Global Marketing Automation
Transformation: Project Spark
How I designed the global CoE framework and multi-tenant marketing architecture to standardise campaigns across 10 operating companies, reducing speed-to-lead latency from hours to minutes.
Immediate follow-up secured for high-intent B2B hand-raisers.
Framework structured specifically to scale SME & MNC pipeline.
Audited and aligned under a cohesive CoE governance system.
CoE Design Lead managing global stake-holding groups.
1. Executive Summary
Project Spark represented the strategic overhaul of the global B2B Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) environment to unlock high-velocity growth across ten key operating companies (OpCos).
The initiative delivered on a dual corporate mandate:
- [✓] Technical Modernisation: I governed the migration of the primary B2B marketing engine from legacy, high-maintenance Program Builder logic and the outdated Eloqua 9 integration engine to the modern Program Canvas and the cloud-native Salesforce Integration App. This technical leap compressed B2B speed-to-lead times from hours to near real-time.
- [✓] Operating Model Optimisation: I audited marketing use cases, integration standards, and technologies across global OpCos to establish a standardised, centre-led operating model. This framework directly supported the organisation's 9% annual growth target in the high-value Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) and Multi-National Corporation (MNC) segments.
By standardising technical frameworks while preserving local market autonomy, this transformation built a repeatable, "cookie-cutter" operational template designed to scale Beyond Connectivity (BNC) product penetration across the global footprint.
2. Business Problem Statement
Prior to Project Spark, the B2B marketing and sales engine faced deep structural constraints that caused extreme latency, high overheads, and inconsistent customer journeys:
Fragmented Tech Disparities
Our global Audit revealed that local CRMs were split between modern Sales Cloud (Salesforce in the UK, Ireland, and MNC), Siebel (Albania, Greece, and the Czech Republic), and Amdocs (Romania). Correspondingly, local B2B marketing platforms ranged from Eloqua and Salesforce Marketing Cloud down to local instances of Zoho and legacy IBM Unica.
Pega vs. Eloqua Strategic Divergence
While large enterprise accounts required complex, multi-touch nurturing via Oracle Eloqua or SFMC, consumer and micro-segments (SoHo) were best served by high-volume decisioning engines (Pega). The boundaries between these platforms were blurred, creating disconnected customer experiences and misaligned budgets.
Processing Latency & Skill Gaps
Legacy point-to-point batch data flows delayed lead distribution to business development representatives (BDRs) and sales teams by over an hour, causing high-value inbound demand to go cold. Additionally, smaller OpCos lacked specialized resources, forcing them to treat marketing systems as mere batch email tools.
Engagement Parameters
The Operating Creed
"When standardising global Martech, the goal is never to build a single giant monolith. It is about defining clear SLAs, establishing rigid integration boundaries, and giving regional teams local operational autonomy within a standardized blueprint."
— Lee GorseThe Centre of Excellence (CoE) GTM Framework
I aligned the transformation around my proprietary Four-Layer Framework to systematically replace point-to-point technical debt with institutional governance.
Standardised Funnels
Implemented a unified lead blueprint across the audited estate: Prospect > Inquiry > Automated Qualified Lead (AQL) > Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) > Opportunity, governed by strict 1-hour follow-up SLAs on hand-raisers.
Federated Autonomy
Decommissioned the monolithic group system. Turkish, MNC, UK, and Irish business units were separated into local dedicated production tenants to execute high-velocity campaigns, while Germany was aligned to SFMC.
Unified Analytics & GDPR
Standardised the schema to calculate Marketing Influenced (MIO) and Generated (MGO) Opportunities, mapped directly into Tableau. Localised preference centres to ensure strict compliance (GDPR/KVKK).
Centre-Led MOPS
Created a conversion training program to transition consumer marketers into B2B specialists. Embedded a lead strategist role at group-level to evaluate tech, while Shared Services executed campaigns.
Federated Operating Model Schematic
Visualizing the transition from disjointed regional databases to a unified central B2B Centre of Excellence (CoE) controlling technical standards.
B2B CoE Core
Standardizes schemas, owns the Tableau reporting models, builds turnkey campaign nurtures, and runs compliance reviews.
Isolated Eloqua Tenant
Standalone Salesforce Integration App routing directly to local Salesforce Sales Cloud.
Autonomy Tenant
Custom REST post-routings configured directly to localized Siebel CRM instances.
SFMC & Amdocs
Standardized B2B funnels and campaign frameworks localized on Pega and SFMC structures.
4. Business Impact & Results
[✓] Immediate Speed-to-Lead Gains
By abandoning Program Builder and integrating Eloqua's modern Salesforce Integration App, processing latency was smashed. High-intent, hand-raising inbound leads now reach regional sales representatives in minutes instead of hours.
[✓] Operating Model Efficiencies
Establishing the CoE allowed local operating companies to share standardized campaign best practices and pre-built assets, cutting campaign configuration times, eliminating external agency costs, and mitigating data entry error.
[✓] MNC Account Visibility
Shifting global analytics to a product-interest model allowed international account managers to map entire buyer groups across complex multinational corporations (MNCs), vastly improving cross-sell and upsell precision.
[✓] Revenue Readiness
Establishing consistent MOPS expertise and modern data schemas built the necessary foundations to scale "Beyond Connectivity" (BNC) cloud products, directly enabling the client's incremental revenue ambitions.
Looking to implement technical governance across global operating teams?
Stop managing silos. Structure a high-velocity center of excellence.
Digital Marketing Experience With
Engagements delivered via direct contract and strategic agency partnerships.