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Here’s how Transmission helped lift Software AG above the crowd

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By Awards Analyst, writer

December 5, 2022 | 6 min read

Transmission won at The Drum Awards for B2B 2022 in the Best B2B Demand-Generation Campaign category for its ‘Seamless is more’ campaign. Here, we find out what went into this successful work.

transmission

Transmission helped turn Software AG's fortunes around

German software firm Software AG risked being washed away by larger US competitors. But Transmission’s ‘Seamless is more’ campaign helped bring it to the forefront of customers' minds.

The brief

Software AG is an enterprise software company that connects organizations through APIs, integrations, and the internet of things. It was founded in 1969 and supports over 10,000 enterprise customers across 70 countries, making it the second-largest software vendor in Germany and the seventh-largest in Europe. Yet, it had virtually zero unaided brand recognition outside of EMEA. It wasn’t content with simply being known as an alternative enterprise software company. It wanted to be included in the same conversations as its loudest competitors: world-famous brands like Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce.

Software AG needed to raise brand awareness and consideration for its best-in-class products and services. But with a limited budget compared to competitors, precision was key.

The campaign needed to be visually unique enough to break through the clutter, and educational and valuable enough to take target account lists on a journey from awareness through to consideration.

Hear what the winners had to say about their award-winning work above.

The idea

Each piece of the marketing campaign featured striking imagery juxtaposing two seemingly unrelated industries. It used clear, straightforward headlines to reinforce Software AG’s ability to deliver seamless connectivity. It also helped to show the wide range of industries Software AG serves.

An integrated mix of paid media, content syndication, social selling, sales enablement, and contextual landing pages tailored to each account was used to build a unique ‘surround’ strategy aimed at driving engagement and leads. This helped the company approach top cold prospects multiple times, at different points, without subjecting them to the feeling of being targeted – warming them to Software AG instead of overwhelming them.

The approach to budget spend was equally considered. Selecting a small number (511) of accounts for the campaign ensures efficient spend by focusing budget on Software AG’s most important accounts.

Using deep account-level insights, data, and existing ROI models provided by Software AG, it created personalized McKinsey-style reports for top-priority accounts. Each had its own individual commercial claim and branding, all activated through sales tactics including direct mail, social selling, and business development representative (BDR) engagement.

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The results

Out of the original 511 targeted prospects, Software AG saw 490 engaged accounts and 118 influenced opportunities across 90 accounts.

The campaign saw over 23m impressions, 200,000 clicks, and 2m video views, leading to over 5,000 leads.

What started as a North America-focused brand awareness shift has since become the foundation of Software AG’s global branding campaign. The creative was so well-received that it’s becoming a part of the larger Software AG story.

This campaign was a winner at The Drum Awards for B2B 2022. You can see all the winners here. The Drum Awards for Marketing are currently open for entry. Find out how you can enter now.

The Drum Awards The Drum B2B Awards Awards Case Studies

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