Background
This creative agency has spent over two decades reimagining corporate learning. What began as a video production shop grew into a leader in immersive, human-centered training experiences for enterprise companies. They help some of the world’s largest organizations rethink how their teams learn — swapping out dry compliance modules for VR simulations, interactive storytelling, and engaging digital platforms.
But when it came to their own sales and marketing engine, things weren’t running as smoothly. While their client work embodied innovation, their internal systems felt disconnected. Two separate brands under the same umbrella — one serving enterprise clients with long sales cycles and another offering shorter-cycle solutions — meant the team was juggling two very different approaches without a clear roadmap.
They knew their business model was complex. What they didn’t know was how much a unified sales and marketing strategy could simplify their world.
The challenge
The agency’s leadership described their situation as “frustrating and messy.” They had pieces of a marketing plan — a few paid ads, a blog here and there — but no real strategy to nurture leads or move prospects through the funnel.
And the technical hurdles didn’t help. Emails were landing in spam. Domains weren’t connected properly. The team was brand-new to HubSpot and overwhelmed with where to start. On top of it all, they had two brands with very different needs, and no way to track them cleanly inside their CRM.
In short: the agency was spending more time troubleshooting than growing.
The solution
That’s where we came in. Our approach wasn’t about dropping in a one-size-fits-all playbook. Instead, we worked side by side with their team to lay the foundation they needed:
- Clearing the roadblocks: We tackled deliverability and domain issues right away, connecting IT and HubSpot support so the team could finally send emails that reached inboxes.
- Creating a framework for both brands: We designed custom lifecycle stages tailored to their two unique sales cycles, giving the team clarity on where each prospect stood.
- Learning by doing: Instead of just training in theory, we built a live campaign together around a major industry event. This gave the team hands-on experience with HubSpot’s tools while creating a tangible win.
- Equipping for the future: Beyond the basics, we introduced advanced features like lead scoring, nurturing sequences, and HubSpot’s content calendar to show how structure could replace chaos.
The results
- Campaign clarity: The team successfully launched their first structured campaign in HubSpot — a milestone that gave them confidence and proof of what was possible.
- Data they could trust: With clean imports and organized lifecycle stages, they finally had visibility into their pipeline across both brands.
- Empowered people: By the end of onboarding, the team not only understood HubSpot — they had a roadmap for where to go next. They were equipped with templates, processes, and the knowledge to expand into lead nurturing and scoring.
What had started as disorganization became direction. Instead of trying to “make HubSpot work,” they were making HubSpot work for them.
The takeaway
This project wasn’t just about fixing technical issues. It was about giving a complex business model the clarity it needed to grow. By blending strategy, hands-on training, and smart customization, we turned overwhelm into a system that felt intuitive and scalable.
For this creative agency, the results weren’t just more campaigns and cleaner data. It was confidence — confidence that their sales and marketing systems could finally match the innovation and excellence they were already delivering to their clients.
