Build Brand Awareness Through Conferences !
Leverage Insights Into Audience Engagement to Enrich Content and Boost Growth

Challenges Faced When Hosting Conferences

• Needed a better way to measure content effectiveness and track attendee interests
• Operational burden of existing event tools was high, from event preparation through post-event lead analysis

Benefits Achieved With EventHub

• Ability to quickly measure attendee engagement and content effectiveness using built-in event analytics
• Streamlined event setup and operations via an intuitive UI
• Inquiries promptly resolved by in-region support
• Average conference attendance rate increased by 10%
• Event setup workload reduced by 50%
• Post-event data analysis workload reduced by 66%

About NewsPicks’ Event Marketing

We measure success by looking beyond the event itself.
Utilize event content as a powerful branding tool well after the event.

Can you tell us about event marketing activities at NewsPicks ?

Our NewsPicks Media Advertising and NewsPicks Brand Design divisions offer an event service aimed at businesses called “Brand Experience.” The service is an end-to-end solution for creating and executing bespoke marketing events that are co-sponsored by our clients. While lead generation is one of the event objectives, we also emphasize branding in order to generate top-of-mind awareness in the market for our clients.

We recently started focusing on conducting these events with startups. Generating leads beyond existing customers and business verticals is essential for growing startups, and hosting events on NewsPicks is very effective in this regard.

NewsPicks users tend to be keen for new information, so regardless of the company sponsoring the event, they are likely to participate if they feel the content is relevant and informative. We are able to introduce the sponsoring companies as potential solution providers to the issues raised in the event, generating valuable leads for the sponsors that hopefully become long-term opportunities for them.

Attendance is usually a key measure of a successful conference, but it seems that brand recognition and awareness are also important objectives for Newspicks’ event service…

While the NewsPicks brand itself is effective in attracting audiences, we are also confident in the strength of our media content. Events can only make impressions on audiences on the day of the event itself, but if the content is strong, it can continue to be utilized for content and fan-based marketing on a longer-term basis. Therefore, “Brand Experience” is not just a one-time event service, but a branding activity that is effective over the medium to long term.

( Studio recording of a session: “The Effectiveness of Conferences” )

In recent years, there has been increased investment in marketing initiatives, and the number of companies running conferences has risen. What do you think are the strengths of event marketing compared to other channels ?

We believe it is easier to generate quality leads through event marketing when compared to other channels.

Another major advantage of events is the ability to connect with customers directly and understand their needs. This ability to measure customer engagement in real time and adjust how we approach customers is a strength not found in other marketing channels such as commercials or ads.

Events come in various formats, such as webinars, virtual conferences, and in-person events. How do you determine the right format ?

We start by considering the purpose and work backward from there. For example, a customer may request to host a large-scale event with several thousands of attendees. However, after understanding their business objectives, we may determine that it is not the quantity of attendees that is important; instead, it is acquiring quality leads from target customers. The same approach applies when deciding whether to host an event virtually or in person. When targeting SMB customers, it is better to host virtual events in order to attract a wide range of customers from multiple geographies. In-person events are recommended when the content is more in-depth. We strive to propose solutions tailored to the customer’s business challenges throughout the consultation process.

How does NewsPicks set KPIs and measure the effectiveness of content ?

When setting KPIs, we don’t simply base them on the number of leads, but rather on the impressions a video gets after the event and the number of leads that convert into customer meetings.

While the number of leads acquired is important, our company’s strength lies not only in sourcing leads, but in the quality of the content itself. We also advise our clients on promoting and utilizing the content for long-term business development. Therefore, we often set KPIs based on content views, repeat views, survey satisfaction rates, and the number of opportunities generated.

( Behind the scenes – Event operations )

Hosting a Virtual Conference With EventHub

“B2B Marketers, Take Note! The New Norm for Marketing ROI” – Behind the scenes of a NewsPicks event.

NewsPicks recently used EventHub to host “B2B Marketers, Take Note! The New Norm for Marketing ROI”, a virtual conference that was also co-sponsored by our company. Please tell us about this event…

This event was planned as a session to highlight the importance of conceptual design and event planning for B2B conferences. The session was targeted toward B2B marketing managers and professionals.

There has been an upsurge in virtual conferences driven by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as companies adopted this new format for the first time, it gave rise to new challenges such as “How do I execute a virtual conference?”, “What are the costs and ROI?” or “I need to find the right tool or partner.” We designed our event session topics to address the specific concerns event marketers might have and motivate them to want to host their own virtual conferences.

( Event banner of the “B2B Marketers, Take Note! The New Norm for Marketing ROI” event )

EventHub’s user-friendly and intuitive UI resulted in a 10% increase in participation rates !

What are some of the topics discussed in the sessions ?

The sessions featured speakers such as Kazuki Nishiguchi, a well-known figure in Japan’s marketing and event industry, as well as companies on the cutting edge of the industry. They discussed how to best maximize ROI amid the proliferation of different marketing channels and why event marketing is an effective strategy. 

In addition, since this conference was hosted using EventHub, we could showcase what kind of events were possible through this platform. Some of the other companies that presented at the event were also EventHub users. They spoke in detail about events they have conducted, as well as the benefits and effectiveness of implementing the platform.

What was the outcome of the conference ?

We had over 1,700 registrations, and the actual participation rate was about 55%. In fact, the attendance only continued to grow throughout the event. This is in part thanks to having prominent figures and companies at the forefront of marketing speak at the event. The participation rate was 10% higher than our typical events, which we believe is attributed to the audience’s interest in the content, together with the seamless experience attendees had on the EventHub platform.

Why We Adopted EventHub and How It Differs From Web Conferencing Tools

Inspect attendee engagement with powerful analytics.
Refine your content based on these insights.

You could have just used a web conferencing tool to conduct the event. Why did you choose an event platform like EventHub ?

As mentioned earlier, the strength of NewsPicks’ hosted conferences lies in the strength of the content. In order to improve content, it is important to analyze the audience’s behavior and engagement in detail. Therefore, we were looking for a platform that had powerful analytics capabilities.

As part of our KPIs, it is important to evaluate the performance of content over a long period. It was essential to have a platform that excelled at both event and lead management, especially the ability to track attendee behavior in detail.

It seems that you have a data-driven approach to your events, improving content by looking back at previous events and attendee data…

Even during the event, we monitored the EventHub dashboard to track participation and dropout rates in real time. For example, if participation is poor, we can send reminder emails. If there is a significant dropout rate, we might also make adjustments to the sessions and content. Based on audience behavior, we are able to respond accordingly and make adjustments on the fly.

An intuitive admin UI helps you easily prepare events.
Design customization enables you to immerse audiences in your brand.

There are a lot of event platforms available. What did you like about EventHub, and what are the merits ?

Firstly, the ease of use stands out. At NewsPicks, we hold frequent events, so it is vital that we are able to prepare each event quickly. Other tools often require the help of an experienced engineer to configure and set up an event.

EventHub’s admin UI is simple to use, and no coding is required. The project manager could easily prepare the event by themselves. The UI is laid out in an intuitive chronological order, which helps ensure that nothing is omitted during setup, resulting in an event site that is complete and ready for the event with minimal effort.

( Attendee view of the “B2B Marketers, Take Note! The New Norm for Marketing ROI” event )

Is the UI of the event page really that important for conferences ?

Yes, it is crucial. Awareness and branding are the primary purposes of our events, so the audience’s experience and how our content is presented are important. If the event page is not user-friendly, it can lead to dropouts. However, participation rates increase if the user experience, from registration through the event itself, is seamless and intuitive.

It seems that being able to create the right visual brand experience in the event platform is essential, isn’t it ?

We first used EventHub for a hybrid conference, “WestShip,” held back in December 2020. Since then, a lot of functionality has been added, and the ability to customize events has significantly expanded. We feel the ability to set theme colors and customize the event page background images has made it easier for us to create events that appeal to our audiences.

After hosting events, we often share our feedback with EventHub and make feature requests. EventHub always responds to our feedback in a timely manner. New features are released weekly, and we are consistently impressed with the speed of development.

Other Benefits Realized by Adopting EventHub

Verify event readiness with rehearsal mode.
Have peace of mind with prompt in-region support.

Were there any advantages to using EventHub compared to other overseas event tools ?

With many other vendors, there was often no in-region support in Asia Pacific, and it took time to get responses to our inquiries. This poses challenges, especially during an event when quick resolution is necessary.

Indeed, knowing that you have in-region staff who can support you during event preparation and on the day of the event itself is reassuring.

EventHub’s customer service is outstanding, and the quality of the support website is exceptional. If we encountered a problem, we could often resolve it ourselves by referencing a knowledge base article. This minimized the time and effort needed to prepare for an event.

( EventHub – Session analytics dashboard )

Were you able to successfully host the event without issues ?

The EventHub platform is easy to use, and the support is comprehensive, allowing us to confidently host events from start to finish. The simplicity and useability of EventHub’s admin interface are especially helpful. You never know what will happen during the event itself, and when issues arise, you need to be able to respond immediately. For example, if attendance on the day of the event is poor, we may want to quickly send reminder emails, but if the tool is not easy to use, it may take time to complete the task, and even worse, it may lead to a mistake. EventHub’s intuitive user interface and prompt customer support give us peace of mind that issues will be quickly resolved.

The rehearsal function also allows us to verify that the event streaming will work correctly. This reduces the effort needed to prepare for events since we do not have to set up a separate test environment.

Half the effort to set up events !
One-third the effort to complete post-event analysis !

How would you compare the effort needed to prepare events between EventHub and previous tools you have used ?

Thanks to the straightforward UI and quick resolution of issues, we were able to reduce the number of hours needed to set up events by about 50% compared to the tool we used previously. With EventHub it is easy to set up events by simply going through each config step in the admin interface and filling in the required details. No technical expertise or code is needed.

It seems that reducing the effort needed to prepare events is a major aspect of improving the ROI of your event marketing.

It was not only the event setup, but post-event analysis as well. The effort needed to compile and analyze participant activity logs after the event was reduced by about two-thirds. For large-scale events like online conferences, a lot of data needs to be analyzed, such as registration information, session viewership, document downloads, and more. It can be time-consuming to process and correlate the data. EventHub features a ‘Lead Report’ function, allowing admins to download a CSV file that links all activity and engagement data to each attendee. Since data can be easily downloaded in a single report, post-event analysis and delivery of lead reports to sponsors are streamlined.

( EventHub – Lead report example )

Thank you for your time today !

NewsPicks Inc. (A business unit of Uzabase, Inc) Megumi Wakabayashi

After graduating from university, Megumi began her career in fashion, as well as in planning and production roles at a television screenwriting company. In 2019, she joined NewsPicks, where she launched the events team and focused on sponsored events for the media business vertical. Megumi’s team is responsible for managing sponsored events for over 40 clients annually. In addition, she oversees the execution of NewsPicks’ own major events, including “Change to Hope” and “START UP EVERYTIME.”