Strategy
My approach centered on one simple truth:
Quality professionals don’t get celebrated for excellence, only blamed for failures.
I wanted to flip the narrative.
Instead of promoting product features, I designed a campaign that championed the people behind the work.
The entire initiative was built to create belonging, recognition, and industry-wide conversation.
Promotion Channels
Despite limited targeting capabilities in industrial marketing, the campaign used smart, multipronged distribution:
1. 6sense Targeted Ads
- Delivered ads to key operational accounts
- Reached quality departments indirectly through account-level ABM
- Built early awareness and drove traffic to the awards page
2. LinkedIn Organic Promotion
- Social posts spotlighting the awards
- Engagement from quality communities amplified reach
- Encouraged peer nominations and team submissions
3. Email Marketing
- Outreach to existing database
- Promotion to customer networks
4. Press Release + Media Coverage
- Press release that gained significant traction
- Picked up by manufacturing and quality-focused trade publications
- Boosted credibility and reach
5. Email Signature Promotion
- Added to all employee signatures
- Passive but powerful awareness exposure
6. Partner Promotions
- Leveraged partner networks to reach new companies
- Encouraged cross-industry participation
All promotion led to a dedicated landing page where nominees submitted a short story explaining why they or their team deserved recognition.
Post-Submission Experience
All entrants received:
- A thank-you email recognizing their contribution
- Light-touch nurture emails (to avoid overwhelming a busy audience)
- Educational content about improving quality operations
- Optional pathways to explore Ease’s products
- A carefully timed progression to product messaging only after rapport was built
Only prospects who raised their hand requesting a demo were routed to Sales.
This approach honored the spirit of the awards while also nurturing long-term pipeline.
Results
What began as an experiment became a major success story:
- 800+ award submissions from quality teams worldwide
- Massive expansion beyond the initial automotive/aerospace niche
- Surge in brand awareness within a tightly connected global community
- Significant increase in high-quality leads and opportunities
- Recognition from industry publications and partners
- Program adopted as an annual event — continuing years later
- Established Ease as a champion and supporter of quality professionals everywhere
The campaign not only exceeded expectations, it reshaped how the industry viewed quality workers and how those workers viewed Ease.
Key Takeaways
- Human-centered campaigns can generate extraordinary engagement, even in technical industries
- Recognition builds trust far faster than product-first messaging
- A single creative idea can spark global participation
- ABM + PR + community engagement = unstoppable awareness engine
- Successful submissions provided a rich database for long-term nurture and pipeline growth
- The awards became a permanent brand asset, with lasting industry impact