How We Helped Ashling Partners Use a Digital Overlay at an In-Person Event to Increase MQLs
Overview
Number Of People Who Stopped By Their Booth YoY
7x
New MQLs from the conference
183
Demo requests after the conference
18
“Having a digital aspect to an in-person event would facilitate strong email delivery and engagement rates after the event concluded
Automation Around the World
We locked in on an interactive “experience” through the world of automation called Automation Around the World. Conference-goers checked in at different Ashling Partners events to get four passport stamps by scanning a QR code to enter to win “Two Tickets to Paradise” (two flights to the Caribbean).
To get fast-tracked to all four stamps, users could stop by and scan the QR code at their main booth (“Base Camp”).
As soon as an attendee checked in from a QR code, the journey primarily took place in HubSpot’s Marketing Hub:
- First, they were taken to a HubSpot landing page to complete a form. Every page was mobile-optimized and included travel-themed Lottie animations.
- From there, they were put into a workflow which increased a custom property (Passport Stamp) to notate how many check-ins they had, then deployed the correct email aligned with one of the four stamps. Each email included a GIF of the number of stamps stamping the guest’s passport.
- Finally, the thank you message after the initial form submission took the user to a “Upgrade to First Class” page that allowed them to self-select that they want a personalized demo of Ashling Partners’ tools and skills after the event.
“The last-minute change to have contacts upgrade to first class worked out well. We were able to highlight to our sales team the first contacts to prioritize reaching out to following the event.” – Mike DeLeonardis, Chief Growth Officer.
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The Results
Shooting Far Beyond Our Goals
Over the course of the four-day conference, we saw the following numbers:
- Ashling Partners gained 183 NEW MQLs from the conference.
- 89 people stopped by the Ashling Partners main booth and scanned in or provided their contact information through a participant badge scan.
- 18 people “upgraded to first class” by requesting a personalized demo after the event.
- 164 people checked into Ashling Partners’ off-site event, PALOOZA, on the first night of the conference.
All in all, Ashling Partners had one of the busiest showings of the conference when it came to the number of people engaging at Base Camp and their breakout-style sessions. Not only did they far exceed their expected numbers at the conference, but they also made a major dent in their overall MQL goals for the second half of the year.
“The strong showing at FORWARD 5 helps us refine our marketing approach for 2023 and beyond. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with SmartBug and continue the momentum from this event.” – Marshall Sied, co-Founder.
