Case Study · PwC for dunnhumby
Leading PwC's Eloqua rescue for dunnhumby as developer and consultant
PwC Digital Services is one of the largest digital and mobile marketing agencies in the world. They were brought in after an Eloqua implementation delivered by Oracle and KPMG failed to work in the real world. I joined as the lead Eloqua developer and consultant to rebuild it from the ground up.
This was not a simple configuration job. It was a rescue mission with PwC leading the transformation and me owning both the technical architecture and the hands on development of the new Eloqua platform.
Client background
PwC Digital Services brings together strategy, design, data and engineering to deliver large scale digital transformation. In 2015 they were recognised as one of the world's largest digital agencies and the largest mobile marketing agency by Ad Age, and analyst firms consistently rated them as leaders in digital transformation and customer engagement consulting.
The client for this engagement was dunnhumby, a company that lives and breathes data. They needed a marketing automation platform that matched their analytical sophistication. What they had instead was an Eloqua implementation that did not function as promised.
Oracle and KPMG had been engaged to implement Eloqua. The build ticked some configuration boxes, but in practice it did not work. Campaigns stalled, data flows were unreliable and it was not something dunnhumby could scale. PwC were brought in to fix it and to lead a proper marketing transformation program.
At a glance
- Sector: Data and customer science
- Consultancy: PwC Digital Services
- Platforms: Oracle Eloqua, Salesforce and internal systems
- Role: Lead Eloqua developer and consultant
The challenge
By the time PwC arrived, the earlier implementation from Oracle and KPMG had failed to deliver a usable marketing automation platform. On paper Eloqua had been installed. In reality, it could not support the kind of sophisticated programs and reporting dunnhumby needed.
A broken implementation
The original build suffered from fundamental issues. The data model was not aligned to how dunnhumby operated. The CDO structure was weak. The integration with Salesforce and other systems was incomplete and brittle. Campaign designs were theoretical rather than executable.
In simple terms, it looked like a textbook implementation rather than one grounded in real world usage. As soon as dunnhumby tried to run serious marketing through it, it fell short.
Need for a heavy hitting lead
PwC needed someone who could own the technical rebuild and act as a consultant at the same time. This meant an Eloqua specialist who could architect, build and also explain to stakeholders what was happening and why.
The role required a senior developer, a solution architect and a trusted advisor in one person. That is the space I stepped into.
The challenge was clear. Tear down what did not work, design something that would and lead the delivery in a way that restored confidence for both dunnhumby and PwC.
My approach
I brought an Eloqua transformation blueprint that I had refined through large implementations at Deloitte and adapted it to PwC's way of working. The focus was on clarity, structure and quality execution.
Step 1
Forensic diagnostic
I carried out a full review of the existing build. That included contact and CDO structure, integration flows, campaign logic, lead scoring and reporting. The goal was to understand exactly why the previous implementation could not support real programs.
Step 2
Redesign the architecture
Based on the diagnostic, I redesigned the Eloqua architecture. This meant a new data model, new governance rules, a reworked Salesforce integration, robust CDO usage and a campaign framework that could scale with dunnhumby's needs.
Step 3
Build as lead developer
I then owned the hands on development. That included rebuilding programs, designing templates, wiring up integrations, implementing lead scoring and making sure every component behaved correctly under load.
Step 4
Consultant and leader
PwC assigned several analysts to work with me. I treated this as a chance to build capability. I coached them in Eloqua, marketing automation design and best practice, while also acting as a consultant to PwC and dunnhumby stakeholders on direction and trade offs.
Step 5
Embed a repeatable blueprint
All of the work was documented and structured so that PwC could use the patterns on future projects. The aim was not just to fix one client, but to leave behind an approach that could support other Eloqua transformations.
Impact
The rebuilt implementation delivered what dunnhumby thought they were getting the first time. A working Eloqua platform aligned to their data, their sales process and their expectations for campaign performance and reporting.
- A stable, scalable Eloqua architecture that supported real campaigns
- Clean, reliable integration with Salesforce and internal systems
- Lead scoring aligned to real buying behavior
- Reusable campaign and template frameworks
- PwC analysts upskilled into confident Eloqua practitioners
- Transformation delivered on time and within budget
PwC were able to turn a failed implementation into a success story. For dunnhumby, the platform finally matched the standard they expected. For PwC, the patterns and knowledge could be applied to future Eloqua work.
In my words
I really enjoyed working with the PwC team. They operated differently to Deloitte, more personal and easy going, but still with very high standards. I am not saying one firm was better than the other. It was simply a unique experience and I would welcome the chance to work with them again on another complex Eloqua transformation.
- Greg Staunton
Need to rescue a failed Eloqua implementation
If your Eloqua implementation looks fine on paper but falls apart in real use, I can help you diagnose what went wrong, redesign the architecture and deliver a platform your marketing and sales teams can trust.