Background
Coremetrics, an IBM company, is the leading vendor of marketing optimisation solutions. Its products help businesses optimise and automate their marketing programmes to ensure the best offer is always made to the right customer, via sophisticated online analytical, optimisation, bid management, targeting and attribution techniques.
Coremetrics decided to host a three day Marketing Showcase for 150 European customers in the retail and travel sectors. The objective was to impart its 2011 business strategy and provide a forum for customers to share fresh insight and real life experiences.
The company enlisted its integrated marketing communications agency, Marketing Options International, to assist with end-to-end planning, preparation, execution and follow-up of this important event.
Total customer engagement
The Marketing Showcase took place in February at London’s Jumeirah Carlton Tower. The first day saw 20 hand-picked customers attend a Customer Advisory Board, where they could share their business strategies with both Coremetrics’ senior executive team and their peers over an exclusive dinner.
The main Showcase – held over the second and third days – gave customers the opportunity to attend ‘Coremetrics Classroom’, where they were joined by expert trainers for half-day intensive training sessions. They could also choose from a range of breakout sessions and attend keynotes from both internal and external experts on key trends driving change in online marketing, as well as networking with Coremetrics and five key partners in the Partner Pavilion.
A gala dinner was held on the event’s second evening. The venue was transformed into an Arabian Nights themed ‘tent’, complete with rich, colourful fabrics, drapes, rugs, cushions and authentic furniture in the main plenary room. Guests were treated to a Middle Eastern menu whilst enjoying entertainment from belly dancers and traditional drummers, creating an exciting environment and offering the chance to network informally in a totally unique setting.
MOI’s events team worked alongside Coremetrics for over eight months to ensure the success of every element of the Showcase. The process began with MOI developing an integrated communications campaign which included a website featuring event information, registration and payment facilities, production of collateral and post-event lead generation activity.
The agency’s end-to-end service included audience generation, response handling for over 250 contacts, complete sponsor engagement / management and delegate handling – including registration and automated on site engagement and meeting scheduling. It also sourced and managed the relationship with the Jumeriah Carlton Tower for Coremetrics’ exclusive use, as well as planning and managing the multi-channeled conference and breakouts including AV, themed gala dinner and Customer Advisory Board.
Success beyond expectation
Coremetrics’ Marketing Showcase programme has been acknowledged as a great success. It has resulted in over 50% awareness within the customer base, registrations almost double initial expectations at 193%, 29% of attendees engaged with Sales as a direct result of the showcase and 135 marketing leads created. Not only that, but 77% of all attendees rated the venue and overall event experience as “excellent”, and MOI achieved 81% attendance rate.
Coremetrics’ EMEA Marketing Director, Philippa Ochonski, commented: “Marketing Options International is an invaluable extension of my team. They are an absolute pleasure to work with and develop incredible, professional events which exceed expectations at every level, maximise investment and provide quantifiable results. MOI have created without doubt one of the best events that I have ever been involved with. It is true to say that customers, sponsors and members of the Coremetrics executive team alike have nothing but praise and I look forward to working with the team again and again.”
Post-event delegate feedback included the following sound bites: “A terrific event with a really friendly atmosphere”, “beautifully delivered”, “phenomenally usefully and will be a huge benefit to my business”, “a great event and I certainly came away with a few gems of information”.
Marketing Options International has over 25 years’ experience of planning arresting, engaging and memorable events for our clients. For more information about how we can help you, please call Lilah Walker, International Director of Events on +44 (0) 1932 233000 or email her at [email protected]
