Engaging Essex businesses in the energy crisis conversation
KAT Marketing was asked to arrange an Ambitious Essex retrofit event on behalf of Essex County Council. Held on 19th September at Hylands House in Chelmsford, Retrofit Essex: Baking the Future aimed to bring together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors to explore the future of energy efficiency and sustainability in the county. The event highlighted the growing importance of retrofitting existing buildings to meet modern energy standards, a crucial step in reducing carbon emissions and enhancing economic growth in the green sector.
Creating an event to deliver on objectives
Working within the framework of agreed objectives, KAT Marketing created a strategic plan to create, promote and deliver the Retrofit Essex event, including generating an event identity. As this was the first event of its kind within the county, emphasis was placed on reaching a high-quality level of speakers and exhibitors as well as suitable attendees who were actively involved in the retrofit industry and key decision makers within local businesses associated to the industry.
Reporting regularly to the Ambitious Essex project team, KAT created an event agenda, booked in speakers and exhibitors, booked and liaised with the event venue, implemented a digital marketing campaign for the event, facilitated all activities on the day (including MC hosting), and provided a detailed data report with analysis of the event’s achievements against objectives.
Bringing together the right people
Retrofit Essex, Backing the Future was a significant success, generating high levels of engagement both in the lead-up and on the day of the event. There was strong online presence to promote the event, with social media ads on Meta and LinkedIn.
The Meta campaign performed excellently, achieving a low cost-per-click ROI at £0.31, while LinkedIn's InMail campaign saw a 69.37% open rate, showing high resonance with the target audience. More than 200 Eventbrite bookings were generated with well in excess of 100 attendees on the day. As desired, attendees included a high proportion of senior professionals, with approximately 30% of the bookings were from Director, CEO, MD or Partner-level attendees.
Attendance and engagement that forge connections
Feedback around the Retrofit Essex: Backing the Future was hugely positive. Survey responses from both attendees and exhibitors indicated high satisfaction with the event’s content and networking opportunities, with 97% expressing interest in future events. The event also successfully fostered engagement within the Essex business community with high-level networking and knowledge-sharing among key stakeholders across the retrofit and sustainability sectors. This was demonstrated through a significant rise in engagement with Ambitious Essex on retrofit related content via LinkedIn, the Ambitious Essex website and the Ambitious Essex newsletter.
A huge thank you to all at KAT for pulling off a smashing event. Here are just three highlights… Seamless Coordination: KAT Marketing managed the Retrofit Together event in Chelmsford with exceptional efficiency, ensuring every detail was handled effortlessly. Goal Achievement: Julian and Catherine at KAT successfully met all our aims and objectives for the day, making the event a resounding success. Professional Excellence: Julian and Catherine exhibited professionalism and expertise throughout the event, leaving a lasting positive impression on all attendees.