Lesson 2: Integrated campaigns for big rock content
Why this matters
Big rock content projects are some of the most powerful levers in a demand generation strategy. They’re not just “pieces of content”, they’re ecosystems.
When executed well, a single big rock asset can drive awareness, fuel demand programs, enable sales, and sustain pipeline impact long after launch day.
The mistake most teams make is treating big rock content like a one-off drop. They hit publish, maybe run a few ads, and move on. But an integrated campaign flips that.
It turns your big rock into a multi-channel, multi-touch initiative where every element compounds on the last. The result isn’t a flash in the pan - it’s a flywheel.
We covered ‘big rocks’ in previous lessons, but to recap:
Big rock content projects are large, high-value content initiatives designed to anchor a marketing strategy or campaign.
Unlike smaller, one-off assets (blogs, ads, social posts), a big rock is a substantial, comprehensive piece of content, such as a research report, playbook, course, or guide - that can:
- Serve as a cornerstone for a specific theme, campaign, or business priority.
- Be repurposed and atomised into smaller assets (social snippets, infographics, videos, webinars, podcasts, etc.).
- Drive sustained value over a longer period of time, supporting demand creation and brand building.
- Position your company as a thought leader by delivering unique, in-depth insights that are hard to replicate.
How Cognism approaches integrated campaigns
Using our Demand Generation Playbook campaign as a case study, here’s how we approached building an integrated plan that spanned months, not weeks, and turned a content launch into a market-defining moment.
Build the positioning
All of our big rock content projects (harking back to Module 3 when we talked about building a content engine) begin in one of our quarterly creative days. Here, we begin to build the story of what we want to create.
Every integrated campaign starts with a clear story. For the DG Playbook, the positioning was simple: “A school for demand gen marketers.”
We have found that our ‘secret sauce’ has come from open sourcing. Building in public and sharing what we learn as we go. And the DG Playbook is a physical embodiment of that ethos.
Practical modules, taught by people actually running the plays, giving learners a unique look under the hood at Cognism’s processes.
Design the campaign flow
At the heart of the Playbook launch was a simple journey: Awareness → Action → Engagement → Sustain
- Awareness: Drive traffic through paid LinkedIn ads, homepage banners, influencer posts, organic/social/search, nurtures, and exclusive offers like Office Hours.
- Action: Convert interest into enrolment waitlists and Office Hour sign-ups, creating a pathway into future terms.
- Engagement: Keep learners active with post-enrolment email programs, tactical promos, gifting incentives, and reminders as new modules dropped.
- Sustain: Graduate learners into the community with “DG-only” roundtables, events, and the Class of 2025 graduation moment (digital certificates + social prompts).
This flow meant we weren’t just chasing one-off sign-ups - we were building a long-term loop of awareness, capture, and sustained engagement through content and community.
Rather than a single big drop, we designed the Playbook as a series of five micro-launches wrapped into one big launch. Our goal was to keep momentum high over several months.
We treated pre-launch like a campaign in its own right. The goal was to build buzz, create a sense of exclusivity, and drive waitlist sign-ups before the first module even dropped.
To do this, we ran teaser ads on LinkedIn, amplified posts from influencers and SMEs, and refreshed the Cognism homepage with banners and takeovers, driving traffic to the Playbook hub.
We supported this with targeted email promos to existing lists, encouraging early enrolment and “be the first to know” sign-ups.
The first three modules were the core of the launch and set the tone for everything that followed. Each week, a new module dropped, supported by nurture emails, organic posts from our tutors, influencer amplification, and paid ads driving fresh sign-ups.
To keep the content accessible, we paired each module with snackable assets so buyers could engage in multiple formats, not just long-form.
We also introduced Office Hours during Term 1, an exclusivity play that gave the first 50 people to enrol access to live sessions with tutors.
These sessions allowed learners to ask questions directly, dive deeper into the material, and connect with peers. By limiting access, Office Hours created urgency to sign up early, while also fostering a stronger sense of community around the Playbook from day one.
Term 2 built on this momentum with the same weekly release rhythm, but added new layers of engagement. We launched a gifting incentive - limited-edition Playbook hoodies for testimonial submissions and social sharing - turning learners into advocates who spread the campaign further and kept the conversation alive beyond Cognism’s own channels.
The final term gives us a third wave of momentum. Alongside new modules, we double down on proof and advocacy. We actively collect testimonials, both written and video, from learners who have completed earlier modules, and incorporate these into campaigns to fuel further sign-ups.
Paid and organic activity promoting both the new content and the success stories, positioning the Playbook not just as a Cognism project, but as a recognised industry resource.
Post-launch
Once all modules are live, the campaign shifts gears from “launch mode” to evergreen.
We repurpose the content into blog posts, SEO-optimised hub pages, nurture sequences, and on-demand assets.
Launching alumni-focused emails to keep learners engaged, seeding ongoing community activity around the Playbook, and planning the “Graduation Day” event to celebrate participants.
The end goal wasn’t just to run a course; it was to embed the Playbook into Cognism’s brand as a recurring, living resource for demand gen marketers.
The flow meant there was always something new happening - teaser content before launch, weekly drops during each term, interactive spikes like Office Hours and gifting, and an evergreen engine afterwards.
Activate multiple channels
An integrated campaign spans multiple channels, each supporting the others. For the Playbook, we used:
- Email: Enrolment nurtures, weekly module drops, promo emails to cold lists, and re-engagement for past learners.
- Paid Media: Always-on LinkedIn campaigns, boosted SME/influencer posts, and video/static creative tied to each module release.
- Organic Social: Consistent posting from SMEs, execs, and influencers - creating a drumbeat of conversation.
- Website: Homepage takeovers, sticky banners, and pop-ups/exit intents driving traffic to the Playbook hub.
- Events: Virtual “Office Hours” each term, plus an in-person activation at B2B Expo.
- Gifting: Hoodies for testimonials, and graduation-style certificates/photos at the end-of-year event.
- Influencers: Working with external subject matter experts, adding to the authority of the content but also acting as additional promotional support.
Each channel has a role to play, but none operate in isolation. Paid fuels organic, organic drives enrolments, events reinforce the experience, gifting creates buzz - and it all ties back to the same big rock.
Course homework
Pick one big asset you already have. Map out:
- 5 derivative content formats you could create from it (e.g. carousel, short video, webinar).
- 3 distribution channels you’ll prioritise.
- 1 way you’ll extend the campaign’s shelf life beyond the first month.
Lesson 3: Competitor-focused integrated campaigns
Why this matters
In mid-market and enterprise segments, buyers are often solution-aware. They know the category and they’re actively comparing vendors. That makes competitor-focused campaigns one of the most effective bottom-funnel levers in your integrated strategy.
But they need to be handled carefully: you can’t use competitor logos, and any claims must be backed by real customer data. When done right, competitor plays don’t just create noise - they open doors, re-engage closed-lost accounts, and accelerate opportunities already in play.
How Cognism runs competitor campaigns
Start with closed-lost analysis
The foundation of our competitor-focused campaigns came from looking at our own sales history.
We discovered that 70% of the enterprise deals we eventually won had previously been marked as ‘closed-lost’. In other words, many of our best customers didn’t choose us the first time around.
When we analysed the reasons, a clear pattern emerged: the majority of those lost opportunities had gone with a competitor. That single data point reshaped how we thought about targeting.
Instead of chasing net-new logos only, we realised there was a huge opportunity sitting in our CRM: accounts we already knew, who had already been in a sales cycle but had chosen a competitor instead.
These accounts became the logical first audience for competitor campaigns. They were solution-aware, actively buying in the category, and already familiar with Cognism. The challenge wasn’t to introduce ourselves; it was to reframe their perception and show, with proof, why switching would deliver better outcomes.
By turning closed-lost analysis into a targeting strategy, we moved competitor campaigns from a “nice to have” into a systematic, always-on play.
It ensured we weren’t just throwing ads into the market, but deliberately pursuing accounts where competitor positioning had been the only blocker to a win.
Always-on competitor comparison
Once we had defined our audience, the next step was to create campaigns that spoke directly to their experience. Instead of broad positioning or generic product messaging, we leaned into customer-backed comparisons - real numbers from real case studies that showed why companies that switched to Cognism saw better results.
One of the most effective formats was a simple split-screen ad. On one side, a testimonial stat from a customer who had previously used ZoomInfo: “14% connect rate with ZoomInfo.”
On the other side, the same customer’s results after moving to Cognism: “22%% connect rate with Cognism.” No hype, no logo misuse - just a clear, data-backed side-by-side.
Because the data came straight from customers, it carried credibility. And because it directly named the competitor, it cut through with accounts who were already comparing us in live deals.
The creative wasn’t just scroll-stopping - it created conversations inside the accounts we cared about most.
In one instance, a prospect at a target account tagged multiple colleagues in the ad’s comments. That single interaction snowballed: one of those tagged colleagues became an MQL, entered the sales cycle, and ultimately converted into a €30k opportunity.
The lesson here:
Competitor comparisons don’t need to be aggressive or overproduced. When grounded in customer proof and kept always-on, they quietly but consistently generate noise inside the right accounts, the kind of noise that nudges buying groups back to the table.
Connection-based targeting
Alongside our closed-lost campaigns, we experimented with a more unconventional tactic: targeting the first-degree LinkedIn connections of competitor employees.
The logic was simple. Sales reps naturally connect with their customers - it’s how they build relationships and keep tabs on their market. That means a competitor’s employee network on LinkedIn is effectively a curated list of likely users and buyers of their product.
By targeting those networks, we could get our message in front of highly relevant people without guessing who might already be in-market.
This approach allowed us to run bold, direct messaging. For example: “Using ZoomInfo? Try Cognism.” Unlike broader campaigns where we need to educate the market, here we knew the audience was already solution-aware and already tied to our competitor. That permitted us to be sharper, more comparative, and more urgent in our ads.
The results were significant. Within just four weeks of launching this test, the campaign had influenced over €600k in pipeline.
It quickly proved to be one of the most efficient ways of inserting Cognism into active buying conversations, because we weren’t just targeting a persona, we were targeting people already connected to our competitor’s business.
This kind of connection-based targeting isn’t a replacement for broader demand gen plays, but it’s a powerful complement.
It ensures your brand shows up not just in the category conversation, but directly in front of competitor customers who are most likely to be weighing their options.
Email as a supporting channel
Competitor-focused messaging doesn’t just live in ads - it also plays a powerful role in targeted nurture streams.
For ABM accounts already showing high engagement or intent, email becomes a way to surround the buying committee with tailored proof points that reinforce our competitive advantage.
Rather than sending blunt “us vs. them” comparisons, we frame competitor emails around buyer enablement themes.
Examples include: “How to evaluate data providers” or “What to look for when consolidating vendors.” These subject lines feel consultative rather than combative, but inside the content, we highlight where Cognism outperforms alternatives, using customer stories, benchmarks, and third-party validation.
This approach ensures we’re not just hitting prospects once with a bold ad, but sustaining the narrative across multiple touchpoints. When an AE or SDR reaches out, prospects have already been primed with differentiated messaging and are more likely to see Cognism as the stronger option.
In practice, these emails work best as layered plays: we add high-intent accounts into a nurture sequence that runs alongside paid campaigns and sales outreach. Together, the mix creates a surround-sound effect, with consistent competitor-proofed messaging showing up in inboxes, feeds, and calls.
Search as capture
While LinkedIn and email help us create competitive tension, Google Search is where we capture it. Buyers researching vendors almost always turn to search engines, often typing competitor names or direct comparisons into the search bar.
This makes paid search one of the most efficient ways to intercept high-intent prospects right at the moment of evaluation.
We run competitor keyword campaigns designed to do exactly that. A simple but effective example: ad copy like “ZoomInfo me? Try Cognism.”
Short, punchy lines that directly acknowledge the competitor and invite the buyer to explore an alternative. The goal isn’t to educate here, it’s to catch attention at the decision stage and redirect curiosity toward our brand.
The real power comes when search is paired with the awareness created by LinkedIn competitor experiments.
For instance, if a decision-maker has already seen comparative ads in their feed, they’re more likely to type “ZoomInfo vs Cognism” into Google later. By bidding on those terms, we make sure our brand shows up in the right place at the right time.
We measure success not by clicks alone but by pipeline generated from these searches. Because these are bottom-funnel moments, the leads tend to progress quickly into opportunities. In practice, LinkedIn experiments create the demand, and Google search campaigns convert it into revenue.
Course homework
To apply what you’ve learned, please choose at least one of the following exercises:
1. Closed-lost audience build
Pull a report of accounts in your CRM that were marked closed-lost due to a competitor.- Segment them by tier and by primary competitor.
- Create a draft target list you could use for an always-on competitor campaign.
Ask: Does this list give you a focused audience with both familiarity and high potential for re-engagement?
2. Creative comparison concept
Draft a simple ad concept that uses a real customer proof point to compare you against a competitor (e.g., performance metrics, ROI, adoption speed).
- Outline the visual format (split-screen, testimonial, or stat-led creative).
- Write the copy for both sides of the comparison.
Ask: Is the message grounded in customer evidence, clear, and legally safe (no competitor logos, no unverified claims)?
3. Multi-channel competitor play
Design a mini campaign that integrates three channels:- One awareness channel (e.g., LinkedIn ads or influencer amplification).
- One nurture channel (e.g., email sequence with competitor-focused enablement content).
- One capture channel (e.g., Google search ads on competitor keywords).
Ask: How do these touchpoints reinforce each other to move an account from awareness → evaluation → pipeline?
Ready to put it into practice?
Test your understanding of Cognism’s paid media approach with this quick quiz. Check what you’ve learned about demand creation, demand capture, and how paid fits into our wider strategy.
