It's not easy to follow through on a disruptive idea. But the alternative felt like a risk to the business. I began to imagine building the perfect B2B marketing machine built on "why" rather than "how", threading the global team’s corporate needle, watching numbers soar into the customer satisfaction stratosphere. The challenges were large and obvious: How could I prove my strategy is worthy of a $1.5M+ budget? Will an executive sponsor my concept? How will I structure understanding and trust across verticals, from sales to product managers? Would my idea seem too small…or too big?

Lifting the voice of customers is often reduced to a testimonial that lives in the consideration stage of the marketing funnel. Customer research and case studies had shown that our products had significant unlocked market potential. But where do I find the wings that will allow it to soar?

B2B ad campaigns are problem/solution format, relying on a feature/offer-driven template. Rather than going the way of a bulleted list of "value", I chose to take a customer-centric, character-driven, narrative approach that embraced the idea of showcasing the power of GoTo products through highlighting unique customer stories.

I always bet on finding the "why". A story worth telling lives within use cases written by the inventive business folks who roll up their sleeves and unrelentingly push forward in all weather. I sought out product champions who excelled in finding unique ways to achieve better outcomes for their business. The story almost wrote itself. I assembled an A-list team that understood the power of narrative, emotional resonance, pacing, clarity, and the high production value required to stand out.

In the midst of planning, I overhauled the incumbent model of using multiple large agencies, which resulted in fractured, inconsistent messaging across channels. Instead, I structured an "in-house agency" model using a mix of staff designers, the media team, events team, and developers, coupled with support from award-winning agencies who consistently outperformed their size: TDA/Boulder and Duncan/Channon. I wrote the RFP and conducted the selection process.

I partnered with the media team to pull metrics and find new channels (test/learn). Pushback turned into confirmation of proof of concept. Sketchbook dreaming turned into a global campaign.

The result was a complete 360-degree marketing turnaround for the company, driving product trials to new heights. The campaign began as a web series and grew into multiple media channels: TV (ESPN, CNN, NBC, Fox News, BBC, Comedy Central, E!), web (desktop and mobile), print, outdoor, video, digital display/rich media, social, sales, direct mail, trade show, and PR. We followed up with adaptations for EMEA and APAC.

Ultimately, I was awarded the "Citrix Brand Champion" award for my work in transforming audience perceptions of several brands, including GoToMeeting, GoToAssist (remote support), and GoToMyPC (remote access).

Citrix/GoToMeeting advertising series was created, written, managed, and produced by Beth O'Rourke, Creative Director.

Crew included Jeff Den Broeder/SiloMedia, Director; Alex Kopps, Director of Photography; Jessica Congdon, Editor; Laura Flippen, Emily Nathan, and Chris Reardon, Photographers.