From paid media complexity to measurable pipeline impact
NetSPI increased SQLs by 106% after DRA rebuilt paid media campaigns
NetSPI partnered with DRA to fix an overly complex, underperforming paid media program that lacked clean execution, tracking, and budget control. DRA audited the full environment, rebuilt campaign operations, improved Marketo integration and reporting, launched display, introduced 6sense audience targeting, optimized LinkedIn lead gen, and tested AI-driven search. The bottom line was stronger efficiency, more qualified demand, and a much bigger paid media contribution to pipeline.
“DRA brings a real clarity to any environment they step into. They are excellent and meticulous in campaign execution, but they also diagnose what may be preventing an organization from performing at the highest level and educate teams along the way. Instead of tunnel vision on a single platform or provider, they brought a broad strategy that helped optimize across web, marketing ops, and demand generation. Nick, specifically, is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful marketers I've worked with. He sees both the possibilities and the challenges and helps teams find the clearest path forward.”
The results
During the engagement, paid media lead volume increased by 43%, CPL decreased by 19%, MQLs increased by 48%, cost per MQL decreased by 23%, and SQLs increased by 106%. NetSPI also reported that paid media’s share of total opportunities increased 3x. Beyond the performance gains, DRA launched display for the first time, improved LinkedIn lead gen conversion, built stronger reporting infrastructure, and gave the team cleaner visibility into what was driving pipeline.
increase in paid media
lead volume
reduction in CPL
increase in MQLs
increase in SQLs
The challenge
NetSPI came to DRA with paid media that was not getting the exposure, structure, or stewardship it needed. The previous setup was overly complex and mismanaged from both a campaign and budget standpoint, which made it difficult to run a real full-funnel strategy. Tracking and tagging were not fully implemented, sync with internal systems was not clean, and the internal team did not have the bandwidth to fix everything themselves. The result was an inefficient program that was not generating enough pipeline for the spend and lacked the clarity needed to scale confidently.
The solution
DRA started with a full audit of NetSPI’s paid media setup and how it connected to performance. That audit made the priorities clear: simplify operations, rebuild campaign structure, tighten budget management, improve tracking and Marketo sync, and align campaigns more closely to the buyer journey. Once the foundation was corrected, DRA expanded strategically with display, 6sense audiences in GDN, LinkedIn lead gen optimization, improved reporting, and AI-driven search testing. The solution was both operational and strategic, which is what made the results sustainable.
The method
The engagement began with a deep audit of campaign structure, spend allocation, conversion paths, tracking, and routing. From there, DRA rebuilt the account to make it easier to manage, easier to optimize, and better aligned to NetSPI’s funnel goals.
Next, the team focused on measurement. DRA improved tagging and tracking, helped fully connect paid media into Marketo for cleaner attribution and routing, and built a reporting database to give the client a clearer view of performance and downstream impact.
With a stronger foundation in place, DRA expanded strategically. The team launched display for the first time, implemented 6sense audiences in GDN to segment messaging by stage, optimized LinkedIn lead gen forms to improve conversion rates, and introduced AI-driven search updates to improve relevance and performance. This combination of operational cleanup, smarter audience strategy, better measurement, and continuous optimization is what turned paid media into a stronger pipeline driver.
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