Branding • Marketing • Web Design
Aspire
Maximizing conference attendance in person and online.
Background
Created by the AIA state chapters of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, Aspire is the Southeast’s premier AEC event where industry leaders meet, network, and innovate.
Over three days, attendees immerse themselves in the vibrant culture of Asheville, North Carolina, enjoying educational sessions, exclusive tours, special events, and valuable networking experiences.
The conference has experienced a number of changes, such as moving to a virtual event during the COVID-19 pandemic and then returning to in-person in 2022.
Attendees participate in TED-inspired presentations called Aspire Talks and smaller breakout sessions known as Aspire Chats. Malachi, the founder of Gordon Media Company, oversees marketing, web design, and social media management. Each year, Aspire attracts over 500 attendees from more than 20 states.
Messaging
Effective messaging is key to successful marketing. It helps businesses stand out, engage their target audiences, and convey value. One major challenge during Aspire’s virtual years, 2020 and 2021, was communicating value in the absence of a physical connection. Themes of unity and forwardness were highly effective.
The in-person experience is vastly different, comprising architectural tours, dining experiences, live performances, and more intimate interaction. Through strategic messaging, we differentiated these experiences while conveying their transformative value.
Email Marketing
Aspire leveraged its large email lists to conduct research with surveys and interest-based segmentation. Targeted email sequences served different objectives, including driving registration to non-registrants, selling additional tours and events to existing registrants, and marketing sponsorship opportunities. The average email open rate increased from 19.6% to over 40%. Email marketing proved to be the most effective channel.
Ad Strategy
In addition to email marketing, Instagram and Facebook ads helped increase website traffic and generate leads. Retargeting ads helped reconnect with previous site visitors, resulting in a strong return on ad spending nearly 20 times the initial investment. Remarkably, these retargeting efforts accounted for 15% of conference attendees, highlighting their significant impact.