UVM Expo is Unique Venues of Manchester’s annual celebration of what the city has to offer for the events and conference industry.
It is a place for event planners to meet, connect and learn about unique venues and suppliers across the region.
During a Covid world, our clients were proactive to switch the usual format, to a ‘hybrid event.’ A hybrid event combines real-life experiences (in this instance, a maximum of 30 delegates) with virtual audiences and engagement. Taking place on 1st October, UVM Expo 2020 was Manchester’s very first hybrid conference and exhibition.
Client
Objectives.
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To bring valuable event buyers and decision-makers together with venues and suppliers, either physically or virtually with a target of 200 delegates.
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To demonstrate to the events industry, how successful and beneficial hybrid events can be for both planners and venues.
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To generate a wider awareness of the Unique Venues of Manchester brand, to venues and event professionals across the UK.
Strategic
approach.
We were brought on board from the very beginning of this project to champion content, and manage all aspects of marketing and PR.
Initially, we were tasked with developing a brief for the event concept, and then devise a targeted marketing strategy that engaged with the target audience of event planners, agencies and marketing teams across the UK. To implement this plan, we aimed to use a range of tactics to include social media, public relations, email communications and sharing content via sponsor/exhibitor channels.
Summary
of activity.
- Created the marketing plan, including a brief for creatives and graphics.
- Created and managed online content, including writing website copy and sponsorship sales deck, to attract a specialised audience.
- Secured and created content for PR and editorial opportunities, including writing and distributing three press releases.
- Created and scheduled three months of social content to showcase speakers, exhibitors and industry talking points, including on the day social media.
- Managed paid social media advertising spend on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- We launched a new Instagram profile for UVM Expo and used this as a lead channel for sharing content.
- Managed and distributed email campaigns to internal and external databases.
Our Results
UVM Expo 2020 was attended by over 300 event registrations, 30% over the original target. The event gained a total of 20 pieces of coverage, both regional and national including key industry publications: Conference News, Exhibition News and PA Life Magazine.
Social media coverage was also high, with #UVMExpo2020 gaining traction across multiple platforms with over 70,000 impressions the month of the event.
Thanks to our research and reactive marketing strategy, UVM Expo became a talking point and gained the momentum it deserved.