At some point, most organizations that operate in well-established or even “old school” industries, especially the successful ones with decades of experience, find themselves ready to take the next step: a more digital approach to their marketing and sales enablement efforts.
That’s usually when we get to come along, especially for internationally operating B2B companies. This was the moment for MacGregor, a global leader in cargo and load handling with over 200 years of maritime industry experience. They deliver engineering solutions for handling cargo, offshore loads, and mooring vessels across ports and at sea.
This collaboration has been one of our most rewarding. It combines our deep experience in the global maritime industry with a shared drive for results-oriented marketing, all while working with people who share similar values.
From Pilot to Deep Collaboration with the Growth Marketing Team
What began as a three-month pilot has evolved into a deeply integrated collaboration over the past two years. Both the scale and demands have grown as MacGregor has reached higher levels of maturity and set ambitious goals for the coming years.
Through our Growth Marketing Team service, we work together continuously on initiatives outlined in our shared OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). Our work ranges from full-funnel digital marketing campaigns to developing marketing capabilities. These initiatives connect directly with MacGregor’s strategic planning model and goals. This is Marketing-as-a-Service—a tightly knit, proactive collaboration where everyone has a sense of ownership in what they’re doing.
The collaboration has grown organically as marketing maturity increases and everyone’s happy with the results. With each step forward, there’s a better opportunity to expand digital marketing’s role across more commercial operations. This kind of growth requires technology, refined processes, and people’s understanding, and it needs time to stick.
The Customer Perspective
No collaboration story is complete without the customer’s perspective. Janina Aalto, Senior Marketing Manager at MacGregor, has been the driving force behind the partnership from MacGregor’s side, pioneering the cooperation and serving as our main collaborator throughout. I asked her to reflect on the journey so far.
Janina brings 16 years of experience in global B2B industrial marketing. At MacGregor, she leads Marketing in the Merchant business and is architecting a transformation of the company’s global marketing capabilities, repositioning the function as a strategic engine for scalable growth. She’s a firm believer that a high-energy, collaborative, and curious environment is the secret ingredient for long-term success.
Questions & Answers
A: I saw great potential there, but also a major risk: if we don’t utilise available technology, we will continue to lose ground as the digital marketing landscape develops.
A: The maritime industry is traditional, but the world is changing, technology is developing, and competition is tougher than ever, so we have to be agile in our technology adoption to stay successful.
A: We wanted an agile partner who understands our needs, can scale with our evolving requirements, and is a proactive brainstorming collaborator.
A: When we began, we didn’t see the journey we had in front of us. Looking back, we have done so much more together than we first imagined at the beginning.
A: I can say that we have started the journey and are heading in the right direction. The more we learn, the more we understand; in short, I see even greater potential in digital marketing today than I ever did before.
A: We have truly evolved by moving away from old-school marketing and leaning into a much more digital, data-driven way of working. This collaboration has allowed us to level up both our strategic marketing and our tactical execution, sharpening our skills in areas like AI integration, account-based marketing, and advanced analytics. Our focus now is on translating these wins into clear commercial impact, proving how our increased marketing maturity is driving the company’s bottom line in a language that resonates with everyone.
A: It might sound like a cliché, but the most important thing is just to take the first step. Our case is a good example of that; we started when we couldn’t see the full journey ahead, but now, the way forward is much clearer.
Janina also shared a reflection on the journey:
“This journey has not been easy, but I believe that change never is. It requires a lot of internal alignment and a commitment to educating the organization while simultaneously executing the strategy. You have to truly believe in the vision, as you are the one driving it internally. While demanding, it has been incredibly rewarding. This has been a true team effort, so my thanks go to my supportive managers and colleagues for such a good collaboration.”
Want to learn more about the collaboration? Check out the case study >