Context
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is the professional body for Human Resource personnel and others involved in the management and development of people. cScape has been involved in developing an engagement strategy to connect members and non-members into a regular relationship with CIPD through digital channels.
Challenge
CIPD asked cScape to create a new online presence for its annual HRD conference and exhibition – Europe’s largest and most respected learning and development event. The HRD website is a critical tool for maintaining, acquiring and converting delegates, visitors and exhibitors. But it was used primarily as a pre-event resource and was largely a static reference point. Email was only used as a simple reminder tool for visitors and delegates. cScape's challenge was to, through persuasive web design -and content, turn the annual event into a year-round experience.
Solution
cScape's customer engagement unit (CEU) developed both web and email content for the strategy, designed to work throughout the event’s 12-month business cycle. The strategy was to make the conference content more visible during and after the event and to keep the event’s energy alive. Personalised emails encouraged people to view the website. A specially created HRD Plus e-newsletter, referencing value-added content, was sent periodically between the 2007 and 2008 events to maintain interest and encourage early sign-up.
Outcome
The strategy was successful in both maintaining delegate engagement after the 2007 event and in acquiring and converting for the 2008 event. Content created during the conference, including reports on presentations and delegate interviews, was used to populate the new event templates so that a post-event version of the site went live promptly. The first email was sent to attendees a week later, resulting in a significant sign-up rate for the HRD Plus e-newsletter. The CEU realised the potential of online to extend HRD’s lifecycle as a year-round resource for HR practitioners.