+200%
increase in demos set at a conference
+700%
increase in demos occurred at a conference
+36%
over conference lead generation goal
Objectives & Goals
Branding & Lead Gen
Digital Dealer is arguably one of the most popular automotive events in the industry. Following a rebrand and new growth strategy, ActivEngage needed a strong foothold at the conference to promote its new initiatives. We aimed to promote the brand and generate qualified event leads using a modest budget. Our goals were the following:
Capture 50 verifiable leads at the event
Set 15 demo appointments with a 50% show rate
Maintain conference costs under $40K
Strategy
Maximum Impact
To ensure we could maximize time and resources, I took a multi-pronged approach that included pre-event marketing and PR, as well as maximum onsite exposure and engagement, including:
PR Buzz
Speaking Session
Lead Generation
Conference Booth
PR Buzz
Media Exposure
In order to create buzz around our new product, ActivSEO, which we intended to present at the upcoming conference, our goal was to release a press statement on behalf of the company in late July as part of our PR strategy. The purpose of this press statement was to increase brand awareness prior to the event.
Speaking Session
Thought Leadership
The company president was selected to speak at the conference, providing good PR and thought leadership. Below is a snapshot of the session plan:
Topic: Even before the pandemic, automotive e-commerce was a hot topic, which is why we chose Digital Retailing: A Practical Guide.
Speaker: We wanted a speaker with clout in the industry, so we chose the company president.
Prep: We hired a speaking coach three months in advance and had a series of run-throughs.
Lead Generation
Promotions
To encourage dealers to book a demo at the conference before the event, we created a promotion where the first 15 dealers to get a demo would receive a $75 gift card. We targeted General Managers, Internet Directors, and Sales Managers. Onsite, we generated leads by offering a giveaway that dealerships were coveting at the time: a new drone. It was front and center at the booth, and entering the giveaway was easy: all attendees had to do was scan their badge.
The win: The giveaway winner became a customer shortly after.
Targeted Outreach
We had access to a vendor portal through which we could contact attendees via masked email. We were only allowed 25 outreach attempts, and unless the attendee responded, we couldn't see their email address. To increase the chances of responses, I conducted research on each prospect and sent targeted emails. In the email, I also included an appointment calendar to facilitate conversions.
The win: We reached our 'demos booked' goal in less than 20 emails.
10x20 Booth
We wanted to showcase our new branding with a modern and sleek booth design. The theme was centered around the idea of "new," which was reflected in a word cloud on the back wall with the word "NEW!" at the center. We had a demo station for appointments near the word bubble, and on the other side, we displayed a video of our new products on a 60-inch monitor.
Design costs were a challenge due to the 30% budget allocated to booth space, but we managed to keep costs at $16K by working closely with our booth vendor.
Results
Event Success
Not only did we achieve all 3 goals, but we also closed a record amount of deals from the event.
Demos Set: 15
Demos Occurred: 8
Onsite Leads Generated: 68
Total Event Cost: $37,500
