Activating co-sell at every funnel stage

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Situation

Microsoft’s partner marketing ecosystem is vast—and while rich with potential, it’s difficult to scale co-sell efforts that drive predictable, high-quality pipeline.

Challenges included:

Inconsistent execution across partners and solution areas
Difficulty turning marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) into SQLs
Lack of brand control, data compliance, and visibility into ROI

Microsoft needed a repeatable GTM framework that could meet partners where they are in the buyer journey, streamline execution, and drive pipeline outcomes with accountability.

Insight

One-size-fits-all doesn’t work in co-marketing. We saw an opportunity to build a modular system where each partner could enter with their specific business needs—top, mid, or lower funnel—and plug into campaign components designed to accelerate conversion at that stage.

And by standardizing the inputs, processes, and reporting, Microsoft could:

Maintain brand and policy alignment
Reduce friction for partners
Gain visibility into what was working, and why

This wasn't just about efficiency—it was about precision at scale.

A smartphone displaying Esri and Microsoft branding, and a laptop showing a webpage with form fields and Esri and Microsoft logos.

A collection of digital advertisements for Esri and Microsoft promoting spatial analytics and location intelligence, featuring slogans like 'Harness the power of location' and 'Enrich your data with spatial analytics', with blue 'Start now' buttons on a black and green-themed background.

Solution

Microsoft’s co-sell campaign engine built on five operational stages (from intake to optimization), enabling both net-new and returning partners to run integrated campaigns aligned to their goals.

Key features of the Conveyor Belt include:

Modular campaign design: Partners enter with a business objective, then activate content, media, and nurture components based on funnel stage.
Templated intake and execution process: Standardized briefings, media planning, and asset creation reduce ramp time.
Full-funnel tactics: From upper-funnel awareness to mid-funnel engagement and lower-funnel conversion, each campaign is tailored to accelerate pipeline.
Lead nurture and seller enablement: Content, automation, and insights help ensure MQLs move down the funnel—and into the hands of sales.
Governance and reporting: Built-in checkpoints for approvals, compliance, and post-campaign ROI tracking.

Laptop and tablet displaying Microsoft and Informatica branding and content about data integration and analytics, with a focus on Microsoft Fabric and Informatica.

Various digital advertisement banners for Informatica and Microsoft, promoting previewing AI data breakthroughs and seamless fabric integrations; displayed on a smartphone screen and designed in dark and colorful themes.

Success

By implementing a scalable, data-driven partner pipeline strategy, Microsoft empowered its partners to accelerate demand generation while reducing operational strain.

Campaigns across 19+ execution phases
Partner campaigns include Fivetran, Informatica, Esri, and Teradata, each tailored to a unique audience and funnel needs
Up to 245 MQLs delivered per campaign, with over 225K impressions in some phases
Standardized reporting provides attribution to specific tactics, assets, and personas