Awards
experiences through different touchpoints and dynamic digital marketing efforts resulted in a strong performance . The event saw a 32 % boom in revenue , with Najah Dubai revenue up 45.3 %, as well as a 64.7 % saving in marketing cost per attendee . “ Our success with Najah is a testament to how modern marketing techniques can deliver excellent outcomes for complex scenarios . There are always creative solutions to be found .”
115,809 unique users ; a digital conversion rate of 45 %; and a database growth of 189 %. The campaign not only built up the students ’ trust , it also helped the event reduce the cost per attendee . This was critical at a time when the UAE was experiencing its highest rate of inflation for seven years .
To overcome inflationary pressures , Lakhiani says her team optimised digital campaigns using relevant content to increase engagement and reduce PPC costs ; changed printed materials to sustainable digital resources and leveraged economies of scale through bookings for multiple events .
Lakhiani says the event ’ s marketing strategy involved an innovative and integrated approach , which harnessed digital and traditional marketing techniques , including above-the-line marketing , PR , SEO , email campaigns and social media to engage in effective ways . “ With growing competition , we focused intently on each target audience , including students , parents , teachers , and postgraduate applicants , to differentiate and tailor our campaigns .”
Knowing your audience To resonate with its digitally savvy audience , the Najah team used featured articles on ‘ trending topics ’ to place advertisements which were featured in the digital versions of leading newspapers . They also created a parent-student social media series with interviews on topics important to Gen Z students and used a wide range of formats including posts , videos , GIFs , reels and stories to engage the audience .
“ Our digital content was tested in various formats for each audience ,” says Lakhiani . “ The campaigns were optimised for the best performing and the messages were constantly refined .” She adds : “ The most important thing is that we tried to make our event sustainable , which is important to Gen Zs who are often environmentally focused . We also tried to work with People of Determination [ The UAE ’ s term for people with disabilities ] and gave them opportunities at the event .”
Overall , Lakhiani says the combination of quality content , creatively designing the
Creativity As for exhibition marketing in general , Lakhiani has nothing but positive remarks : “ Creativity is required in more than one way . This is not necessarily the same creativity you would need when you work in an advertising agency . It ’ s rather the creativity that you need to design attendee and exhibitor experiences before , during and after the event . That is a kind of creative work on multiple levels : meeting design , interaction design , web , advertising , email marketing , social media , print advertising , sponsorship campaigns … there is no end for creative ideas .”
Lakhiani doesn ’ t expect digital media will ever replace face-toface events but sees the two as a “ partnership made in heaven ”.
“ People want to meet in real life , they want to know if they can trust a person or a vendor or exhibitor , and that trust cannot usually be built by digital media alone . That said , events are the perfect playground for digital extensions of real-life encounters .
“ Nothing ever stays the same . Every event is different , and re-inventing the wheel is part of our fantastic journey as event marketers . ‘ That ’ s how we always did it ’ is a sentence that I believe you won ’ t hear from great event marketers .”
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 4 2023 39