Driving Full-Funnel Growth for SoftwareOne North American Paid Program
Paid media and creative fuel strategic campaigns across the buyer journey.
Overview
In 2023, following three years of collaboration across creative, PR and corporate social media, SoftwareOne expanded its partnership with Walker Sands to launch a comprehensive paid media program across North America.
The mission: build a scalable digital engine that connects strategy, creative and performance — driving measurable impact at every stage of the funnel.
Walker Sands led execution across Google Ads (Search, Display, YouTube), LinkedIn and Microsoft Ads, managing everything from audience targeting and keyword research to UTM tracking, campaign optimization and creative iteration.
Our team also owned reporting, platform maintenance and account governance to ensure performance aligned with SoftwareOne’s evolving business goals.
By late 2024, the partnership extended beyond paid media to include organic social media management and creative support for key digital assets, including landing pages for three of SoftwareOne’s priority solutions.
leads
click-through rate for Google Ads YoY
click-through rate for LinkedIn YoY
The Challenge
SoftwareOne needed to connect with IT and business leaders facing high-stakes transformation challenges, from cloud migration and FinOps to data modernization and infrastructure optimization.
But internal complexity created friction. Regional silos, shifting priorities and a fragmented marketing structure hindered execution. Previous partners struggled to deliver strategic alignment or measurable results, leaving SoftwareOne searching for a partner that could bring structure, agility and results.
Over time, challenges compounded. Campaign approvals lagged, budgets went underutilized and limited time in market constrained performance. Leadership transitions added further instability. SoftwareOne needed an agile partner capable of stabilizing the foundation, adapting quickly and proving value in real time.
The Solution
Walker Sands designed an integrated, full-funnel media framework built to evolve with SoftwareOne’s business. Each campaign aligned audience intent with measurable outcomes:
- Dark Funnel (Awareness): Google Ads and YouTube campaigns captured early-stage engagement and built brand recognition.
- Top-of-Funnel: Retargeting and static LinkedIn campaigns reintroduced SoftwareOne to potential buyers and reinforced awareness.
- Mid-Funnel: LinkedIn lead gen campaigns deepened engagement through tailored, value-driven content.
- Bottom-of-Funnel: Dynamic retargeting reached known audiences with high-intent messaging to accelerate conversion.
Across all channels, our team conducted ongoing creative and keyword audits and testing to refine messaging, refresh visuals and optimize for relevance. Campaigns were structured for agility, enabling rapid pivots in response to shifting priorities or emerging opportunities.
The result was a continuously learning, performance-driven system that united brand and demand.
The Results
Through data-informed strategy, creative collaboration and agile execution, Walker Sands helped SoftwareOne connect with high-value audiences across the buyer journey, turning fragmented marketing efforts into a cohesive, scalable performance ecosystem.
Our campaigns delivered measurable impact on the metrics that mattered most to SoftwareOne’s global marketing team. We drove significant YOY gains in both engagement and efficiency. Results included more than 11 million impressions, a 400% increase in clicks, a 94% lift in leads and a 54% reduction in cost per click.
However, the real success was strategic. Together, we built a foundation for sustainable performance marketing, one designed to scale seamlessly across solutions, regions, and business goals.
Ultimately, Walker Sands didn’t just manage SoftwareOne’s paid media. We helped redefine how the brand shows up in the market, reaching the right buyer with the right message at the right moment.
