Clarion Gaming sells retargeting ads to sponsors with 14x ROI

On Selling Digital

As Clarion Gaming expanded its digital product offerings, they split their sales teams into two groups: one team sells more traditional sponsorships and booth spaces while the other focuses on digital offerings. 

Products like booth spaces, sponsored coffee breaks, or naming rights to WiFi at their events are straightforward to sell but are generally difficult to measure in terms of ROI for the sponsor. Digital products on the other hand, offer data. 

Therefore, the digital team centers their sales pitch for retargeting on the quality of results that can be expected and, most importantly, measured. “Our team sells in a way that embraces data and analytics to justify to the client that this stuff [retargeting] works,” said Williams. 

According to Tom Christmann, Feathr’s own trade show and conference sales expert, Williams’ team is taking the right approach by leading with the data. "The idea of value selling certainly isn’t new, but the ability to demonstrate it with real-time reporting makes it extremely clear,” said Christmann. “It’s easy to sell when the results speak for themselves and especially when you can ensure delivery to a highly targeted audience,” he added.

Overcoming Objections

While a data-driven and results-focused pitch has proven a successful selling strategy, their team still faces the challenge of explaining what retargeting is and how it works to their clients. However, when putting their digital media kit together, Williams incorporated material provided by Feathr to help illustrate the concept. 

With clients in the gambling industry, their sales team also faces serious concerns about the possibility of running ads on websites considered inappropriate for their industry and the legal implications of serving ads promoting gambling to minors. While these concerns are completely valid, they are easily addressed when clients are assured that every campaign run by Clarion Gaming inherently includes an extensive list of blacklisted websites for their industry that are established at an account-wide level. 

Running Sponsored Retargeting Campaigns

Selling retargeting packages is only half the battle. Once a package is sold, the campaign must then be created and run by the marketing team. For Clarion Gaming, a single person handles the fulfillment of these campaigns.

“We have one team member who looks after the backend of Feathr for clients and for our own digital portfolio. Running client ads allows him to understand the platform more, test things out a bit more, and learn what does and doesn’t work,” Williams noted.  

Just as results are key in the initial sales pitch, they are even more important in the actual delivery to clients. “The real-time reporting is something that our clients go wild for. We often have clients actively tracking things and being responsive to what is working and what isn’t working from their live analytics. For the sponsor, the analytics allow them to have real control over the campaign. We encourage them to test and change things up to maximise their spend,” he continued.  

For Clarion Gaming, their collaborative approach positions them as a trusted advisor and not just a vendor. “When it comes to digital, you have to be cooperative with the client. You have to show them the analytics and the results...Doing this, and delivering on this, often allows clients to see ROIs that they may not be able to measure at events,” he said.