KPMG embarked on a new content and social media programme to connect with the digitally savvy tech start-up community, enabling the company to take a leading position in the market
KPMG is one of the world’s largest professional services companies. It was the first of ‘The Big Four’ to open an office in London’s Tech City – the technology cluster otherwise known as Silicon Roundabout – with an ambition to take a leading position supporting early-stage technology companies.
KPMG’s High Growth Technology Group (HGT Group) was established to build strong, meaningful relationships with this next wave of UK technology companies and to become the ‘go-to’ professional services provider for the tech sector. The primary audience for the HGT Group is UK-based entrepreneurs and founders of tech start-ups.
The UK has become a centre for global innovation and technology development, attracting funding and talent from around the world. The much-publicised ability of digital start-ups to accelerate from zero to multi-billion IPOs in only a few years means financial advisers are keen to make their mark. It’s a land grab for influence.
Time to innovate
In a sector that has historically taken a conservative approach to marketing, it was important that the KPMG HGT Group demonstrated innovation in its thinking as a point of competitive differentiation and to establish relevance to the start-up community.
KPMG approached The Crocodile as one of its roster agencies with strong digital and social media credentials and a proven understanding of the UK tech sector. The brief was to raise awareness of the HGT Group among relevant companies, establish thought-leadership and drive traffic.
The Crocodile responded with a mobile-optimised microsite and social media strategy supported by an ongoing programme of content. New material was posted to the site on a weekly basis, feeding the social media strategy, encouraging repeat visits and demonstrating the breadth and credibility of the HGT Group proposition.
The agency took the role of site editor responsible for the creation and management of the content, which included editorial, video, blog posts and infographics.
Subject matter included:
- Strategy and funding for start-ups.
- Benefits of collaborating with enterprises to scale up.
- KPMG reports on industries of interest (retail, financial services, health).
- Impact of the budget and tax incentives.
- Guest blogs from opinion leaders.
- Video highlights from events.
Social success
Social media was fundamental to the strategy’s success. The tech start-up community is active on social media and uses these channels to stay informed and connect with like-minded people and companies. Twitter was identified as the main social channel, supported by Instagram.
It was important to separate the HGT Group’s social identity from corporate KPMG and grow new follower communities in order to guarantee relevance of content and tone of voice, and to differentiate between the two.
A dedicated Twitter profile was set up to take responsibility for audience acquisition, direct posting and fostering relationships with influencers, media and the business community in and around Tech City.
In addition, The Crocodile ran social media training workshops for all KPMG HGT Group members. This helped them get the most from their own use of Twitter and LinkedIn for networking, and to extend the reach of HGT Group content.
Another critical way social media was used to deliver against the HGT Group’s objectives was through events – in particular, a key event in the team’s calendar aimed at connecting start-ups and big businesses.
The Crocodile was briefed to maximise attendance and engagement, and maintain momentum post-event. The first event was named #MeetTheNewKid, thereby embracing the challenger tone-of-voice and ensuring through the use of a hashtag that social media was embedded from the start.
Innovative social tactics were then used before, during and after the event including:
- Pre-event social messaging to drive event attendance via Twitter and targeted blog content.
- Tweet Walls – all #MeetTheNewKid tweets were projected to live Tweet Walls on LCD screens around the venue, to connect delegates in real-time and encourage them to join the conversation.
- Instagram videos – video interviews with the audience were filmed during the event and shared in real-time on Instagram, then used to create a post-event feature video for use on the microsite.
- Interactive, socially driven competition – attendees were given the chance to win a Little Printer from innovative, local tech company Berg. All tweets using #MeetTheNewKid were printed in real-time and used to create a conversation wall which acted as a great talking point to break the ice and further stimulate buzz on Twitter and Instagram.
- Post-event blog content and social messaging helped continue the conversation surrounding #MeetTheNewKid.
Results
The results from the campaign included:
- Over 7000 unique site visits to the microsite in 12 months, exceeding target by 34 per cent.
- Average number of pages viewed exceeded target by 40 per cent.
- Average time spent on site per visit exceeded target by 80 per cent.
- Thirty-eight per cent microsite visits via social referral, exceeding target by 6 per cent.
- 7500 Twitter followers in 12 months exceeding target by 50 per cent.
- Thirty per cent average month-on-month increase in followers, exceeding target by 17 per cent.
- One hundred and sixty #MeetTheNewKid event attendees, exceeding KPI by 60 per cent.
- Four hundred and fifty-eight tweets using #MeetTheNewKid during the event (from 104 individuals).
“When we established KPMG’s HGT Group we needed a strategy aligned to KPMG’s core brand that had the clarity, relevance and style to appeal to digitally savvy tech entrepreneurs,” explained a spokesperson from marketing operations, KPMG UK. “Working with The Crocodile helped us connect with companies in a way that is innovative and different – for KPMG, and for the professional services sector as a whole. It’s a success story that will impact our approach to marketing initiatives going forward.”