How Metadata Helped Pendo Scale Campaign Production 3× and Generate $5M in Pipeline
Overview
Pendo’s mission is to elevate the world’s experience with software. Pendo’s product experience platform allows companies to make product intelligence actionable with speed and scale, giving rise to a new generation of companies that put product at the center of everything.
THE CHALLENGE
When Mackenzie took over digital marketing at Pendo, one thing was clear. The company moved fast. Much faster than a team of two could realistically keep up with if they were stuck inside native ad managers all day.
Pendo runs paid across LinkedIn, Reddit, Google, DSPs, YouTube, and CTV.
The volume of campaigns, creative tests, copy variations, and new audience segments was growing constantly. This became even more intense as Pendo expanded from CPO into CIO and CMO markets.
And with pipeline as her core KPI, the pressure was real:
“We are gold on pipeline from advertising. I need to hit a specific number every quarter, and Metadata allows us to do that.”
Without Metadata, the team was facing several issues.
- Hours spent manually setting up campaigns inside multiple UIs
- Slow testing cycles that delayed insights for design, content, and leadership
- Difficulty attributing ad influence to pipeline, especially at the top of funnel
- Limited bandwidth to run the high volume of experiments Pendo needed
- No way to create campaigns quickly enough to match the speed of the business
“We are a test first company,” Mackenzie explained. “But testing at scale is impossible when your team is stuck in campaign setup all day.”
The team was not looking for another reporting tool.
They needed real execution leverage.
THE SOLUTION
Pendo adopted Metadata early. They were one of its first customers. They quickly realized that the value was not only speed. It was scale.
Metadata allowed Pendo to:
- Build and launch campaigns three times faster
- Run far more experiments with the same headcount
- Test messaging and creative across new buying centers
- Automatically optimize budget toward what works
- Attribute pipeline influence accurately
Shift time away from repetitive setup work and into strategy
“My team can build campaigns in under an hour. Without Metadata, that would take multiple hours. It completely changes how we allocate our time.”
Instead of spending seventy percent of their week pushing buttons in different UIs, the team now spends seventy percent of their time on high value work:
- Strategy
- Optimization
- Creative learnings
- Audience insights
- Full funnel guidance for SDRs, content, design, and leadership
Metadata became Pendo’s central testing engine. It enabled rapid validation of creative concepts.
“We can test dark mode versus light mode. We can test CPO versus CIO messaging. Then we share those insights across the entire company.”
Clean attribution became another major win. With Metadata’s tracking, Pendo could finally connect campaign to lead, then to opportunity, and then to pipeline influence.
“Being able to say that this specific campaign influenced this opportunity is extremely valuable.”
THE RESULTS
Metadata has become one of Pendo’s most reliable revenue engines.
Pipeline and Lead Impact
- More than $5 million dollars in pipeline generated from Metadata run campaigns
- More than thirty two thousand net new leads created, a primary KPI for the digital team
Speed and Efficiency
- Three times faster campaign creation
- A team of two that now works at the output level of a team of six or seven
- Significant cost efficiency by reducing wasted spend and reallocating budget to top performers
- An estimated two times improvement in return on ad spend across key channels
Strategic Impact
- Real time reporting and alignment across the funnel
- Creative and messaging insights shared across the entire GTM organization
- Faster experimentation cycles when expanding into new buyer rooms such as CIO and CMO
Organizational Impact
- A clear business case for renewals with measurable revenue influence
- Increased confidence in the platform’s impact from the CMO and CFO
“Metadata is an extension of our team. They keep us ahead of the curve, share industry insights, and help us scale in ways that would not be possible without them.”
THE DETAILS
Behind the headline numbers is an operational transformation.
Before Metadata:
- Campaign creation was slow and resource heavy
- Creative testing was limited
- Attribution was unclear
- Scaling into new buyer roles required massive creative volume
- The team was stuck in reactive execution instead of proactive optimization
After Metadata:
1. A major increase in testing velocity
Metadata lets Pendo build and launch complex campaigns, including creative, copy, targeting, and audiences, in less than one hour.
This unlocked experiments that previously were not possible.
- New personas
- New buying rooms
- New creative formats
- Large scale A B tests
- Cross platform learnings shared with SDRs, content teams, and web teams
“We influence website design, landing pages, and content because Metadata lets us test everything quickly.”
2. Clean attribution that leadership trusts
Metadata provides a clear line from campaign to pipeline. This is what allows Mackenzie to defend the renewal each year with confidence.
- Pipeline generated
- Leads created
- Cost efficiency improvements
- Return on ad spend improvements
3. Strategic bandwidth
By cutting manual campaign work by 70% percent, the team now operates at a higher strategic altitude.
- Messaging insights
- Faster reporting
- Better cross functional alignment
- Improved decision making for leadership
“Our job is not pushing buttons in an ad UI. Our job is driving revenue. Metadata lets us do that.”
4. A long term partnership, not just software
Pendo sees Metadata as an extension of their team.
- Early access to new AI and platform features
- Industry insight
- Hands on support
- Reliable communication and collaboration
“We have grown with Metadata through many product evolutions. The team itself is a huge part of the value.”
“THEY HELP US SCALE LIKE NO OTHER PLATFORM.”
“Metadata is not just a tool. It is a strategic partner. We have generated more than five million dollars in pipeline, more than thirty two thousand net new leads, and can run three times more campaigns with the same team. They help us move fast, and fast is how Pendo wins.”
