# StratusGrid: A year of B2B paid media for an AWS partner

A year of B2B paid media for StratusGrid, an AWS partner: 121 MQLs and 34 opportunities in Q1 alone.

- Industry: B2B SaaS
- Services: Paid media, Marketing Strategy
- My role: Planned and ran paid media all year
- Audience: Tech leaders running on AWS
- Tools used: LinkedIn Ads, Meta Ads, Google Ads, Reddit Ads, HubSpot, Clay, G2
- Case study page: https://dilosan.com/work/stratusgrid/

## The brand

StratusGrid is an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner. It helps companies move to AWS, modernize and keep cloud costs down. In 2024 it sold a FinOps product, Stratusphere (about $12,000 average customer value), and services worth $70,000 (cost optimization) and $500,000 (migration).

## Why

In 2024, StratusGrid wanted a steady flow of qualified leads, first for its FinOps product, then for its AWS services.

## How

1. Q1: I ran free trial ads for Stratusphere on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and Reddit.
2. Q2: when the client moved to selling services, I tested 23 LinkedIn campaigns (FinOps, private equity and VMware migration), 2 Google Ads campaigns and 11 Facebook campaigns.
3. I tested creatives built on pop culture the audience grew up with, like Pac-Man and The Matrix, and a quick one on the CrowdStrike blue screen while it was in the news.
4. For Reddit, I studied the best-performing ads first, then wrote casual, plain ads that fit in with normal posts.
5. Q3: I moved budget to top-of-funnel webinars, tested Google Ads in cheaper regions like India, and built ABM audiences in Clay and intent audiences from G2.

## Step by step

1. **Q1: free trial ads for the product.** Ads on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and Reddit pushed a free trial of Stratusphere.
2. **Creative tests.** I tested pop culture the audience grew up with, and a quick one on the CrowdStrike blue screen while it was in the news.
3. **Reddit, written like Reddit.** I studied the best Reddit ads first, then wrote plain posts that fit in.
4. **Q2: selling services.** The client moved to services worth $70,000 and $500,000. I tested 23 LinkedIn, 2 Google and 11 Facebook campaigns.
5. **Q3: reach people earlier.** Migration deals take months, so I planned webinars, cheaper regions like India, and ABM audiences from Clay.

## What happened

- Q1: 121 MQLs and 34 opportunities, 120 of the MQLs from Facebook
- Q1 ad spend: $23,929 (Reddit $1,766)
- Q2: 43 MQLs and 4 opportunities for $70K and $500K services
- Q2 ad spend: $12,031
- 146 webinar sign-ups
- 2 customers who found StratusGrid through Reddit ads

## What I learned

- The product’s sign-up was slow: leads waited for log-in details, then faced a 30+ minute AWS setup. Fewer MQLs became users, so we moved budget to services.
- Engineers want tools that make their job easier, but a cost-cutting service can feel like a threat to their role. I targeted the people who buy services instead.
- Migration deals take 3 to 6+ months, so webinars and ebooks that reach people early worked better than asking for a sales call.

Work by Dilosan Ravindran. Contact: hey@dilosan.com