Virgin Media O2 Business Driving return on partner investment

A blueprint for partner marketing excellence that generated £8.4M in pipeline.

£8.4M

Pipeline generated, 14% of target

12

Qualified opportunities, 100% of target

The Virgin Media O2 Business partner marketing team needed to show Samsung evidence of return on its investment in a joint marketing campaign. ​

Content syndication was an option, but previous campaigns had failed to reach the right decision makers; were siloed from other campaigns; and lacked a compelling, co-branded message to convert leads in sufficient numbers to drive pipeline. ​

​A new approach was needed to unleash the full potential of content syndication. 

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Insight

Data on the total addressable market was analysed. Of 7,000 addressable accounts, 48% were shown to be android users, reducing the audience to 3,360. Of those, 25% were likely to have contracts up for renewal within 6 months, meaning 840 accounts were in market. This gave the team a prioritized list to begin targeting.  

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Story

Aligning to core campaigns.​

It was important to Virgin Media O2 Business that the Samsung activity complemented the existing campaigns, rather than running in silo. This meant the task was to weave the Samsung message into the overarching ‘Mobile Shaped to What Matters’ campaign, the idea that people expect technology to adapt to what matters to them and the way they work. ​

Existing content was repurposed, enabling the team to activate the campaign at speed and in line with budget constraints.

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The experience

The team devised a content syndication programme unlike any attempted by the partner team before. ​

Quality of follow-up was key to the success of this campaign. Targets were only contacted if they’d downloaded two pieces of content, and two tiers of tele-qualification removed irrelevant contacts and nurtured those of high-value. Personalized download forms gathered vital information to enrich account data. ​

The result was a list of the highest quality leads. Armed with this list and supporting comms and messaging toolkits, the sales teams were set up for success.

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The outcomes

The campaign smashed its first quarter results and has continued to be funded for each quarter since then, taking it to a full year of activity.

It has completely changed the perception of content syndication within the Virgin Media O2 Business partner marketing and sales teams, delivering:

  • £8.4M in pipeline, 14% of target

  • 995 opted in contacts, 124% of reach target

  • 12 qualified opportunities, 100% of target

  • 578 accounts with 2 targeted profile fields completed, 133% of target 

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“This was a fresh new approach to reaching our audience, which paid dividends in terms of brand awareness and pipeline. The strategic, integrated approach maximised our budget and allowed us to track progress and measure results every step of the way. It’s a blueprint for partner marketing excellence.” 

Samantha Cameron
Marketing Campaigns Manager, Virgin Media O2 Business