As a 100% SaaS data security solution, Druva is working to double down on customer engagement at every touchpoint. Ashley Swift, the Head of Customer Marketing & Advocacy at Druva, is keenly focused on this and has worked hard to build a real sense of community among their users, mostly IT and cybersecurity professionals.
“We want to give our executive customers a network where they can interact, discuss relevant topics, and ask questions of their peers, unrelated to Druva.”
Ashley and her team started a quarterly, virtual event series called the IT & Security Leaders Forum to build more mindshare with their executive-level audience. These thought-leadership events, moderated by Druva’s CTO, offer a space for C-suite professionals to discuss hot topics and challenges they are facing. Registration rates for the first events were good and the content was well-received, but Ashley wanted to find a way to drive higher attendance and keep attendees engaged throughout the events.
“We knew we had to do something different than just our regular webinar invites and experiences. We needed to add some oomph to get these busy executives to attend our events.”
Bringing a creative idea to life with Paper Plane
Since she was busy planning content and promotion for the next IT & Security Leaders Forum, Ashley turned to Paper Plane, Postal’s in-house creative services agency, to create custom-branded gifts tailored to their audience. She had a kick-off conversation with her dedicated Paper Plane Project Manager to discuss her vision, timeline, and budget. From there, Paper Plane did creative brainstorming, sourced vendors, and presented options to Ashley to choose from and approve.
“I went to them with the idea to include whiskey and they helped expand that into the idea of an old-fashioned kit. So while I had 25 other things on my to-do list, I didn’t have to take the time to come up with the gift. Paper Plane handled all of it for me.”
The final product was a gift box featuring a bottle of Bourbon, simple syrup, bitters, dried orange slices, a Druva-branded ice cube mold, an Old Fashioned recipe card, and a custom thank-you note from the Druva team. It perfectly fit Ashley’s vision for a premium experience with tasteful branding.
Driving event registration and attendance using a premium gift as an incentive
Ashley and her team launched an email campaign in Marketo to promote the next IT & Security Leaders Forum, sending registrants to a landing page informing them that attendees would receive a link to claim a special gift within 24 hours of the event. The theme of the landing page was subtly tied to the Old Fashioned gift box to incentivize registrants to attend.
After implementing the follow-up gift into their event promotion, Druva saw a 14% jump in attendance, from a 46% to 60% attendance rate.
“This is an event for executives and their time is valuable, so it’s a big win to have them even attend. Having 35 hand-raisers requesting a follow-up meeting is the cherry on top.”
Since Ashley worked with Paper Plane to create the gift boxes, they were safely stored in one of Postal’s warehouses as soon as they were completed, and ready to send from Druva’s Postal account.
After the event, attendees received a follow-up email thanking them for attending and inviting them to redeem an Old Fashioned kit. Ashley didn’t have to do any of the heavy lifting and she was able to track the delivery of the gift boxes through Postal. After a successful IT & Security Leaders Forum and using a post-event gift to drive higher attendance, Ashley now uses Paper Plane to create a new themed gift for the event every quarter. They’ve maintained an attendance rate of 60% or greater through three forums now. In addition to the Old Fashioned kit, they’ve collaborated with Paper Plane on a whiskey-tasting kit and a curated wine box.
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