What did Greg do for Palo Alto Networks?

Greg provided high velocity Eloqua campaign build and architecture support for Palo Alto Networks, templating event and BAU campaigns, implementing progressive profiling, and fixing Salesforce integration issues that impacted reporting.

What was the main challenge for Palo Alto Networks?

Palo Alto Networks were running many US tabletop events while still needing to send BAU campaigns. They required additional technical resource to build and launch a large volume of Eloqua assets on time, with consistent quality and reliable reporting.

How did Greg improve Palo Alto Networks' Eloqua campaigns?

Greg created templated multi step event journeys, used progressive profiling with AJAX form submissions, introduced accelerators such as product factsheets and sector case studies, and provided monthly reporting and optimisation advice, while also repairing their Salesforce integration.

Palo Alto Networks Eloqua campaigns and cybersecurity marketing.

Case Study · Palo Alto Networks

Building a fast Eloqua campaign engine for US field events

Palo Alto Networks are a global cybersecurity leader. I worked with their marketing team to build a reliable Eloqua engine that could support a heavy calendar of tabletop events across US states while BAU campaigns were still going out every week.

The goal was simple: deliver a lot of high quality campaigns, fast, with no drama and clean reporting.

Palo Alto Networks Eloqua event campaigns.

Client background

Palo Alto Networks sit at the forefront of cybersecurity. They protect tens of thousands of organisations across cloud, network and mobile environments and operate in a market where trust, speed and precision are everything.

Their marketing team were running a demanding schedule of tabletop events across the United States, while continuing to send newsletters, product updates and other BAU campaigns. The volume and pace of work required a technical partner who could keep up without sacrificing quality.

At a glance

Industry: Cybersecurity
Region: US-focused campaigns
Role: Eloqua campaign developer and consultant
Cadence: ~15 assets per week, plus BAU

The challenge

The core challenge was throughput without chaos. Palo Alto Networks needed additional technical resource that could build campaigns and assets quickly, keep everything on brand, and still allow the team to send BAU activity without things breaking.

High volume event schedule

They were running tabletop events across multiple US states. Each event required a complete sequence of related assets: invitations, reminders, confirmations and follow up communications.

On average, there were around fifteen assets a week that needed to be built and deployed, with no tolerance for missed dates.

BAU campaigns still had to move

At the same time, Palo Alto Networks were sending newsletters, product updates and other BAU emails. The event engine could not be allowed to disrupt the rest of the marketing calendar.

They needed an Eloqua partner who could build quickly, think ahead and handle the technical side so the marketing team could stay focused on content and strategy.

My approach

The key to making this work was treating the campaigns like a production line without sacrificing intelligence. We templated everything, then layered smart logic on top.

Step 1

Template the entire event journey

I created a standardised event workflow template with all required emails and assets, including invitations, two non responder reminders, confirmation, two pre event reminders, and two post event emails for attendees and no shows.

Step 2

Smart forms and accelerators

All invitations drove to a single landing page with AJAX form submission so the user never left the page. The form used progressive profiling, showing only incomplete fields, and fed contacts into a short accelerator track with product fact sheets and sector case studies based on their engagement.

Step 3

Monthly review and optimisation

We ran monthly review sessions where I presented campaign reports, flagged performance patterns and made recommendations based on current industry trends. This stopped the program from becoming static and helped the team refine content and timing.

On top of that, I fixed their Salesforce integration at no extra cost. It was affecting Revenue Performance Management dashboards and reporting, and it was the right thing to do for a client who were always collaborative and open to new ideas.

Impact

Event campaigns went out on time, consistently, across multiple US states.
A templated event engine allowed rapid campaign build without errors.
Progressive profiling and accelerators increased relevance and depth of engagement.
BAU campaigns continued smoothly alongside the event schedule.
Salesforce integration issues were resolved, restoring reliable RPM reporting.

In my words

Palo Alto Networks were an absolute delight to work with. Their marketing managers were receptive to ideas I had tried with other clients and they were keen to test and learn. We built a well oiled machine that pushed assets and campaigns out on time, all the time, with no errors. I even fixed their SFDC integration for free because it mattered for their dashboards and they were such a good team to work with.

- Greg Staunton

Need a reliable Eloqua campaign engine

If you need to ship a lot of Eloqua campaigns every week without losing quality, I can help you design templates, journeys and processes that keep everything moving smoothly while your team focus on content and strategy.