Informa Connect + Turtl | Case Study
How Informa Connect used Turtl to save $55,000+ of lost revenue from event cancellations through sponsored eBooks
*Informa Connect + Turtl:* Pivoting content into a revenue generator
How Informa Connect used Turtl to create sponsored eBooks, saving more than $55,000 of lost revenue from face-to-face event postponements
*Overview* The story in a nutshell
Informa Connect runs around 800 events in over 60 countries each year. With the coronavirus pandemic causing the postponement or cancellation of virtually every physical event and tradeshow until well into 2021, Informa had to get creative.
To make up part of this revenue deficit, the team pivoted towards sponsored content, using Turtl's software to produce topic-based interactive eBooks targeting life-science audiences.
Only a handful of the dozens of planned eBooks have been produced so far, but they've already earned
more than $55,000
Informa Connect is a specialist in content-driven events and digital platforms that allow professionals to meet, connect, learn, and share knowledge.
Visit their website
*Challenges and objectives* Is content up to the task?
Pushing content to its full potential
With events sidelined for the foreseeable future, Andrew Burrow - Head of Content, Insight, and Analytics at Informa Connect - needed his team's sponsored ebooks to step up to the plate. To generate revenue, he needed a format that would meet four key objectives:
1. Faster turnarounds
How can we produce more eBooks in a fraction of the time?
2. Generate more leads
Can we generate enough leads that would be a draw for potential sponsors?
3. Improved engagement
Is it possible to deliver a more meaningful experience with digital content?
4. Valuable analytics
Which content metrics would incentivize companies to sponsor?
*Solution* Supercharge the content experience
Creating high-value eBooks with limited resources
THE SOLUTION:
Unlocking revenue opportunities with premium interactive content
Quick to create
To produce multiple sponsored eBooks every month, Informa decided Turtl's easy-to-use editor was the best way forward. The eBooks are created in Turtl with a pre-coded theme that guarantees consistency through on-brand only options. Each issue is pulled together with simple drag-and-drop functionality, allowing them to produce a busy calendar without draining limited resources.
Better lead capture
Informa needed to know they could reliably deliver a certain number of leads to meet their sponsorship agreements. Turtl lets them place gates within the body of an eBook, so they can offer readers a taster of the content to pique curiosity and show value before asking for their data. This encourages a higher sign-up rate than typical lead capture forms
Maximum engagement
While digital content can't yet deliver the same experience as an in-person interaction, Informa looked to Turtl to push the envelope on what's possible. Turtl's interactive format is designed with the psychology of engagement in mind. Its navigation mimics that of a real book or magazine and it supports a wide range of interactive widgets like polls, charts, maps, and other visual assets.
Metrics that matter
To help build out a tiered pricing structure, Andrew and his team needed a content software that delivered on multiple fronts. Turtl's detailed individual reader analytics offer incredibly valuable insights for any business. Access to see how individual leads engaged with the eBooks section-by-section could be charged at a higher price.
How Informa Connect offers sponsorship in Turtl
There are three price packages on offer for clients. Depending on which one they choose, they get different levels of visibility in the eBook and access to different insights captured by the Turtl format.
Editorial sponsor
- Thought leadership – Provide a content piece to feature in the eBook
- Qualified Leads – Receive a guaranteed 75 leads of those that download the eBook
- Branding – Clickable branding included on contents and editorial pages
Headline sponsor
- Thought leadership – Provide a content piece to feature in the eBook
- Qualified Leads – Receive all leads (minimum 100) of those that download the eBook, plus a breakdown of what content each viewed
- Branding – On front cover and all content pages, plus a full page clickable advert with choice of placement within the eBook
The editorial sponsorship has been by far the most popular, with clients eager to see their content in Turtl's dynamic interactive format
Andrew Burrow, Head of Content, Insight, and Analytics at Informa Connect
*Results* A revenue injection in difficult times
$55,000+ from just three eBooks
RESULTS
Revenue to rely on in an eventless world
At the time of writing, the team at Informa Connect have produced three eBooks and sold a total of 11 sponsorship packages. This amounts to more than $55,000 in direct revenue from their content.
With face-to-face events postponed for the foreseeable future, this revenue stream has arrived at a critical time for Informa, and Turtl is the tool behind it.
As times got tough, we were able to act in an agile way under unusual confinements, unlocking new revenue opportunities with content. Turtl was the machine that powered this.
Catherine Dogra, Head of Digital Marketing at Informa Connect
Click above for more details on exactly how they offer sponsorship, including examples from existing eBooks.
Economical to create
The revenue generated from the life science eBooks is complemented by how economical they are to create. The simple UX of Turtl's tool allows the team to pull them together in very little time with minimal resources. The sponsors provide most of the content and the eBook is then padded out with advertisements and evergreen content from Informa Connect. The team is producing around three eBooks every month.
It's really not a lot of work to create something in Turtl that looks really meaty and attracts sponsors
Andrew Burrow, Head of Content, Insight, and Analytics at Informa Connect
A high-value offer
Despite how easy the eBooks are to produce, the feedback on their quality has been overwhelmingly positive. Multiple businesses have reached out after reading an eBook to find out more about how they can get their content featured in a future issue. The premium experience of Turtl's format has opened up new inbound financial opportunities for Informa.
Turtl's flexible gating has also doubled the number of leads Informa would typically see with similar content. A test comparing signups directly through the interactive eBook vs a typical landing page found that twice the number of people signed up via Turtl. This has helped Informa deliver their ambitious lead commitments outlined in the sponsorship packages.
