The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)

B2B Ad Campaigns: Real Test Results from 7 Channels with Pranav Piyush


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#259 Paid Ads | In this episode, Dave is joined by Pranav Piyush, founder and CEO of Paramark, a platform helping B2B marketers run real experiments to measure ad performance. Pranav brings a sharp point of view on attribution, channel performance, and how to actually prove what’s working across your paid media mix.

Dave and Pranav cover:

  • Real-world results from 7 B2B ad campaigns, including branded search, YouTube, billboards, and Performance Max
  • Why most marketers are misusing the word “test” and how to run true experiments with lift, control, and causality
  • How even small teams can apply experiment design (on a $10K budget or less) to make smarter spend decisions

Whether you're managing a big budget or just getting started with paid campaigns, this episode will help you think more critically, and confidently, about where and how to invest in B2B marketing.


Timestamps

  • (00:00) - – Intro
  • (03:34) - – Why Paramark pulled real data from 7 B2B ad campaigns
  • (06:04) - – Attribution vs. experimentation: what most marketers get wrong
  • (09:34) - – Correlation vs. causation explained (with a LinkedIn example)
  • (12:19) - – How to run a real test (hint: you need a control)
  • (13:34) - – Branded search test results: $1M+ saved, no performance loss
  • (18:34) - – Why strong SEO makes or breaks branded search tests
  • (19:34) - – Billboard test: how one brand proved real lift with out-of-home
  • (23:04) - – What “digital out-of-home” looks like in B2B
  • (24:34) - – YouTube ad tests: one big win, one big flop
  • (29:50) - – How to run tests with small budgets ($500–$10K)
  • (34:20) - – Connected TV (CTV) test results from a Series F SaaS brand
  • (36:20) - – What happens when a multichannel test works—but isn’t efficient
  • (38:20) - – Paramark’s Exit Five sponsorship test (real numbers shared)
  • (41:50) - – Why content needs to drive short-term lift, not just long-term “brand”
  • (44:50) - – How Pranav used LinkedIn to drive inbound from day one
  • (46:50) - – Your attribution model is lying, give your audience more credit
  • (48:20) - – When 7 ad tests fail in a row…and the 8th one works
  • (49:50) - – Performance Max test: why it worked for one brand
  • (51:50) - – How long to run a test? Use data, not gut
  • (53:50) - – Bonus: Pranav’s hiring playbook for his first marketing leader
  • (57:50) - – Wrap up and final takeaways

  • Send guest pitches and ideas to [email protected]
    Join the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
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    ***

    Today’s episode is brought to you by Zuddl.

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    Head over to zuddl.com/exitfive to learn more. 


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    The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)By Dave Gerhardt

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