
Below the account average
Opportunity win-rate
On the data-led pilot's engaged accounts
Impressions delivered
And 10,405 clicks across the programme
THE SITUATION
A new name, a stalled pipeline, and a strategy to prove — all in the same two quarters.
Qodea, the Google Cloud transformation partner formerly known as Appsbroker CTS, was midway through an active account-based marketing partnership when the business took on a new name. That timing mattered. A brand relaunch usually gets its own dedicated runway; here it had to happen alongside a Demandbase programme already targeting named accounts across the UK and Benelux, plus a lead generation function senior stakeholders were watching closely.
Complicating things further, the target account lists themselves kept moving. Between April and December 2024, the audience feeding the paid media and ABM platforms was revised seven times — shifting from a fast-start prospect list, to a combined client and whitespace list, to segmented UK and BLX lists, and back again. Each change reset the algorithms’ learning period and pushed benchmarks out of reach just as they were becoming reliable.
The account intelligence infrastructure was already in place; it just was not being read consistently. Client accounts and net-new prospects were tracked through the same funnel view even though they behaved in opposite ways — existing clients converted comfortably, while whitespace prospects showed strong early interest then dropped off sharply before any opportunity was created.
A rebrand mid-flight
No dedicated runway
Lists that kept moving
Revised seven times
Two account types, one view
Read as if identical
WHAT WE DID
Sequence the rebrand, follow the content that converts, and read the funnel by account type.
The data and AI trends report outperformed every other asset in the mix.
RecordEVERY CHANNEL
Sequencing the rebrand around reach, not response
The Qodea name launch was treated as an awareness exercise rather than a direct-response one. LinkedIn carried the creative story, with carousel ads outperforming both video and single-image formats on cost per engagement, while Demandbase programmatic extended reach into the accounts that mattered and a digital out-of-home layer put the new identity in front of the business districts with the heaviest concentration of target accounts. Three London boroughs alone — Hackney, the City of Westminster and Camden — accounted for over 40% of all out-of-home plays.
Letting the highest-converting content lead spend
Once the rebrand had landed, budget followed performance rather than a fixed split. A Google Cloud data and AI trends report became the clear standout, delivering the large majority of leads generated across the entire six months at a cost-per-lead well below the account average. Lower-spend, narrower assets — covering cloud FinOps and top-of-funnel search content — proved that smaller budgets could still hold their own on engagement.
Separating account intelligence from campaign delivery
Rather than folding Demandbase account data into paid media as an afterthought, the two were run as connected but distinct layers: CRM, intent and buying-group data feeding an account intelligence engine, which in turn briefed content and paid distribution across LinkedIn, Meta, X, YouTube and Google. Every engagement, whatever the channel, fed back into the same account record.
Reading the funnel by account type, not just by channel
Existing client accounts and net-new prospect accounts were reported — and acted on — separately. Client accounts converted from intent to qualification at a healthy rate, pointing toward upsell readiness. Prospect accounts showed strong early-stage intent but a much steeper drop before opportunity creation, which reframed the next phase around nurture and sales alignment rather than top-of-funnel volume alone.
THE RESULTS
More than 70% ahead on leads — and a flagship that carried the programme.
SIX-MONTH PROGRAMME
The account list, worked
PAID MEDIA LEADS
70%+ ahead of projection
THE FLAGSHIP ASSET
One report, most of the leads
More than 70% ahead of the original projection — roughly one new lead every day since launch.
THE EARLIER ABM PILOT
The data maturity pilot
More than 70% ahead of the original projection — roughly one new lead every day since launch.
WHAT IT MEANS
From lead volume to account penetration.
FROM FREQUENT LIST RESETS
To fewer, steadier lists
FROM A FIXED CHANNEL SPLIT
To spend that follows proof
FROM REBUILDING PER CAMPAIGN