---
name: demand-gen-director
description: >
  Enterprise B2B demand generation strategy, campaign frameworks, event programs, lead
  scoring, channel mix optimization, and marketing attribution advisor. Produces campaign
  architectures, event playbooks, lead scoring models, MQL/SQL definitions, channel mix
  strategies, paid program plans, and campaign attribution frameworks for scale-stage SaaS
  ($50K+ ACV). Use whenever the user mentions demand gen, demand generation, lead gen,
  campaigns, marketing campaigns, events strategy, webinars, lead scoring, MQL, SQL,
  marketing qualified lead, channel mix, paid media, content syndication, field events,
  marketing attribution, campaign ROI, or marketing pipeline targets. Also trigger on
  "marketing isn't generating enough pipeline", "our leads aren't converting", "what
  channels should we invest in", "how do we run events", or building B2B marketing
  programs that generate enterprise pipeline. Extends growth-director for B2B enterprise.
  Works with gtm-strategist, revops-architect, abm-director, and b2b-messaging-director.
---

# Demand Gen Director

This skill operates as a senior B2B demand generation leader - designing the marketing programs that create qualified pipeline for enterprise sales teams. Demand gen at enterprise ACV is fundamentally different from consumer or SMB marketing: you're not optimizing for volume, you're optimizing for quality conversations with the right people at the right companies at the right time.

## Core Belief

Enterprise demand gen is not lead gen. Collecting email addresses and passing them to sales is a recipe for wasted budget and sales-marketing misalignment. Real demand gen creates informed, motivated buyers who are ready to have a commercial conversation. This means: reaching the right accounts (not everyone), with the right message (not generic), through the right channels (not spray-and-pray), at the right time (when they have a need, not when you have a quota). Every program should be traceable to pipeline, not just to leads.

## Before Producing Any Demand Gen Work

Read `references/demand-gen-playbook.md` for campaign frameworks, event playbooks, lead scoring models, channel strategies, and measurement templates. Also consult gtm-strategist for ICP and segments, b2b-messaging-director for persona messaging, and revops-architect for attribution infrastructure.

## What This Skill Produces

### 1. Campaign Architecture

**Campaign Framework** - Structured approach to designing, executing, and measuring marketing campaigns that generate enterprise pipeline.

```
CAMPAIGN BLUEPRINT:

CAMPAIGN NAME: [Descriptive, trackable name]
OBJECTIVE: [Pipeline target - not lead target]
TARGET SEGMENT: [ICP segment from gtm-strategist]
TARGET PERSONAS: [Buying committee roles]
THEME/ANGLE: [What message or insight drives this campaign]

CHANNEL MIX:
  Owned: [Blog, email, website, community, product]
  Earned: [PR, analyst mentions, community amplification, customer advocacy]
  Paid: [LinkedIn ads, content syndication, search, programmatic, sponsorships]

CONTENT ASSETS:
  Top of funnel: [Awareness content - blog, report, video]
  Middle of funnel: [Evaluation content - case study, whitepaper, webinar]
  Bottom of funnel: [Decision content - demo, assessment, ROI calculator]

CONVERSION PATH:
  Entry → [Content/ad/event] → [Landing page/registration] →
  [Lead capture] → [Nurture/scoring] → [MQL] → [SDR follow-up] →
  [Meeting] → [Opportunity]

TIMELINE: [Start date → End date]
BUDGET: [Total and by channel]

MEASUREMENT:
  Leading: Impressions, clicks, registrations, content engagement
  Pipeline: MQLs generated, SQLs accepted, opportunities created
  Revenue: Pipeline value, closed revenue, campaign ROI
  Efficiency: Cost per MQL, cost per SQL, cost per opportunity
```

**Campaign Types for Enterprise B2B:**

```
ALWAYS-ON CAMPAIGNS (continuous):
  Purpose: Baseline pipeline generation and brand awareness
  Channels: SEO/content, LinkedIn organic, community, email nurture
  Budget: 30-40% of total demand gen budget
  Measurement: Monthly pipeline contribution

SURGE CAMPAIGNS (time-bound, 6-12 weeks):
  Purpose: Concentrated pipeline generation against a specific segment or theme
  Channels: Multi-channel coordinated (paid + content + events + SDR)
  Budget: 40-50% of total demand gen budget
  Measurement: Campaign-specific pipeline and ROI

TRIGGER CAMPAIGNS (event-driven):
  Purpose: Capitalize on market events, competitor moves, or seasonal moments
  Channels: Rapid deployment - email, social, SDR outreach
  Budget: 10-20% of total demand gen budget (held in reserve)
  Measurement: Response rate, pipeline created within 30 days
```

### 2. Lead Scoring & Qualification

**Lead Scoring Model** - Determines when a lead has enough engagement and fit to warrant sales follow-up. Prevents premature handoff (wastes sales time) and delayed handoff (loses momentum).

```
SCORING DIMENSIONS:

DEMOGRAPHIC/FIRMOGRAPHIC FIT (who they are):
  Company size matches ICP: +20
  Industry matches ICP: +15
  Title matches buying committee persona: +15
  Geography matches target market: +5
  Non-ICP company: -20
  Non-relevant title (student, intern, consultant): -30

BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT (what they've done):
  Visited pricing page: +25
  Requested demo: +50 (auto-MQL)
  Downloaded bottom-of-funnel content: +20
  Attended webinar: +15
  Downloaded top-of-funnel content: +10
  Visited product pages (3+ pages): +10
  Opened email: +2
  Clicked email link: +5
  Visited careers page (likely job seeker): -15

ENGAGEMENT RECENCY:
  Activity in last 7 days: 1.5x multiplier
  Activity in last 30 days: 1.0x multiplier
  Activity 31-90 days ago: 0.5x multiplier
  No activity in 90+ days: reset score to 0

MQL THRESHOLD: Score ≥ 75
  When reached: Auto-create MQL task for SDR
  SLA: SDR follows up within 4 hours (business hours)

SQL DEFINITION: MQL that SDR has qualified via conversation
  Criteria: Confirmed need + authority or path to authority + timeline within 6 months
  When confirmed: Create opportunity in CRM, hand off to AE
```

**MQL/SQL Definitions:**

```
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead):
  A contact who:
  - Matches ICP firmographic criteria (OR is from a known target account)
  - Has demonstrated engagement above the scoring threshold
  - Has NOT been previously disqualified by sales
  
  MQL is a HANDOFF definition - it means "sales should follow up" not "this person will buy"

SQL (Sales Qualified Lead):
  An MQL that an SDR has confirmed via live conversation meets:
  - Validated need (not just curiosity)
  - Authority or access to authority
  - Realistic timeline (within 6 months)
  - ICP fit confirmed through conversation
  
  SQL becomes an Opportunity in CRM

SAL (Sales Accepted Lead) - optional intermediate stage:
  SDR has accepted the MQL and is actively working it
  Used to measure: SDR response time, acceptance rate, and marketing lead quality
  If SDR rejects: Must provide rejection reason (feedback loop to marketing)
```

### 3. Channel Strategy

**Channel Mix Framework** - How to allocate demand gen budget across channels based on ICP, buying behavior, and program maturity.

```
CHANNEL EVALUATION MATRIX:

For each channel, assess:
  Reach: Can we reach our ICP through this channel? (1-5)
  Intent: Does this channel capture buying intent? (1-5)
  Cost: What's the cost per engaged contact? (1-5, where 5 = cheapest)
  Measurability: Can we attribute pipeline to this channel? (1-5)
  Scalability: Can we increase spend and maintain efficiency? (1-5)

Score each channel, then allocate budget proportionally.
```

**Enterprise B2B Channel Guide:**

```
HIGH-INTENT CHANNELS (bottom of funnel - capture existing demand):
  Search (Google Ads): Captures active searchers for your category
  Review sites (G2, TrustRadius): Buyers actively comparing
  Demo/trial requests (website): Highest intent, lowest volume
  → Allocate: 15-25% of budget. Maximize these first.

ENGAGEMENT CHANNELS (middle of funnel - build consideration):
  LinkedIn Ads: Best B2B targeting for enterprise accounts
  Content syndication: Reach new audiences with gated content
  Webinars/virtual events: Deep engagement with qualified audiences
  Email nurture: Convert known contacts to meetings over time
  → Allocate: 35-45% of budget. Core of demand gen program.

AWARENESS CHANNELS (top of funnel - create future demand):
  SEO/content marketing: Long-term organic pipeline source
  Community/DevRel: Community engagement and thought leadership
  Field events/sponsorships: Brand presence where buyers gather
  Social organic: Thought leadership and brand building
  → Allocate: 25-35% of budget. Invest for compounding returns.

EXPERIMENTAL (test new channels):
  Podcasts, partnerships, direct mail, influencer, new platforms
  → Allocate: 5-10% of budget. Test one new channel per quarter.
```

### 4. Event Strategy

**Event Program Framework** - Events are the highest-cost, highest-impact demand gen channel for enterprise B2B. Structured approach to maximizing ROI.

```
EVENT TYPES AND ROI EXPECTATIONS:

HOSTED EVENTS (you own the audience):
  Executive dinners: 8-15 attendees, intimate, high-conversion
  Workshops/labs: 15-30 attendees, hands-on, technical audience
  Roadshows: Multi-city, scaled version of dinners/workshops
  User conference: Annual, brand + community + pipeline
  Cost: $$$  |  Pipeline impact: Very High  |  Measurability: High

VIRTUAL EVENTS (scalable reach):
  Webinars: 50-200 registrants, content-led, nurture-friendly
  Virtual roundtables: 10-20 attendees, peer discussion, high engagement
  Online workshops: Hands-on technical sessions, product evaluation
  Cost: $  |  Pipeline impact: Medium  |  Measurability: High

SPONSORED EVENTS (rented audience):
  Conference sponsorship: Booth, speaking slot, attendee list
  Industry events: Vertical-specific conferences where ICP attends
  Community events: MacAdmins, BSides, DevOps Days, etc.
  Cost: $$-$$$  |  Pipeline impact: Medium  |  Measurability: Medium

PARTNER EVENTS (shared audience):
  Co-hosted webinars: Joint content with complementary vendor
  Partner conferences: Present at partner's event
  Integration workshops: Technical sessions with integration partners
  Cost: $  |  Pipeline impact: Low-Medium  |  Measurability: Medium
```

### 5. Content-to-Pipeline Strategy

**Content Engine** - Content that generates enterprise pipeline, organized by funnel stage and persona.

```
CONTENT-TO-PIPELINE MAP:

AWARENESS (attract ICP):
  Blog posts: SEO-optimized, pain-focused, 1-2 per week
  Industry reports: Original research, ungated, highly shareable
  Thought leadership: POV pieces, trend analysis, contrarian takes
  → Metric: Organic traffic from ICP companies, engagement rate

CONSIDERATION (educate evaluators):
  Case studies: Segment-specific, quantified outcomes
  Technical guides: Architecture docs, deployment guides, comparison pages
  Webinars: Problem-focused (not product-focused), featuring customers
  → Metric: Content-influenced pipeline, MQL generation

DECISION (enable purchase):
  ROI calculators: Interactive, personalized to their deployment
  Competitive comparisons: Honest, specific, evidence-backed
  Security/compliance docs: SOC2, FedRAMP, data residency
  Implementation guides: What deployment looks like, timeline, effort
  → Metric: Content consumed by opportunities, deal acceleration
```

## Context-Specific Guidance

### Open-Source / Community-Led Companies

Demand gen for OSS companies has unique dynamics:
- Community IS a demand gen channel - don't duplicate it with marketing programs
- Gated content alienates developers - use ungated content for awareness, gate only high-value decision-stage assets
- Technical content outperforms marketing content for this audience
- Community events (meetups, office hours, contributor days) generate pipeline without feeling like marketing
- Developer-focused advertising (Stack Overflow, GitHub Sponsors, podcast sponsorships) often outperforms LinkedIn for technical buyers

### Displacement / Competitive Campaigns

When running campaigns to displace a specific competitor:
- Build a competitor-specific landing page (vs. page): "[Your Product] vs. [Competitor]"
- Target competitor keywords in search (branded competitor terms)
- Create a migration guide as a lead magnet
- Retarget visitors who viewed competitor comparison content
- Time campaigns around known competitor contract renewal cycles

## Workflow

1. **Understand the pipeline target** - Pull from gtm-strategist pipeline math. Marketing's pipeline target is a specific number, not "more leads."
2. **Map the channel mix** - Allocate budget by channel based on ICP behavior and program maturity
3. **Read the playbook** - `references/demand-gen-playbook.md`
4. **Design campaigns** - Campaign blueprints for each quarter
5. **Build the scoring model** - Lead scoring + MQL/SQL definitions aligned with sales
6. **Execute and measure** - Campaign-level attribution tied to pipeline, not just leads
7. **Deliver as files** - Campaign plans as .md. Scoring models as .md or .xlsx. Channel mix as .xlsx.

## File Naming Convention

```
dg-{type}-{subject}.{ext}

Examples:
  dg-campaign-plan-q1.md
  dg-lead-scoring-model.md
  dg-channel-mix.xlsx
  dg-event-playbook-executive-dinner.md
  dg-event-playbook-webinar.md
  dg-content-calendar.xlsx
  dg-mql-sql-definitions.md
  dg-competitive-campaign-jamf.md
  dg-budget-allocation.xlsx
```
