“You say paid marketing is expensive and ineffective? Change your strategy, and your results will change.”

Etienne, the Managing Director of Jellyfish Korea, has a front-row seat to the evolving global B2B marketing landscape. From the rise of AI and shifts in the search environment to the gap between local and global markets, and the potential of paid media to create new opportunities—discover growth strategies for your B2B business through the insights of the Jellyfish team, which supports the marketing efforts of global companies such as Workday, Salesforce, and Canva!

Q1. Hello, Mr. Etienne! Please introduce yourself.

Etienne, Country Manager of Jellyfish Korea

His connection with Korea began at KAIST and has continued through his role as the country manager of Jellyfish Korea

Hello. I’m Etienne, the Country Manager for Jellyfish Korea.

I was born and raised in France, and came to experience life in Korea when I moved there to study at KAIST. After completing my master’s degree, I relocated to the Netherlands and began building my career in the B2B SaaS sector. I worked as a sales representative at Optimizely, an American A/B testing platform, and later returned to France to join Reeport, a B2B SaaS startup.

Following Reeport’s acquisition by the global digital marketing agency Jellyfish, I have assumed the role of Country Manager for Korea. Jellyfishis a global digital marketing agency that helps global and local clients achieve tangible growth through web and app analytics, paid media, and data-driven creative strategies.

Jellyfish Korea partners with Korean companies looking to expand into overseas markets, as well as international brands targeting the Korean market. We place a high priority on effectively adapting global strategies to local markets and delivering campaigns that resonate culturally.

Q2. Given your focus on global marketing campaigns, I imagine you’re noticing a variety of changes. What changes are you paying attention to, and how are you responding to them?

Without a doubt, it’s AI technology. The impact of AI goes without saying—I’m sure everyone is already experiencing it firsthand. At Jellyfish, we’re responding to the market changes driven by AI technology from two distinct perspectives.

We are responding by examining two key areas: first, whether AI can enhance team productivity and efficiency when used as a tool, and second, how it changes user behavior in the new search environment. In particular, the search advertising market has undergone changes since the advent of AI. At Jellyfish, we view AI as a new customer and influencer, and we are developing marketing strategies tailored to this perspective.

🚀 Paid media strategies for B2B companies: It’s important to analyze the marketing landscape and focus on targeting

Q3. Many B2B professionals believe that “paid advertising is expensive but yields low conversion rates.” What is your experience when actually running campaigns?

It’s important to assess whether you’ve adjusted your strategy to reflect the changing advertising landscape.

We need to examine whether the perception that “the ROI of display ads has declined” actually reflects the need for a different approach in light of the changing advertising landscape, or if it simply means that “ROI is falling.”

Results vary depending on how you define "performance" in paid marketing. The misconception that it is high-cost and low-efficiency stems from clinging to outdated methods. The way paid media works is evolving every day, and this is especially true in the B2B sector. Since B2B involves lengthy decision-making processes and the need to satisfy the needs of various stakeholders, paid marketing must also be approached strategically. You must design the customer journey within a multi-channel environment while considering the sales cycle, and the strategy for how your brand can create touchpoints and engagement through specific messaging will determine the outcome.

When campaigns are built on clear targeting, platform strategies, and results-driven measurement, ROI doesn’t decline in the short term—it actually accelerates. The key is to evolve the way we define and track value. Rather than pulling back from paid media investments, we need to find ways to accurately measure and enhance their value.

Q4. In B2B, there are many decision-makers, and the purchasing decision process takes a long time. In this environment, what kind of results can paid marketing achieve?

Information on target audiences who have shown interest in advertisements: the driving force behind asset development that enhances corporate value

Fade marketing is not merely a tool for driving conversions; it also plays a crucial role in raising awareness of our company and building trust throughout the B2B buying journey. By publishing messages that reflect our creative and targeting strategies on the right channels, we can capture the attention of stakeholders and decision-makers.

For example, by combining thought leadership content with retargeting messages, you can engage key decision-makers at various stages of the decision-making process. The customer intent data collected in this way provides valuable insights for content strategy, sales support, and product positioning.

The data obtained through Fade Marketing serves as a key driver for building brand value and developing the sales pipeline.

🎯 Global brands striving to deliver precise targeting and a consistent brand experience

Q6. We collaborate with global partners such as Workday, Salesforce, and Canva, each of which implements paid media strategies in different ways. I’m curious to know how precise targeting drives success in global marketing strategies.

A key element of global marketing: precise customer targeting

Our partner companies accurately identify customers’ specific needs and provide optimized strategies through various channels and messages. For example, Workday focuses on its primary target audience of corporate decision-makers, while Salesforce implements a multi-channel strategy by integrating with CRM systems. Canva also implements strategies that naturally attract interested customers by combining SEO with content retargeting. Planning such precise targeting plays a crucial role in making it easier for customers to discover your brand and achieving higher conversion rates.

Jellyfish Partner Companies [Source: Jellyfish Service Brochure]

Q7. How do the data team and the creative team collaborate during the campaign optimization process at a global company? I’m curious about how the data team contributes to the direction of messages and assets, and how the creative team transforms these into content that maximizes performance.

The data and creative teams need to work together to develop co-authored, locally tailored content.

We view our data and creative teams not as separate functions, but as co-authors, and are working to strengthen collaboration between them.

The data team provides insights into which messages resonate with audiences based on channel, region, or buyer stage. These insights are naturally incorporated into the creative process, helping to determine not only which assets to use but also the tone, CTAs, and formats. The creative team then develops modular assets that are A/B testable, localizable, and scalable. This process creates an iterative loop where results are generated and used to gain further insights.

Q8. What do you think will be the most significant change in B2B marketing going forward?

Delivering a consistent brand experience through "cross-channel orchestration"

When selecting paid media for B2B marketing, I believe that targeting and personalization tailored to your budget are key to success. This is precisely why it’s important to leverage your own data to target the right accounts and customize the best creative content across various platforms.

Cross-channel orchestration is a key element of a phased strategy, and it is essential to deliver a consistent customer experience across LinkedIn, programmatic advertising (which automates the processes of ad management, buying, and measurement), connected TV (TV devices connected to the internet that can stream video, music, and web content), email, and CRM.

Q9. What are the key considerations or common misconceptions to be aware of when applying global marketing strategies to the Korean market?

We need to harmoniously blend and design global platforms and local channels.

There are many aspects of Korea’s digital media landscape that remain relatively unknown in the global market. Korea’s media ecosystem is highly concentrated; global brands must leverage not only platforms like Google, Meta, and LinkedIn, but also local channels such as Naver, Kakao, and Remember.

It’s not a matter of choosing “this or that,” but rather considering “both this and that” at the same time.

Since API-based automation is difficult for local channels in Korea, global brands may encounter data gaps. For this reason, budgets should be allocated to a more diverse media mix.

🧐 Insights from real-world examples of the world’s top B2B brands

Q10. What are Jellyfish Korea’s digital performance marketing initiatives and strategic priorities?

Beyond SEO: The Era of GEO—We Must Prioritize Strategies for Answer Engines.

SEO is set to be a game-changer in Korea. It’s currently attracting a lot of attention from businesses. While Korean companies targeting overseas markets have traditionally focused on Google Search, the emergence of AI-powered overviews and answer engines (e.g., SearchGPT) has made GEO strategy a top priority for our Jellyfish team as well.

Q11. What insights do you plan to share with domestic marketers at this conference?

At this conference, we look forward to hearing in-depth insights into the local B2B market from Korean speakers who have already achieved remarkable success. I plan to present a new approach to paid media from a global perspective.

Paid media is more than just a B2B lead generation channel. Growing brands take a strategic, holistic approach to paid media planning that goes beyond a purely sales-driven mindset. Drawing on the actual strategies of the world’s leading B2B brands, we’ll share a range of insights—from personalization strategies to cross-channel management.

Want to hear more insights and firsthand stories from Etienne, CEO of Jellyfish?

B2B ROADMAP 2025 ConferenceMeet B2B industry leaders at the B2B ROADMAP 2025 Conference.
Don’t miss this opportunity to expand and connect your business—from practical strategies to networking!

The Evolution of Fade Marketing: Jellyfish’s Global B2B Marketing Strategy