Thermo Fisher Scientific and NetApp on Demand Generation in B2B
In a recent episode of the B2B Marketing Leaders Podcast, Olga Bondareva, founder of ModumUp, talks about demand generation in B2B with experts from enterprise companies:
Irina Chernova Demand Marketing Manager EMEA & LATAM at NetApp
Aleksandra Savina, Demand Generation Manager, Global Marketing, Olink Proteomics, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific
Demand Gen as the Last Mile to Pipeline
At NetApp, Irina Chernova described targeted demand as the last mile between strategic demand programs and a sales conversation. Her team takes leads, runs digital engagement, and moves contacts through activities until they are ready for a sales rep and, eventually, an opportunity. Pipeline created and won pipeline are the core KPIs.
At Thermo Fisher Scientific, Aleksandra Savina runs global demand generation programs in the proteomics (the analysis of proteins in biological samples) division. She turns scientific and product priorities into campaigns: audience definition, channel mix, nurture flows, and handoff to sales when a lead is worth pursuing.
What Works: Building Campaigns Around Content Systems
Irina Chernova at NetApp shared how a monthly engineering-led webinar series became one of the company's strongest demand gen engines. Originally aimed at existing customers, the team added invitations, follow-up emails, and audience enrichment to reach the full marketable database. Recordings went to external platforms for lead acquisition, and LinkedIn expanded reach. Engineering and demand gen started co-creating content for prospects, not only installed-base users. It is now one of NetApp's most successful ongoing campaigns.
Aleksandra Savina at Thermo Fisher Scientific pointed to campaigns built around buyer problems and search questions, not product features. One proteomics program ran 3-4 months: a third-party webinar, a syndicated white paper, a blog post, and social promotion of the same core content across channels. The result was a clear pipeline impact.
Lessons from Less Successful Programs
Both guests were open about programs that did not deliver the results they expected.
At NetApp, appointment-setting campaigns with external vendors generated leads that felt cold to customers and sales reps alike. For NetApp's business at the time, nurturing contacts through content on a structured journey worked better than pushing for meetings early. Irina noted that this format may work for other companies, but it was not the right fit for their model.
At Thermo Fisher Scientific, Aleksandra Savina described a common pattern she has seen: teams invest heavily in a single white paper or ebook and promote it in isolation. Even strong assets perform better inside a full journey, with clear messaging and a customer problem at the center. She often asks colleagues a simple question: would you share your contact details to get access to this resource?
The team also learned from educational landing pages that combined gated and ungated content with several CTAs on one screen. Permanent website pages tend to work better for paid traffic, and too many options on one page can reduce conversion.
Orchestration Across Teams
Irina Chernova said about 90% of her role is orchestration. Targeted demand sits inside field marketing and works with area marketing managers, strategic demand, events (including post-event follow-up), communications, PR, analyst relations, and social. A digital team executes campaigns from briefs. Tools include Marketo, Salesforce, Asana, Power BзI, and Microsoft Copilot.
At Thermo Fisher Scientific, Aleksandra Savina coordinates with therapeutic-area leads who own content and sales alignment. She manages the advertising budget and closes the loop with analytics dashboards: what was planned, what ran, what pipeline came back.
AI: Goals First, Tools Second
Neither speaker treats AI as a strategy on its own. Aleksandra Savina uses HubSpot, including AI visibility features to see how the brand appears in prompts versus competitors. Irina Chernova uses Copilot for meeting scheduling, campaign plan drafts, and content co-creation when she needs a starting point.
On AI search, Aleksandra Savina's team added FAQ content and llms.txt files, and shapes blog posts in natural question-and-answer language so LLMs can pick up the right narrative. Irina Chernova focuses on messaging tied to customer pain points, while a dedicated web team handles technical SEO for AI search.
Pipeline, Accounts, and the Invisible Work Behind Demand Gen
Account selection differs by company. At Thermo Fisher Scientific, investment follows therapeutic areas, growth segments, and alignment with sales on where grants and corporate funding flow. At NetApp, campaigns target sales-approved account lists, with propensity signals for likely buyers in the next 6-18 months.
Both teams measure pipeline in Salesforce. At NetApp, marketing tracks lead-generated pipeline and account-influenced pipeline when multiple contacts from one company engage before a rep opens an opportunity.
B2B buying takes many touch points over long cycles. Depending on segment and market, Irina Chernova has seen timelines from 3 months to 2 years. High-intent signals include workshop sign-ups, event registration, or calculator use.
Irina Chernova closed with a point that both speakers echoed: when a rep walks up to a prospect at an event and gets a real conversation, that is only the visible part of a much longer journey. Demand gen's role is the repeated engagement underneath - building familiarity and trust until the buyer is ready to talk. Marketing and sales share that journey; each team owns a different part of it.
A big thank you to Irina and Aleksandra for sharing practical examples from NetApp and Thermo Fisher Scientific - from content repurposing and pipeline measurement to setting realistic expectations across marketing and sales.
You can check out the full episode on the B2B Marketing Leaders Podcast: