The Bristol Technology Showcase (BTS) is an annual event focused on emerging technologies and the themes encompassed in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Aimed at business leaders, investors and influencers, it brings together first-class global speakers who cover the impact and implications of new technologies on business, their people, their investment strategies and wider society.

With Bristol now known as one of the UK’s leading tech hotspots thanks to its ever-growing tech sector and wealth of talent in the field, the Bristol Technology Showcase has been a welcome addition to the city’s events calendar.

Bristol and the South West has an abundance of technological and business capabilities, with many globally leading brands within their respective industries. The Bristol Technology Showcase aims to:

– Increase awareness among regional business leaders about the importance of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the opportunities and risks that it presents.

– Deliver increased understanding of emerging technologies and solution providers who can help enable businesses.

– Highlight the strengths of the region and demonstrate how Bristol and the South West is leading the way with a new digital economy within the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Held at Aerospace Bristol – the city’s aerospace museum and home of Concorde – 2019’s event facilitated discussion and exhibition on some of the most innovative technology in the region and globally.

The Bristol Technology Showcase approached HdE AGENCY with just 4 weeks to go! Their marketing communications had flatlined and delegate signups at zero, they were in need of a plan to supercharge their event marketing and delegate acquisition.

The Bristol Technology Festival required a strong, comprehensive marketing campaign to promote and showcase all aspects of the event and to most importantly attract delegates to attend this paid-for event.

We quickly planned and executed a multi-channel marketing campaign which was broken down into three parts – delegate acquisition, pre-event marketing and in-event support – to raise awareness and to encourage delegates to register.

As lead time until the actual event date was sharp, we had to develop a strategy to aggressively target and convert prospects without the luxury of a nurturing campaign.

Within 3 days the campaign was ready, featuring a wide range of activity, including a strong emphasis on social media and video alongside editorial content, targeted email and digital display advertising.

To attract delegates, we created a high-impact ad strategy, utilising publications to target and re-target high-value prospects with contextual targeting.

We then mobilised a LinkedIn retargeting campaign to bring users further into the funnel. Using a mixed media approach of video and thought leadership, the aim was to shift users further down the decision funnel, as quickly as possible.

To drive this urgency, video content was a major pillar to our strategy. Our expert video team produced a set of ‘hero’ video assets to position the events thought leadership position.

We also produced a digital promotional toolbox for partners, speakers and sponsors, with a mix of video and social assets for businesses to post, helping extending our online reach and authority.

Further editorial content was also used in the run up to the event to promote Bristol Technology Showcase on web, print and social. We partnered with high influence publications including Business Leader & Insider Magazine to influence our B2B audience.

A series of targeted emails was delivered to specific groups and we ran a digital display advertising campaign on a selection of high impact display ads to boost critical audience awareness of the event even more.

Our social team then provided in-event support and created extensive content including live streams and interviews which were posted as live updates on social media during the event. This content were ultimately transformed into a post-event highlights to emphasise the success that the event achieved.

A total of 600 paid guests attended BTS. The event was very successful in creating thousands of meaningful connections and has delivered a lasting impact as several of the conversations from the event turned into deals or received further funding.

The combined activity that was used over the course of the campaign achieved an impressive 106,706 video views and 13,551 clicks. The LinkedIn videos alone had 53,953 views and a 22.54% conversion rate. The in-event video activity that was posted live throughout the event also saw a very high engagement rate, receiving a combined total of 39,985 views over the two days. 

The event saw an excellent attendance rate, with a majority weighting of senior job roles. Over 67% of delegates were from an executive management position and there was a 240% increase in attendees from the 2018 event. In addition, there were over 160 different business in attendance on the day and plenty of healthy engagement post event with delegates, sponsors, speakers and exhibitors.