Thought leadership only creates value when the right people see it.
For many B2B brands, creating insightful research and compelling content isn’t the hard part. The real challenge is getting it in front of decision-makers who matter.
That was exactly the challenge facing Jumpmind. The company had invested heavily in producing original retail research and thought leadership, but its owned channels could only take that content so far. To increase awareness among retail decision-makers and practitioners, Jumpmind partnered with SmartBrief to extend its reach through one of retail’s most trusted editorial environments: NRF SmartBrief..
The Challenge: Great Content, Limited Reach
Jumpmind had built a steady pipeline of original research and thought leadership rooted in real retailer insights. While the content consistently resonated with existing audiences, the marketing team needed a way to introduce it to new retail leaders outside of its owned channels.
As Heather Primavera, Director of Marketing at Jumpmind, explained, the challenge wasn’t the quality of the content—it was getting that content in front of the right audience at scale. The goal wasn’t simply to generate impressions, but to reach retail professionals already interested in the topics Jumpmind was addressing.
The Solution: Reach Buyers in a Trusted Editorial Environment
Rather than placing ads in broad B2B channels, Jumpmind partnered with SmartBrief to distribute its research within NRF SmartBrief, where retail executives actively consume industry news and insights.
The partnership offered several advantages:
- Access to a highly engaged retail audience beyond Jumpmind’s owned channels
- Alignment with the trusted National Retail Federation (NRF) brand
- Placement alongside editorial content readers intentionally choose to consume
- A professional environment where audiences are already in a learning mindset rather than being interrupted by advertising
For Jumpmind, the credibility of the NRF brand was particularly valuable.
“Retail is a relationship-driven industry, and the NRF brand carries weight with the exact buyers we are trying to reach.”
That trust translated into stronger engagement. In fact, Jumpmind’s European Connected Shopper Report became the top-performing campaign of its program, exceeding SmartBrief benchmarks and validating that its research resonated well beyond its existing audiency aligned with major industry events, helping build awareness before attendees stepped onto the show floor.
The Results: Quality Engagement from Senior Retail Decision-Makers
The campaign delivered more than awareness—it reached the people who influence buying decisions.
Campaign Highlights
- 100,000+ impressions delivered
- 95+ clicks from a focused, high-intent audience
- 0.1% click-through rate
- 75% of all clicks came from manager-level professionals and above, confirming the campaign reached decision-makers—not simply practitioners.
For the Jumpmind team, audience quality mattered as much as campaign metrics.
The seniority of engaged readers reinforced that SmartBrief wasn’t simply delivering volume—it was delivering relevance. Readers encountered Jumpmind’s research within a trusted editorial environment, making them more receptive than audiences exposed to interruptive advertising.
Read more about the SmartBrief and Jumpmind partnership here.