Let’s kick off with a bit of context.
Coming out of the pandemic wasn’t a period of respite for Applaud. Quite the opposite. The HR tech space became flooded during the pandemic with a new industry focus on experience. Applaud had gone from owning this to suddenly facing new, fierce competition – “Applaud had people that were suddenly hot on their tails out of the blue and trying to join in on the party,” Renaye puts it.
Applaud had to reaffirm themselves as the go to player in the market whilst also reaching a new target audience of x-first leaders. And that’s where Digital Radish came into play.
The B2B brand and ABM agency set up a multi-channel, multi-tiered one-to-many ABM programme that honed targets through an always on digital approach. As Renaye explains: “The programme spanned one-to-many, one-to-few and one-to-one, moving accounts dependent on their primary intent and criteria scoring. It was quite fluid in its running.”
Renaye will be joined by Applaud’s CMO Rachel James to spill all the secrets to a stand-out ABM campaign. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak at what you can expect.
Creativity in ABM. Really?
Creativity and ABM aren’t two things that often go together; “the very nature of ABM focuses around research, insight and personalisation. I think sometimes you can lose sight of the creative that can bind a campaign together,” Renaye agrees. “I think what people struggle with is making it work with something that’s on a personalised level. You can’t scale creativity unless you’re doing true one-to-one ABM.”
For Renaye, don’t just think about creativity through the lens of language and imagery – but the creative ways you can serve up ABM. “For me, it’s about creating those memorable experiences that stick. It’s getting harder and harder to cut through now.”
“We always say this about marketing. But I do really think it’s getting harder than ever to cut through”
Technology, as Renaye asserts, can enable companies to leverage creativity and create personalised experiences. Something at the core of Digital Radish’ campaign: “We wanted to do something different, something more creative. Create memorable moments and experiences by pushing the boundaries,” Renaye adds.
Enter, the Metaverse.
Digital Radish and Applaud invited select c-suite HR executives into the Metaverse to network, discuss their challenges and future plans. “We held these every quarter as a way of engaging new and nurturing existing prospects,” Renaye explains. “It’s a really nice way for the time to engage with people, particularly those that weren’t necessarily happy going out and sitting around the table and having dinner. Or reaching those in the US, for example, that could be there essentially in person – just in the Metaverse.”
“People approach things like the Metaverse with more curiosity and playfulness rather than anything else. It becomes a huge talking point and then immediately breaks down barriers that you sometimes get on Zoom or other virtual roundtables. Immediately everyone’s so intrigued about how it works that there’s this kind of giddiness, newness that naturally draws people together.”
What more could you ask for?
Fad, schmad. The Metaverse is here to stay
For Renaye, the Metaverse isn’t going anywhere. “Don’t get me wrong, the tech isn’t quite there,” she admits. “The tech can be glitchy, and it’s hard for our teams to be able to build in there. (…) And you can’t have anyone in there really longer than half an hour because you start to feel ill.”
Despite these teething issues, Renaye advocates for investing in the Metaverse. Long gone are the days of flat Zoom. Digital Radish have created an interactive gallery where users can step into paintings to explore their best campaigns.
She similarly predicts a rise in use when it comes to selling physical products. “Historically if you have a physical product, the only way you’d be able to show that is to go and exhibit that product in the flesh. You could literally build it within the Metaverse, sales could walk around it. You’d save on flights, sustainability, money, all those things,” she explains.
“It’s about pulling out different parts and making it more immersive, the whole experience rather than the flat ‘I’m going to take you on a demo’ type of thing”
Want to give it a try? Get a taste of the Metaverse at Digital Radish’ stand at the ABM Conference. Note: queasy stomachs not welcome.
What you’ll leave the ABM Conference with
So, what are some of the key takeaways you’ll learn at Digital Radish ? Let’s take a look.
- How to create memorable experiences that’ll help you cut through the noise and stand out above the crowd. “Anyone that’s in an overly commoditized market and looking to differentiate themselves, this will be a great session for them,” Renaye adds.
- You’re not actually differentiating yourself. Tech product companies – stop using the same buzzwords as your competitors. Set aside the ‘we don’t sell tech, we also sell expertise’ and ‘we’re more strategic.’ Those aren’t USPs. “We’ll talk a bit about how we can manage to move away from that same discussion that everyone is having. People think they’re doing something different, but they’re not,” Renaye adds.
- The dos and don’ts to a stand-out ABM campaign. You’ll leave knowing what makes a stand-out campaign – what the key drivers to success were, and what Digital Radish would leave out.
- Getting sales and marketing working together. We’ve heard it before – if you want your ABM to succeed, you need to have your teams singing from the same hymn sheet. You’ll leave knowing how Digital Radish overcame some of the common sales/marketing issues on alignment
“I’ve been going to the ABM Conference as long as it’s been going,” Renaye continues. “It’s about being in a room with such a prestigious group of B2B leaders, the best of the best are there in terms of the quality of attendees.’
‘What’s also really nice is the blend. Sometimes these conferences can be quite strategy/theory heavy. Yes, theory’s great. But what did you actually do? Everyone chats ABM, but half the time none of them have actually done it or finished a programme.”
“The ABM Conference is a perfect balance of strategy, practical takeaways, the quality of delegates – there’s a big sense of community”
Renaye’s advice is clear: “There is no other – honestly, no other – other place where you would go for this level of knowledge, insight and networking.”
We’ll see you there.
