Contact level advertising strategy.

I used to run a paid advertising agency. I've been inside dozens of ad accounts and seen all kinds of crazy campaign setups.

And most companies are overcomplicating it. That's why their ads aren't performing and their budgets get cut.

You don't need 10+ different campaigns, 5 different campaign objectives and crazy attribution models. What you really need is a simple, repeatable system that you can scale.

A system that creates demand, captures it and supports the sales team until the deal closes. That's it.

I run this system at ContactLevel. The articles you're reading right now are part of it.

---

The three stages.

→ Stage 1: Contact-level ABM. Support your open deals and re-engage closed-lost opportunities. These are the closest to revenue. Start here.

→ Stage 2: Demand capture. Target contacts already showing interest in your category. Convert existing demand into pipeline.

→ Stage 3: Demand generation. Run content to a cold TAM list. Create awareness and interest where none existed. Feed more contacts into stage 2.

This is assuming you already have a pipeline. If you don't, start with demand capture.

---

Stage 1: Start with Contact-level ABM.

You have open deals. Your sales team is in contact with the stakeholders. They're CCd on email threads, attending demos, joining meetings.

You already know who's influencing the decision. These are the easiest deals to influence and you see ROI quickly.

Set up persona-based audiences and feed them content until the deal is signed and paid.

Example:

→ The CFO gets ROI content.

→ The CTO gets technical content.

→ The security lead gets compliance docs.

This gives you immediate ROI because you're supporting deals that are already moving. Your sales team doesn't have to rely on the champion to relay everything internally. Every stakeholder gets what they need directly.

Do the same for ghosted opportunities and closed-lost deals.

Contact-level ABM delivers 320% average ROI compared to 180% with traditional account-level ABM. Close rates are 85% higher when the full buying committee has been engaged.

I cover committee mapping, content by role, and how to spot knowledge gaps in the contact-level ABM deep dive.

Stage 2: Capture existing demand.

Now you go after new people who are already looking for a solution like yours.

These contacts are solution-aware. They're researching options. Maybe they found you through organic search, maybe they clicked on a competitor's ad, maybe an intent data platform flagged them.

Your job is to get your product into their consideration set.

Put these contacts into a new audience. Run product-specific content, case studies, comparison frameworks and direct CTAs. Anything that helps someone who's actively evaluating make a decision in your favor.

You can find the full breakdown in the contact-level demand capture guide.

Stage 3: Generate new demand.

This is where you go wide.

You take your cold mapped TAM — contacts who haven't shown any interest yet — and run educational content to them. Thought leader ads, branded content, articles about the problem your product solves.

Nobody in this audience knows they need you. Your job is to make them care.

Some of them engage. When they do, they create first-party intent signals that flow into your demand capture audience in stage 2. The system feeds itself.

This is usually your largest campaign by budget (40-50%) because the audience is big and the play is long. It runs continuously. It builds the pipeline that feeds everything else.

That's what I'm doing with these articles right now. Running contact-level ads to push this content to my target audience. (you)

I show you exactly how to generate new demand and feed it into stage 2 in the contact-level demand generation guide.

---

How the stages connect.

The system works because each stage feeds the next.

Stage 3 (demand gen) creates first-party intent signals → contacts who engage move to stage 2 (demand capture).

Second-party intent signals from an intent platform also feed → stage 2 (demand capture).

Stage 2 (demand capture) converts interest into meetings → successful meetings trigger stage 1 (contact-level ABM).

Stage 1 (contact-level ABM) fills knowledge gaps across the buying committee → deals close.

All three stages run simultaneously once you've built them out. Stage 3 is always warming new contacts. Stage 2 is always capturing intent. Stage 1 is always supporting active deals and re-engaging closed-lost.

Contacts move between stages based on behavior, not a timeline you set.

---

Budget allocation.

→ Stage 3 (Demand gen): 40-50% — largest audience, runs continuously

→ Stage 2 (Demand capture): 20-30% — highest-converting audience

→ Stage 1 (Contact-level ABM): 20-30% — active deals and re-engagement, highest value per contact

These percentages shift as your pipeline grows. Early on, stage 3 gets most of the budget because you need to fill the top. As more contacts flow through, stages 2 and 1 need more.

---

Platform allocation.

Stage 3 (Demand gen).

→ LinkedIn: Thought leader ads. Credibility platform.

→ Meta: Cheaper frequency. Same contacts, evenings and weekends.

→ Reddit: Cheapest impressions if your audience is there.

Stage 2 (Demand capture).

→ LinkedIn: Product-specific sponsored content.

→ Google/YouTube: Pre-roll to your intent audience.

→ Meta: Retarget engaged contacts cheaply.

Stage 1 (Contact-level ABM).

→ LinkedIn: Thought leader ads from different team members to different stakeholders.

→ Meta: High-frequency retargeting to the full buying committee.

---

Where to start.

Don't build all three at once.

Start with stage 1 (Contact-level ABM).

You probably have open deals right now where the buying committee isn't seeing any marketing content. Map the stakeholders. Set up persona-based audiences. Run content to them. You'll feel the impact within weeks because these deals are already in your pipeline.

While you're at it, pull your closed-lost list. Same exercise. Segment by persona. Run the content they missed. Some of these will come back.

Then add stage 2 (Demand capture).

If you have any contacts showing intent — website visitors, email clickers, signals from an intent platform — put them in a campaign with product-specific content. This is your fastest path to new pipeline.

Then add stage 3 (Demand gen).

Run thought leader ads to your cold TAM list. After 30 days, you'll have enough first-party signals to start feeding stage 2 consistently.

Build one stage at a time. Each stage is useful on its own. Together, they're a system where ads support every part of the buyer journey from first touch to signed contract.

Go deeper.

Each stage has a dedicated deep-dive:

→ Contact-level demand capture — stage 1. How to convert existing intent into pipeline.

→ Contact-level demand generation — stage 2. How to create demand where none existed.

→ Contact-level ABM — stage 3. How to close deals by marketing to the full buying committee.

Supporting:

→ Thought leader ads — the primary ad format for stages 2 and 3.

→ Contact-level intent data — the two types of signals that feed stage 1.

→ Contact-level targeting — how identity enrichment ensures your ads reach the right contacts at each stage.