Full-funnel launch strategy secures 19x ROI for Reed Exhibitions

The launch of a new regional event brand requires a marketing strategy that can engage and convert both exhibitors and attendees. For the launch of the Saudi National Security & Risk Prevention (SNSR) Expo, Reed Exhibitions Middle East built that strategy on LinkedIn. Reed Exhibitions Middle East worked with its agency Latitude to create an always-on awareness campaign that integrated targeted thought-leadership content with follow-up through Sales Navigator. This approach translated engagement into leads, opportunities and signed contracts that represented more than 20% of the show’s total revenues.

Building a revenue pipeline on brand awareness

Starting from a base of zero awareness, the marketing team for Reed Exhibitions Middle East knew that they had to take SNSR’s target audiences on a journey. “We were following a path from awareness through to acquisition, and that always works best when you have a good content strategy,” says Uzma Yusuff, head of the business’s Marketing Solution Centre. “We wanted a consistent flow of content to build awareness throughout the year – not just in the run-up to the event.”

Uzma’s team started by creating a Showcase Page for the SNSR Expo that could form the hub for a LinkedIn community interested in risk and security issues. Targeted Sponsored Content, video and Follower Ads quickly built follower numbers while raising general awareness across relevant roles and industries. Building on this awareness, Reed Exhibitions and Latitude developed tailored content strategies for moving both exhibitors and attendees towards booking. “We worked with industry experts to create a security industry white paper that proved to be a really valuable piece for driving leads,” says Uzma. “On the attendee side, we used Carousel Ads to talk about the features of the expo and what people could expect to see at the show.”

Driving lead quality and conversions through sales and marketing integration

The value of LinkedIn to SNSR wasn’t just measured in terms of the number of leads. It was the quality of those leads, and the ability to nurture them through to the contract stage using the platform, that provided Reed Exhibitions Middle East with the revenue-generating engine that SNSR needed.

“LinkedIn conversion tracking told us when employees from a particular business were starting to engage with our content,” says Uzma. “We could then use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to go deeper, finding the most relevant decision-makers at that company and reaching out to those contacts. This ensured our sales team were working with the best possible quality of leads.”

Results

•   LinkedIn generated over 84 exhibitor leads, which converted into opportunities and signed contracts at a rate of 30%
•   This delivered an ROI interms of secured revenue of 19x
•   LinkedIn generated 20% of all revenue for SNSR