Scaling Multi-Channel Strategies in B2B
The modern B2B marketing landscape demands more than just channel diversification—it requires harmony between brand and performance, technical precision across platforms, and an evolving understanding of attribution. In this recent episode of B2B Marketing Futures, Joaquin Dominguez brought together a group of expert marketers to discuss how they are navigating the complexity of scaling multi-channel strategies across paid, organic, and emerging formats.
Host
Joaquin Dominguez , Head of Marketing at Adzact
Guests
AJ Navarro, Marketing Operations Manager at Sprout Social
Alex Venus, Head of Digital & Web Marketing at Personio
Abhishek Karkamkar, Manager, Marketing Analytics & Operations at Cohesity
Lauren Vasu, Sr. Global Demand Generation Manager at Alteryx
Mike Braund, Sr. Director, Marketing Operations & Digital Marketing at Iterable
Beyond the Brand vs Performance Debate
AJ Navarro opened the conversation by reframing brand and performance not as opposing forces, but as complementary drivers of growth. He highlighted a shift towards data-informed creative, where storytelling and emotional resonance are now central to high-performing B2B campaigns. Creative, when grounded in signal and strategy, becomes a multiplier for demand generation.
Mike Braund echoed this sentiment, pointing to his team’s investment in high-quality video and editorial content as a way to re-establish momentum after underperformance. He noted that B2B marketers are increasingly borrowing from B2C playbooks, not only in format but in narrative structure and emotional appeal.
Abhishek Karkamkar reinforced that brand often sets the context for performance tactics to succeed. He explained how brand drives initial engagement, even when attribution favours the last-click interaction. Without that foundational storytelling, retargeting and conversion tactics are often less effective.
Alex Venus stressed that effective creative still follows long-standing advertising principles—strong hooks, clear problem-solution framing, and value-driven content. He described brand as the company’s personality, cautioning that generic creative or low-value content erodes audience trust in a landscape saturated with AI-generated material.
Lauren Vasu rounded out the discussion by encouraging marketers to personalise their creative not just by persona, but by function or vertical—particularly in video. Tailoring use cases to industry-specific pain points helps content resonate more deeply and accelerates engagement.
"We end up giving all the credit to the retargeting ad, but in reality, it was brand that told the story and moved the customer along the journey." – Abhishek Karkamkar, Cohesity
Achieving Cohesive Cross-Channel Journeys
AJ Navarro led the transition to multi-channel strategy by suggesting that marketers should prioritise audience strategy over channel strategy. With buyer journeys becoming increasingly non-linear, integrating channels around the ICP—rather than individual tactics—offers better alignment.
Alex Venus critiqued overly technical approaches to channel integration, warning against relying solely on click paths or CRM logic. Instead, he advocated for unifying messaging and creative to maintain a coherent user journey. He underscored the importance of consistency across touchpoints, especially when long sales cycles involve multiple decision-makers.
Abhishek Karkamkar added that brand and performance teams often operate in silos, which leads to fragmented messaging. He called for better alignment to maintain recall and resonance as prospects move between platforms and stages. Even small misalignments—like a chatbot offering an inconsistent message—can break the flow of engagement.
Mike Braund emphasised the role of targeting and suppression in maintaining channel coherence. He outlined how platforms like 6sense and Hightouch help unify targeting strategies across paid channels by pulling from enriched CRM and data warehouse sources. He also noted the strategic role of suppression lists in avoiding spend on irrelevant or already-engaged accounts, ultimately improving efficiency and ROI across channels.
Alex Venus agreed, arguing that there is no excuse for generic retargeting when first-party data is available. He encouraged teams to deliver white-glove, account-specific experiences throughout the journey, using platform-native personalisation tools. However, he also warned against overcomplicating sequencing and urged a balance between sophistication and practicality.
"Targeting isn't just about finding the right people—it's about making sure you're not wasting budget on the wrong ones. Suppression is just as strategic—it's about knowing who not to target, and why." – Mike Braund, Iterable
Precision Through First-Party Data and Suppression Strategies
Mike Braund detailed how Iterable uses intent and enrichment data to refine targeting across paid channels, while maintaining a unified audience experience. He described suppression lists, account segmentation, and targeting integrations as critical for operational efficiency in paid media.
Alex Venus elaborated on how Personio applies first-party insights to personalise chatbot flows, web experiences, and LinkedIn ads. However, he warned that investing in personalised creative is only valuable if marketers avoid generic content when engaging priority accounts. He also highlighted the value of sequencing campaigns on platforms like YouTube for more linear storytelling.
Lauren Vasu reflected on the difficulty of stitching together full-funnel journeys, noting that while intent data and advanced platforms provide valuable inputs, fully capturing multi-touch journeys remains elusive. Measurement still relies on fragmented insights across platforms and tools.
"There’s no excuse for lazy retargeting—if you've got the data, make the experience feel like it was made just for them. That means using every insight available to deliver relevance at every step, not just relying on templates or assumptions." – Alex Venus, Personio
The Attribution Challenge: From Credit to Contribution
Abhishek Karkamkar opened the attribution discussion by describing the limitations of first- and last-touch models, especially in demand-gen environments. He described how Cohesity tracks pre- and post-opportunity interactions, even when CRM systems struggle to assign accurate weights. Their workaround is to supplement source-based attribution with influence metrics, acknowledging the role each tactic plays in a conversion.
Lauren Vasu recommended U-shaped models as a simple way to highlight early-stage and late-stage value. She reiterated the importance of identifying middle-funnel touchpoints, which are often the most overlooked yet critical for progression.
"Attribution shouldn’t just be about who gets the win—it’s about understanding the full journey, especially those middle touches that quietly make all the difference. That’s why I’m a fan of U-shaped models—they help ensure we don’t lose sight of the early and late-stage value, while still recognising the importance of everything in between." – Lauren Vasu, Alteryx
Alex Venus took a more pragmatic view, cautioning against over-indexing on attribution models. He shared five metrics he prioritises: self-reported attribution, branded search volume, cannibalisation between paid and organic, qualitative input from sales, and directional pattern recognition in the buyer journey. These offer a more rounded view than a single model ever could.
Mike Braund advocated for defining clear business questions before choosing an attribution framework. He reflected on missteps in campaign evaluation when KPIs failed to match the campaign’s true objective. As someone with deep experience in analytics and ops, he emphasised the importance of picking the right success metric for each stage of the buyer journey.
AJ Navarro added that at Sprout Social, the focus is on contribution rather than credit. Attribution, in this view, is not about proving ROI in absolute terms—it’s about providing enough clarity to make smarter strategic bets. Given the complexity of B2B buying, he argued that understanding contribution across channels offers more value than definitive attribution.
"Attribution isn’t about finding the hero of the story—it’s about mapping the whole cast and their roles in getting the deal across the line. Contribution tells us where to double down." – AJ Navarro, Sprout Social
Final Thoughts: Simplicity, Intent, and the Value of Creative Focus
The group closed by discussing whether brands should build journeys within a single platform—such as YouTube or LinkedIn—to benefit from native algorithms and user behaviour. While the idea has merit, most panellists agreed that success depends less on staying within a platform and more on understanding audience intent.
AJ Navarro emphasised that the real challenge is acting on the signals already available, rather than accumulating more tools or data. Alignment between ICP understanding, sales motion, and creative execution creates pipeline efficiency.
Mike Braund pointed to platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn that now offer more ways to nurture within the channel, but ultimately reminded marketers that re-engaging prospects on owned properties like websites is still essential.
Alex Venus concluded that strong creative, once nailed, tends to scale across most channels. Brands that succeed are usually those who focus not on being everywhere, but on doing a few things very well—testing, iterating, and building a formula that works across their ecosystem.
Conclusion
As multi-channel complexity grows, the marketers leading the way are those who blend creativity with data, keep teams aligned around consistent narratives, and measure contribution without losing sight of what truly resonates.
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