# Marketo Programs vs HubSpot Campaigns: How to Organise Your Marketing Campaigns in 2026 ## Table of Contents - [Introduction](#introduction) - [What Are Programs in Marketo](#what-are-programs-in-marketo) - [Types of Programs in Marketo](#types-of-programs-in-marketo) - [What Are Campaigns in HubSpot](#what-are-campaigns-in-hubspot) - [Structural Comparison: Programs vs Campaigns](#structural-comparison-programs-vs-campaigns) - [ROI Reporting: How Each Platform Measures Campaign Impact](#roi-reporting-how-each-platform-measures-campaign-impact) - [Multi-Channel Management](#multi-channel-management) - [Use Cases: When to Use Programs and When to Use Campaigns](#use-cases-when-to-use-programs-and-when-to-use-campaigns) - [Best Practices for Campaign Organisation in 2026](#best-practices-for-campaign-organisation-in-2026) - [Frequently Asked Questions](#frequently-asked-questions) - [Conclusion](#conclusion) - [References](#references) --- ## Introduction The way you organise your marketing campaigns in your automation platform has a direct impact on your ability to measure ROI, optimise performance and scale your marketing operations. Marketo and HubSpot have very different approaches to campaign organisation: Marketo Programs and HubSpot Campaigns. This guide compares both systems in detail, explains their strengths and limitations, and provides practical recommendations for organising your campaigns effectively in 2026. --- ## What Are Programs in Marketo In Marketo, a Programme is the main unit of campaign organisation. A Programme groups all the assets (emails, landing pages, forms, Smart Campaigns) and members (leads) related to a specific marketing initiative. ### Programme Structure A Marketo Programme has: - **Assets:** Emails, landing pages, forms, Smart Campaigns, static lists. - **Members:** The leads that have interacted with the Programme. - **Statuses:** The statuses a Programme member can have (Invited, Registered, Attended, etc.). - **Tokens:** Custom variables defined at Programme level that can be used in all Programme assets. - **Reporting:** Programme performance metrics (members, conversions, cost, pipeline generated). --- ## Types of Programs in Marketo Marketo has four types of Programmes, each designed for a specific use case: ### 1. Default Programme The most flexible Programme type. Used for any marketing initiative that does not fit into the other types. It is the starting point for most custom use cases. **Use cases:** Custom nurturing campaigns, scoring programmes, re-engagement campaigns, onboarding programmes. ### 2. Email Programme Designed specifically for bulk email sends with integrated A/B testing capabilities. **Features:** - A/B testing of subject line, content or send date. - Integrated Smart List to define the audience. - Integrated email reporting (open rate, click rate, conversion rate). - Email approval before sending. **Use cases:** Newsletters, bulk email campaigns, email A/B testing. ### 3. Engagement Programme Designed for long-term nurturing programmes. Automatically manages the delivery of content to leads over time, ensuring each lead receives the right content at the right time. **Features:** - Content streams (sequences of emails and other assets). - Configurable send cadence (weekly, fortnightly, monthly). - Automatic management of lead progression between streams. - Exhaustion: automatic detection when a lead has consumed all available content. **Use cases:** B2B nurturing programmes, onboarding programmes, customer education programmes. ### 4. Event Programme Designed for event management (webinars, conferences, trade shows). Includes native integrations with webinar platforms (Zoom, GoToWebinar, ON24) and event lifecycle management (registration, reminder, post-event follow-up). **Features:** - Native integration with webinar platforms. - Automatic management of event statuses (Invited, Registered, Attended, No-Show). - Pre-defined Smart Campaigns for each event phase. - Attendance and engagement reporting. **Use cases:** Webinars, virtual conferences, in-person trade shows. --- ## What Are Campaigns in HubSpot In HubSpot, a Campaign is a label that groups all marketing assets related to a specific initiative. Unlike Marketo Programmes, HubSpot Campaigns do not have their own hierarchical structure; they are more a way of tagging and grouping assets for reporting. ### What Can Be Associated with a Campaign in HubSpot - Marketing emails. - Landing pages. - Forms. - Workflows. - Paid ads (Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Facebook Ads). - Social posts. - Blog posts. - CTAs (Call-to-Action). - Web pages. ### Campaign Reporting in HubSpot HubSpot provides a Campaign dashboard that shows the performance of all assets associated with the Campaign: - Web sessions generated. - New contacts generated. - Deals generated. - Revenue generated (if revenue attribution is configured). - Performance by channel (email, landing page, ads, social). --- ## Structural Comparison: Programs vs Campaigns | Aspect | Marketo Programs | HubSpot Campaigns | |---|---|---| | Nature | Structured container with assets and members | Grouping label for reporting | | Types | 4 specialised types | One generic type | | Assets included | Emails, LPs, forms, Smart Campaigns | Emails, LPs, forms, Workflows, ads, social | | Member management | Yes (with customisable statuses) | No (contacts are not "members" of the Campaign) | | Tokens | Yes (My Tokens at Programme level) | No | | A/B testing | Yes (in Email Programmes) | Yes (in emails and landing pages) | | ROI reporting | Advanced (with Salesforce) | Advanced (native in HubSpot) | | Ease of use | Medium-high | High | | Flexibility | Very high | Medium | --- ## ROI Reporting: How Each Platform Measures Campaign Impact ### ROI Reporting in Marketo Marketo measures Programme ROI through: - **Programme Membership:** How many leads have interacted with the Programme. - **Programme Success:** How many leads have reached the "success" status in the Programme (e.g., "Attended" for a webinar or "Converted" for a landing page). - **Pipeline Generated:** How much sales pipeline the Programme has generated (requires Salesforce integration). - **Revenue Generated:** How much revenue the Programme has generated (requires Salesforce integration and Revenue Cycle Analytics). ### ROI Reporting in HubSpot HubSpot measures Campaign ROI through: - **Contacts generated:** How many new contacts the Campaign has generated. - **Deals generated:** How many deals the Campaign has generated. - **Revenue generated:** How much revenue the Campaign has generated (with HubSpot's revenue attribution model). - **Performance by channel:** Which channels have generated the most contacts, deals and revenue. HubSpot has a significant advantage in ROI reporting because it does not require integration with an external CRM; the CRM is integrated into the same platform. --- ## Multi-Channel Management ### Marketo Marketo is primarily designed for email marketing and automation. Managing additional channels (paid ads, social media, SMS) requires integrations with third-party tools. ### HubSpot HubSpot has a significant advantage in multi-channel management. HubSpot Campaigns can include assets from multiple channels (email, landing pages, paid ads, social media, blog posts) in one place, which facilitates a holistic view of Campaign performance. --- ## Use Cases: When to Use Programs and When to Use Campaigns ### Use Marketo Programs when: - You need to manage the complete lifecycle of an event (webinar, conference) with custom statuses. - You have complex nurturing programmes with multiple content streams and advanced progression logic. - You need to use custom tokens at programme level to reuse the same Smart Campaigns across multiple programmes with different content. - You need very granular ROI reporting at programme level with Salesforce Revenue Cycle Analytics integration. ### Use HubSpot Campaigns when: - You want a holistic view of a marketing initiative's performance across multiple channels (email, landing pages, ads, social). - You need fast, easy-to-configure ROI reporting without integration with an external CRM. - You have a small marketing team that needs to manage multiple channels from a single platform. - You want to compare the performance of different marketing initiatives easily. --- ## Best Practices for Campaign Organisation in 2026 ### 1. Define a Campaign Taxonomy Before Starting Before creating your first Campaign or Programme, define a clear taxonomy: how you will name campaigns, how you will organise them by type, channel and time period. A consistent taxonomy makes reporting and asset searching easier. **Taxonomy example:** - `[Year] - [Quarter] - [Type] - [Name]` - `2026 - Q1 - Webinar - Introduction to HubSpot CMS` - `2026 - Q1 - Nurturing - MQL B2B SaaS` ### 2. Use One Programme/Campaign per Marketing Initiative Avoid the temptation to reuse the same Programme or Campaign for multiple initiatives. Each initiative should have its own Programme or Campaign to facilitate reporting and performance analysis. ### 3. Define KPIs for Each Campaign Before Launching Before launching a Campaign, define the KPIs you will use to measure its success: number of contacts generated, conversion rate, pipeline generated, revenue generated. This makes subsequent performance evaluation easier. ### 4. Regularly Review Campaign Performance Schedule monthly or quarterly reviews of active Campaign performance. Identify the best and worst performing Campaigns and use these insights to optimise future ones. --- ## Frequently Asked Questions **Can I use Marketo Programs and HubSpot Campaigns simultaneously?** If you use Marketo for marketing automation and HubSpot CRM for sales management, you can use Marketo Programmes for automation and HubSpot Campaigns for ROI reporting. However, this requires an integration between both platforms. **Do Marketo Programs have an asset limit?** There is no official limit on the number of assets per Programme. However, Programmes with too many assets can be difficult to manage. As a best practice, limit Programmes to a maximum of 20–30 assets. **Do HubSpot Campaigns have start and end dates?** Yes, HubSpot Campaigns have start and end dates. This allows reporting to be filtered by time period and the performance of different Campaigns in the same period to be compared. **Can I associate a HubSpot Workflow with multiple Campaigns?** No, a HubSpot Workflow can only be associated with one Campaign at a time. If the same Workflow is relevant to multiple Campaigns, you need to create copies of the Workflow for each Campaign. **Does Marketo have an equivalent to HubSpot Campaigns for multi-channel reporting?** Marketo has "Programme Tags" that allow Programmes to be labelled with attributes such as channel, content type or market segment. These tags can be used to filter reporting in the Revenue Cycle Explorer. However, HubSpot's multi-channel reporting is more intuitive and easier to configure. --- ## Conclusion Marketo Programs and HubSpot Campaigns are two different approaches to organising marketing campaigns, each with its strengths and limitations. Marketo Programs are more structured and powerful for complex use cases (event management, advanced nurturing, ROI reporting with Salesforce). HubSpot Campaigns are more flexible and easier to use for multi-channel management and ROI reporting without integration with an external CRM. The choice between the two depends on your technology stack, the complexity of your campaigns and your team's capabilities. At Emovere we can help you design the optimal campaign structure for your company, regardless of the platform you use. Contact our team for a free consultation. --- ## References [1] Adobe — Marketo Engage Programs Documentation. https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/marketo/using/product-docs/core-marketo-concepts/programs/ [2] HubSpot — Campaigns Tool Documentation. https://knowledge.hubspot.com/campaigns/ [3] Adobe — Marketo Engage Engagement Programs. https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/marketo/ [4] HubSpot Academy — Inbound Marketing Certification. https://academy.hubspot.com/ [5] Sirius Decisions — B2B Campaign Planning Framework. https://www.siriusdecisions.com/