Marketing at a time of crisis

uksv

The challenge

UKSV is an award-winning creative communications and events production agency with more than 150 years of collective industry experience.

Its clients include the AA, Belmond, Boehringer Ingelheim, Brunel University, Close Brothers, Everywoman, IBM, Jaguar Land Rover, Northern Trust and Skills Matter.

Covid-19’s impact on the $2.5 trillion global events industry has resulted in huge numbers of high profile events being cancelled or postponed.

In the countdown to UK lockdown, UKSV realised that it would rapidly need to change its focus.

That meant pausing its existing business plan – and instead working on how to keep UKSV front of mind for existing and new customers.

UK lockdown (when it eventually arrived) prevented UKSV from offering many core services, including filming, video, live event planning and execution.

Instead, UKSV would need to lean heavily on its virtual events offering. That meant a tough decision: should UKSV continue to invest in marketing?

UKSV had no idea what would happen or how long lockdown would last. But the company bravely (and sensibly) decided to persevere with its marketing…

The solution

Google Trends showed a shift in search from live events to virtual events – and how the gap had closed due to the lockdown. 

events-google-trends

Intergage needed to position UKSV as a key provider of virtual event solutions. We created a content marketing plan:

  1. update UKSV’s website by writing highly authoritative and well optimised web pages (‘pillar pages’) with detailed content about virtual events, best practices, types of virtual event
  2. share this high quality content across social media channels; include it in a new, monthly newsletter for existing customers
  3. use LinkedIn advertising to push content to the right audience and raise brand awareness.

The results

UKSV received great feedback on the content it was putting out. This helped to provide UKSV with opportunities to:

  • speak with new prospects
  • re-engage with existing customers.

Feedback from existing customers showed that the tone, frequency and overall message was – in UKSV’s words – “absolutely on the money”.

UKSV has:

  • added two new clients to its roster
  • rekindled relationships with two existing customers
  • had enquiries from a five more potential new customers.

All these came about from promoting UKSV’s virtual events offering.

The new campaign has also enabled UKSV to communicate better with existing customers about:

  • when services will return to normal
  • the company’s road map to recovery.
 
"The marketing support and advice we’ve received over the last few months has been invaluable.“Our initial reaction was to curb all non-essential spend, as the vast majority of our work was cancelled or postponed overnight.“This would have been a huge mistake as there’s a clear need among our customers – and the events industry in general – that we’ve been able to help support in these challenging times.“I genuinely believe we were able to get ahead of the game. Our offering going forward will be stronger as a result of the marketing that has been delivered."
Neil Coombes
USKV

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