Case Study - Nutanix
Navigating the Crowded Tech Landscape with Purposeful Storytelling
In a world where headlines are dominated by technology industry giants leading the AI revolution, how does a trailblazing hybrid multicloud software company like Nutanix make its voice heard? Enter The Forecast, a Nutanix-branded newsroom that profiles thought leaders and reports on the rapid evolution of IT tech and industry trends. Launched in 2019, the news site has consistently covered timely topics that connect with IT decision makers, practitioners and influencers in a meaningful way.
By mid-2025, the site surpassed 2 million page views year over year and that momentum continues to grow. Paid distribution efficiency improved by 64% while total clicks increased 370% year over year. In 2026, The Forecast will expand its focus on thought leaders with a new Insights section.
By focusing instead on authentic storytelling at the intersection of technology and human experience, The Forecast aims to be a beacon of inspiration, clarity and insight for anyone interested in the technologies that combine to drive digital economies around the world. So, how did this purpose-driven approach pan out? Let’s dive into the challenges, strategies, and game-changing results that have made “The Forecast” a standout player in the tech media landscape.
The Challenges
Nutanix is a pioneer of hyperconverged infrastructure, an integrated approach to managing IT hardware. The company has evolved dramatically in recent years. Its Nutanix Cloud Platform allows IT teams to easily manage resources across their own data centers and multiple public clouds while embracing existing and newer cloud native technologies. Well-loved by its growing customer base (which grew from about 14,000 to nearly 30,000 between FY19 and FY25), Nutanix lacked the wider awareness that many believe it deserved. Mainstream media coverage of technology suffered years of cutbacks, leaving the shrinking spotlight focused primarily on the industry’s big players. Even in recent years, with the enormous rise of interest in AI and the need for AI capabilities, the appetite for tech news has grown but the available news hole remains relatively small.
Key Challenges:
- Limited Media Coverage: Shrinking mainstream tech coverage left little room for emerging players like Nutanix.
- Small Company Competing with Industry Giants: The tech media landscape was dominated by big names, overshadowing Nutanix’s contributions.
- Need to Reach Broad Audience: Needed to connect with a wide range of internal stakeholders and external IT pros, investors, analysts and influencers.
- Insufficient Impact: Conventional PR and demand-gen strategies were not yielding the desired brand awareness and engagement.
The corporate communications and marketing teams needed a new way to leverage traditional PR and demand-gen efforts to captivate the interest of key audiences. They needed to connect the dots between announcements and campaigns. The idea was born to tell stories from a Nutanix perspective. Stories would provide insights from Nutanix experts, customers, partners and industry insiders, as well as innovators across different sectors. They would inform IT pros and help them understand the challenges they face and how they can adapt to meet future needs. The team agreed to take a journalist, not a sales or direct marketing approach. Through authentic storytelling, the team could build trust and a genuine interest in Nutanix. The branded news site could help elevate brand awareness and engage new and existing audiences.
The Approach
Understanding the challenges at hand, Marketing Insider Group crafted a unique content strategy for The Forecast that went beyond the usual tech jargon and buzzwords. In late 2018, we aimed to create a newsroom that was interesting and insightful, focusing on journalistic storytelling that took an industry insider’s perspective but at a high level. Stories could link to more technical information published on the Nutanix Community, Developer and Solutions sites.
But we didn’t stop there. We knew that to truly resonate, the content had to touch on the human element—how cloud innovation and digital transformation are actually changing lives and industries. Through original interviews and in-depth features, The Forecast would demystify and unwind the complexities of the IT world.
To ensure we reached the right people, we employed a multi-channel approach that included organic search and generative engine optimization, social distribution, newsletters, and even paid native media. The content calendar was robust, featuring three stories a week and one or two podcast segments each month, all designed to engage and educate. The editor in chief played an active role across marketing teams, aligning closely with the corporate comms team, then tapping into campaigns teams and in sync with the digital (paid media) team. This fed the editorial calendar by integrating the latest Nutanix resources with external trends and expert insights. Over time, these efforts would pay off as the editorial content would become useful for a broad range of uses across marketing, providing “top-of-funnel” stories that could be used in newsletters, on product websites and mixed into paid media campaigns.
Key Approaches:
- Authentic Storytelling: Focused on journalistic integrity and expert insights to set The Forecast apart from direct marketing.
- Human-Centric Content: Aimed to publish stories at the intersection of technology and human experience with stories based on expert interviews.
- Multi-Channel Distribution: Utilized SEO and GEO, social media, newsletters, and paid native media to reach a diverse audience.
- Content Variety: Published a mix of news, features, profiles, podcasts, and videos to keep the audience engaged.
The Final Outcomes
The Results: Where Purpose-Driven Content Meets Performance Metrics
By marrying authentic storytelling with a laser-focused digital content strategy, the road can be long and laborious but over time the results can be nothing short of spectacular. And for The Forecast, the numbers tell a compelling story.
The site saw a 47% YoY increase in monthly page views (July, 2023), clocking in at over 100K. First time visits? Up by 167%. And let’s not forget the podcasts, with a 50% YoY increase in monthly downloads. A few years later, things really took off. Even with organic audience shrinking due to shifts in search and generative engines, the site crossed 1M page views YoY on 5/29/25. By the end of December 2025, the site was on pace to reach 2M page views YoY.
It’s about having the right story mix and distribution strategy. Paid promotion through MIG and the Outbrain platform has become increasingly efficient as campaigns have scaled. In 2024, combined campaigns delivered a 1.93% CTR at an average CPC of $0.15. In 2025, performance accelerated significantly, reaching a 3.25% CTR with an average CPC of just $0.05. That places current performance roughly 98% below the industry average CPC benchmark of $3.00, while driving a 370% increase in total clicks year over year.
As distribution scaled, efficiency improved dramatically. Rather than paying more for volume, campaign optimization drove stronger engagement and lower costs simultaneously — proving that strategic native promotion can compound performance over time.
The paid media strategy (focusing on a handful of relevant stories each month) and consistency has built momentum over the years, allowing us to reach new audiences to often visit a second or third article. Over 2M podcasts were downloaded between August 2019-2025, and over 4,000 people subscribe to the twice-monthly email newsletter.
And here’s the kicker: The Forecast is bringing increasingly more value to Nutanix. The news site is a significant contributor to the overall number of visitors to Nutanix.com. It reaches a large portion of the marketing team’s top-tier audiences and articles often rank at the top of search and generative engines for Nutanix content. In 2026, the site will expand its thought leadership coverage with a new Insights section that will be integrated across many marketing activities. Since it’s launch in 2019, The Forecast has helped Nutanix grow the company’s digital footprint in a fiercely competitive industry.
Key Results:
- Explosive Reach: 47% YoY increase in monthly page views and a 167% rise in first time visits.
- Podcast Popularity: 45% YoY increase in podcast downloads, 2M total.
- Engagement Growth: CTR increased 68% year over year (1.93% → 3.25%).
- Cost Efficiency: Average CPC reduced 64% while scaling volume.
- Increased Efficiency at Scale: Average CPC dropped from $0.15 to $0.05, a 64% reduction while significantly increasing total click volume.
- Click Growth: 370% increase in total clicks year over year while maintaining lower acquisition costs.
- Brand Engagement: A top contributor to overall visitors on Nutanix.com, engaging over a third of key target audiences.
There you have it—the proof is in the performance. The Forecast continues to set and beat goals, increasing engagement with key audiences and setting a new standard for what purpose-driven content can achieve.
These statistics demonstratethe importance and effectiveness of Content Marketing to reach your target audience.
Working with Marketing Insider Group was a game-changer for our brand. Their team didn't just bring marketing expertise; they brought a unique blend of audience understanding, strategic insight, and high-quality content to help us redefine our value proposition. Simply put, they're not just writers; they're content marketing leaders who know how to get the job done.
Editor-in-Chief
The Forecast, Nutanix
