1. Context

Since July 2022 we have been working with a manufacturing company that started as an automotive components manufacturer. Now in the second generation, they have expanded and operate as a private limited company, and have diversified into fasteners and fittings/ components for aerospace. In an industry that is typically perceived as traditional, the Group company is making massive strides in using Digital Media as an asset, and we are proud to work with them for the past two years and counting.

In February 2023, the client was on the cusp of an exciting opportunity- participation in the prestigious Aero India airshow, held in Bangalore, Karnataka. While the client is a regular participant, this time around, they had a groundbreaking innovation to showcase- one of the components manufactured by them was to be used in ISRO's Human Space Program.

Their groundbreaking work using Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) enabled the production go large parts with up to 75% material savings when compared with traditional methods.

We were tasks with running the marketing and communications exercise for the event, to lead up to better engagement during the Show, and meaningful coverage after.

2. Problem Statement

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Firstly, the clientneeded to generate greater traction and awareness for their participation the event itself, ensuring that their presence as an aerospace manufacturing partner would be widely recognized. Despite their significant contributions to the aerospace industry over several decades, the clientidentified a need to enhance their brand's recognition and establish a stronger industry presence as a manufacturer of not just small parts and components, but larger applications too.

This presented a unique challenge for us as we had not previously undertaken event-level marketing for B2B companies.

Additionally, we aimed to bridge the gap between the digital and offline worlds, fostering meaningful interactions and engagement during the event through activities that would be entirely digital. In other words, the success of our venture would only be visible once the event actually kicked off.

3. Our Process

Step 1: Building Traction and Awareness

We leveraged a mix of communication initiatives like paid campaigns, captivating videos, and engaging landing pages aimed at encouraging event sign-ups to attract the attention of potential attendees. Every piece of content was meticulously curated to convey Ankit Aerospace's unique value proposition and highlight their pioneering work in the industry.

Linkedin Advertising emerged as quite an impactful tool in our arsenal, propelling the pre-event traction to great lengths and giving us some insight into the profiles of people we could expect to pay a visit to our stall during the event. This allowed the team to plan their communications accordingly on the days of the event.

We allocated equal responsibilities among our team members, with a balanced focus on content creation, communication, and overall project management to ensure that in the three weeks we had, no ball would ever be dropped.

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Step 2: Tap Into The Power Of PR

Recognizing the need to spread the word beyond the digital realm, we ventured into the realm of public relations—a previously uncharted territory for us. We collaborated with renowned PR companies, reaching out far and wide to secure media coverage, but the promises made were not suitable to our context- we needed, and the client deserved, more than outreach alone. They needed to ensure coverage, and we wanted to do everything to make it happen.

As a first breakthrough,  Moneycontrol, a leading financial news platform, featured the client in a write-up that highlighted the participation as well as their ingenuity to innovation in the Space manufacturing segment. Subsequently, this news was picked up by several local and national news media outlets, leading to a 1,335% increase in LinkedIn page engagement, and an average of 1,50,000 page visitors in the two months following the event.

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Step 3: Day Zero

When the highly-anticipated event finally arrived, we were all hands on deck throughout. We also had the opportunity to connect and interact with influential figures in the aerospace industry on behalf of the client, serving as their early marketing team, and ensuring that no interested stakeholder walked away without knowing more.

We highly appreciate the client team for placing an immense amount of trust in us during the event, and helping us navigate tough questions that came our way. Due to this nurturing culture, we were able to go out and seek active PR opportunities on ground, interact meaningfully with scientists from prestigious institutions, and gather interested sales conversations to be taken forward by their CEO.

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Outcome

The combined efforts of our marketing strategies and the client's participation in Aero India 2023 yielded impressive results.

Before the event had even commenced, the client had garnered 50 form fills on their event page through paid ads, over and above the increased traction the page was already receiving.

The PR coverage, including the feature on Moneycontrol, not only amplified their brand visibility but also solidified their standing as a trailblazer in the aerospace realm.

Ongoing work

Our successful collaboration with the client has opened new doors, with them having chosen to entrust us with all their strategic marketing and communications endeavours. At Motley Crew, we take great pride in our ongoing engagements, and are excited to explore new avenues for the client, such as AI-based content creation, as well as using Conversational AI to empower every client team member to have the know-how they need on their fingertips. This, of course, is over and above the marketing activity, which we now focus on bottom of the funnel engagement, conversations, and revenue generation.

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