My key takeaway from the recent OX6 conference in Chicago: don’t be afraid to experiment with your audience marketing efforts. This was a consistent message throughout the sessions.

Here are some ideas you can incorporate in your audience marketing efforts today.  Many of them are free, and some might help to drive revenue.

Audience Marketing Insights

• Arkansas Business requires name/business/title for online access to paid products.  There is a “free trial” button pre-checked in the form that has helped increase revenue.
• They try to keep their mature products strong so they can invest in newer products.
• Brands are finding success promoting additional content (ie. white paper, research) on a thank you message, sent either by pop up or email.
• Jessica Sibley, CEO of Time, discussed how she and her team have transformed the iconic Time brand from legacy to relevancy.  She said that data helps their sponsors create smaller, more in-depth conversations to compliment bigger campaigns (ie.  decision makers in specific companies).  While it is more work to set up, it can generate more leads.

Event Marketing Insights

Customer expectations have changed, post-pandemic. Both Catherine White, CMO, Bisnow and Liz Irving, CMO, Clarion discussed how a combination of media coverage and events gives sponsors both short-term connections and longer-term opportunities.

• Attendees are signing up later for events, including an increase in walk-ins.  No-shows to events have dropped from 20-30% to less than 10%.
• There is an increase in micro niche and hyper local events.
• Exhibitors are more vocally focused on ROI now. –Sustainability is very important to younger attendees

OX6 this year included conversations that encompass the entire brand, such as magazines, newspapers,  newsletters, events, and other content driven products. Incorporating testing and internal customer data into your marketing strategies will impact your brands’ success. 

The journey continues. Cindy