Lumen
Redefining
ABM Success
technology, branding
The Challenge
Lumen , a global enterprise technology brand came to April Six with the ask to accelerate their adoption of ABM, with the long-term goal of running an account-based strategy at scale across their entire marketing organization.
The company wanted to more accurately target and convert new customers. Lumen’s current demand generation campaign model and infrastructure was performing sub optimally—and particularly struggled to capture intent across wider, harder-to-reach buying groups.
The company also needed to solve for the impact of these changes on its teams, technology stack, marketing language they use, KPI set, and mechanisms for reporting success.
The Objective
The objective was two-fold
- Create a strategic sales and marketing 1:few ABM program that accurately targets, attracts, and drives prospects through the funnel, and…
- Successfully train Lumen’s sales and marketing teams to self-manage the program.
Target Audience
The campaign focused on a diverse set of internal and external audiences that aligned with Lumen’s strategic priorities.
Externally, the campaign targeted three primary audience segments: public sector, mid-market, and large enterprise. Within public sector, we engaged IT decision-makers, security professionals, and C-suite executives from federal, state, and local government healthcare and public administration organizations. For mid-market, we honed in on tech-laggard companies in need of communications and networking solutions—while also cross-selling to customers seeking security and application migration. Large enterprise efforts focused on retail, finance, and technology sectors, engaging businesses undergoing digital transformation, modernizing legacy systems, or seeking application modernization.
The Solution
To accelerate Lumen’s ABM launch, we needed to build a custom, hybrid solution that could sustainably scale.
We knew the initial go-to-market needed to leverage existing data sources, while also adding an operationalized intent layer. This would allow us to slowly introduce new account-based tactics and metrics, while still maintaining and reporting on Lumen’s existing demand generation KPIs. In parallel, the model we built would need to be accompanied by a training program to ensure Lumen could eventually own and run it themselves.
A robust ABM framework that combined strategy, tools, and training to address Lumen’s unique marketing challenges. At the heart of this effort was the creation of an ABM playbook—a dynamic library of pre-configured, agnostic plays designed to guide Lumen’s marketing team. Each play came with detailed notes on use cases, expected outcomes, and content recommendations, ensuring flexibility and scalability for future campaigns. We complemented this with a tech stack orchestration flow diagram, outlining the processes and tools required to execute 1:few or 1:many campaigns seamlessly.
To increase engagement within target industries, we developed a suite of new content, including eBooks tailored to the specific challenges of the retail and finance clusters. These materials were supported by personalized proposals and a mix of print and digital follow-ups. We also collaborated with thought leaders and publishers like HBR, MIT, and Foundry to create high-value content pieces that positioned Lumen as an authority in key sectors. These efforts were amplified through paid media campaigns on platforms like Demandbase and LinkedIn, ensuring precise targeting based on account intent signals.
The Results
Within just six months, Lumen successfully transitioned its field marketing teams to adopt ABM practices, positioning them for continued ownership and growth of the program.
Tactically, the campaign delivered impressive outcomes across key segments. In the large enterprise vertical, proactive proposals exceeded expectations, with the finance cluster achieving a 264% increase in funnel size and a 131% increase in open opportunities. Retail efforts saw moderate gains, including a 10.2% increase in open opportunities.
Public sector outreach was highly successful. In healthcare, Demandbase campaigns exceeded impression goals, while LinkedIn achieved a 0.84% click-through rate, surpassing benchmarks. Public administration campaigns generated over 6 million impressions on Demandbase, while email initiatives achieved a 32% open rate—significantly outperforming industry standards.
Finance cluster
264%
increase in funnel size
131%
increase in open opportunities
Retail
10.2%
increase in open opportunities
Public sector
6M
impressions on Demandbase
By driving measurable gains in funnel growth, engagement, and open opportunities, the campaign not only advanced Lumen’s business objectives but also equipped their teams with the tools and training to sustain long-term success in a highly competitive market.