When it comes to growing meetings and conventions business, many destination marketing teams think a brand campaign with a media buy will do the trick. While paid media plays a role, truly effective B2B marketing for destinations requires a comprehensive, multi-channel strategy that goes beyond ad placements.
Here’s why successfully marketing to meeting planners takes much more:
1. Relationship-Driven, Not Just Impressions-Based
Unlike leisure marketing, which focuses on high-reach campaigns, meetings marketing is built on relationships. Meeting planners need education, engagement, and trust—which means long-term communication strategies, sales enablement content, and tailored messaging across multiple touchpoints.
How Digital Edge Helps:
- Thought Leadership Campaigns – We position your DMO and your sales team as meetings experts through valuable long-form and interview-led content, blog posts, and tailored communications.
- Strategic Email Nurturing – Personalized and segmented campaigns ensure consistent engagement with planners.
Experiential Activations & Site Visit Support – From curated FAM trips to site tours, we help bring your destination to life.
2. Sales Alignment & Enablement is Essential
A media buy might get visibility, but it won’t nurture leads or convert prospects into booked business. Effective B2B marketing must be sales-focused, helping move qualified planners to your sales team and ensuring planners have all the information they need to make decisions and take action.
How Digital Edge Helps:
- Sales Enablement Strategies – From gated content to offer-based messaging, we design campaigns that resonate with target customers and develop relationships.
- CRM & Marketing Automation – We integrate marketing with your sales tools to ensure planners move seamlessly through the funnel.
3. Content Marketing Drives Consideration & Conversion
Meeting planners don’t make impulse decisions. They need proof that your destination is the right fit for their event. (Think trust building.) This requires consistent, high-value content that educates and guides them through the decision-making process.
How Digital Edge Helps:
- Destination Guides & Case Studies – Real-world examples of successful events in your city build trust and credibility.
- SEO-Optimized Blog & Video Content – We create destination-specific content that gets in front of planners when they’re actively searching.
- Custom Microsites & Landing Pages – We create dedicated, interactive experiences that showcase why planners should choose your destination.
4. Personalized Targeting Goes Beyond Display Ads
A media buy can put your destination in front of meeting planners, but are you reaching the right planners with the right messaging at the right time? B2B marketing requires data-driven targeting and personalized engagement.
How Digital Edge Helps:
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM) – We tailor campaigns to target specific accounts and segments that align with your destination’s ideal business.
- Retargeting & Multi-Touch Campaigns – We use an omnichannel approach – programmatic advertising, email sequences, and content marketing – to keep planners engaged throughout their planning cycle.
5. Meeting Planners Expect Customized Engagement
A brand campaign media buy won’t address the unique needs of meeting planners. They need customized destination marketing efforts, including one-to-one outreach, tailored presentations, and experiential marketing.
6. Measurement & Optimization Are Critical
With a traditional media buy, you see clicks and impressions—but are you measuring engagement, lead quality, and actual ROI? A true B2B marketing approach allows for continuous optimization and refinement based on performance data.
How Digital Edge Helps:
- Performance Dashboards & Analytics – We provide real-time insights into how your campaigns are performing.
- Ongoing Strategy Optimization – We refine messaging, creative, and targeting based on data-driven insights.
