Deep expertise. A digital blind spot.
How a global management and data consultancy built its paid digital presence from scratch — with Connected Paths applying its own MCP technology to continually improve campaign performance.
About Thorogood
Thorogood is a leading management and data consultancy operating across multiple global markets. Built on deep analytical expertise and a strong client reputation, the business has a track record of delivering complex, high-value work for large organisations. It’s a company that excels at what it does — and knew that digital marketing was the one area where it hadn’t yet built real capability.
The challenge: deep expertise, limited reach
Thorogood’s business development relied on a tried-and-tested formula: existing client relationships, vendor partnerships, and events they ran and attended. It worked. But it had a ceiling.
To grow beyond that ceiling — to reach new organisations that didn’t already know the Thorogood name — meant building a digital marketing capability that simply didn’t exist in-house. The ambition was there. The expertise wasn’t.
“We were reliant on existing lists, the vendors we work with, events we run. We wanted to reach wider — to audiences we couldn’t reach through those means. You’ve enabled that.”
— Alaistair Jones, Global Head of Marketing, Thorogood
The approach: build the capability, not just the campaigns
Connected Paths began with a structured trial — giving Thorogood the chance to learn, build confidence, and assess the relationship before committing to anything longer term. That trial led to a partnership now in its third year.
Rather than simply running campaigns, the work operated at multiple levels of the organisation. Riaz presented directly to Thorogood’s global managing director and senior leadership — helping the marketing team build credibility internally by bringing authoritative external expertise into the room. At the same time, he worked day-to-day with junior marketers, coaching them on how to interpret performance data and develop their own capabilities.
“You bring a level of knowledge and ability that we don’t have internally — and simultaneously you’re coaching our team in how to do some of the things that you’re able to do.”
— Alaistair Jones, Global Head of Marketing, Thorogood
Channel by channel, the digital presence was built out: Google Ads, LinkedIn, then YouTube. As Thorogood’s strategy shifted to an account-based model — targeting specific organisations with precision rather than casting a wide net — the campaigns adapted accordingly.
The results
| Area | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Audience reach | Accessing new organisations beyond existing lists and events |
| Digital foundation | Paid digital presence built from zero across Google Ads, LinkedIn, and YouTube — where none existed before |
| Internal capability | Team coached and operating across Google, LinkedIn, and YouTube |
| Internal credibility | Marketing team strengthened by senior-level external endorsement |
| ABM execution | Campaigns adapted to target specific accounts with precision |
“We dabbled and now we see figures that eclipse anything that we had before.”
— Alaistair Jones, Global Head of Marketing, Thorogood
From the frontline to the boardroom
One of the more unusual aspects of the engagement is how broadly it operates. The work doesn’t sit only with Thorogood’s marketers — it reaches into senior leadership forums, town hall meetings, and the day-to-day decisions of the team running campaigns.
“You’ve got strong rapport with everyone from our global managing director to the marketers you work with most days.”
— Alaistair Jones, Global Head of Marketing, Thorogood
What’s next
The foundation built over three years is making each next step faster to execute. Conversations are already underway around AI-driven ad optimisation, AI search visibility, and a broader content strategy designed to ensure Thorogood is positioned for the generative AI era — where being cited and surfaced by AI systems matters as much as organic search rankings.
Reaching the right accounts?
If your pipeline relies on relationships and events — and you know there’s a ceiling — that’s exactly where we start.