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European Society of Cardiology

Congress Communications Strategy

Deliver a comprehensive communications strategy to achieve successful in-person and virtual attendance from new and returning delegates, at the 2023 European Society of Cardiology Congress.

As a leading voice within the cardiology community, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) delivers an annual calendar of pioneering healthcare congresses, bringing together the latest, practice-changing science with cardiology professionals from across the globe. Their principal and most heavily attended meeting; ‘ESC Congress’, is highly anticipated by all those within the discipline and recognised as the ultimate forum to network, learn and contribute.

The ESC has previously worked with TMC on successful collaborations such as the annual concept, creation and production of the daily delegate newspaper, film and live video capture for ESC TV, alongside the ground-breaking data visualisation project; ESC Atlas. With a strong co-working relationship, the ESC invited TMC to support their marketing team in delivering the communications strategy for Congress 2023.

To exceed attendance targets set by ESC, this project required a three-phase, nine-month communications timeline to ensure core messaging was published to the key audiences to accelerate conversion. By using audience profiling and behaviour analysis, bespoke visuals and messaging matrices were developed to provide consistency to the communications and ensure each demographic was targeted in the most effective way.

To leverage those emotional triggers that lead to action, the campaign was focused on building the human connection between delegates, especially after experiencing the effects of COVID-19 which prevented these in-person relationships from flourishing in previous years.

The Results
  • 5.6m Impressions from paid media

  • 548k Campaign page views

  • 10.2% Average CTR on Google Ads

Our Solution

To ensure the most significant impact across each of the phases, the communication strategy relied on the results of the extensive audience analysis, personas and the opportunity to spend time with the marketing team. The split between the audiences were primarily based on age – those over 40 and those under 40 – the nature of Cardiology training often requires or experiences qualifications over this threshold. These findings informed a messaging matrix with emotional triggers based on each audiences career aspirations and motivational drivers.

Moving forward, attention turned to the initial campaign messaging and its relevance to these set audiences. The overarching strapline ‘Joining forces to protect the heart’ remained a key component, while bespoke sign-offers were used to tailor the message to specific segments. This messaging and corresponding imagery became the critical pathway to reinforcing the wider narrative of embarking on a ‘journey’.

Segmented email campaigns 

The ‘journey’ narrative underpinned the overall strategy to establish Congress as a go-to platform for knowledge and education, year after year. Throughout each phase of the promotional build-up, a specific goal was outlined incorporating this theme. The phases were timed to reap abstract/late-breaking science submissions, make delegates aware of tiered pricing deadlines, and ESC Congress speaker line-ups.

Email communication was the key delivery platform, utilising the. extensive earned audience lists. By using segmenting capabilities, messaging was tailored to the outlined age groups. For those under 40, they emphasised the opportunity of gaining insights from leading cardiologists and networking during Congress, whilst those over 40 were motivated by sharing their experience with the next generation. Fellows of the ESC (FESC) were also targeted, due to their high levels of influence and strong advocacy. Throughout the campaign, a total of 47 long-form emails were sent, developed by the Marketing and Medical Writer teams.

In addition to segmented emails, a total of 29 ‘My ESC News’ bulletins were sent weekly. The bulletins were distributed to the entire, brand-level audience list with digestible information, news, ground-breaking studies, and information on other Congresses held throughout the year.

Man on phone looking at ESC social media

ESC across all channels

Social channels were employed as a supportive communications channel during the campaign, where the combined followership of over 519K across ESC’s Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter were served strategic content. Posts were published on these platforms to support milestones such as the announcements of speakers, deadlines for ticket pricing, and agenda for the Congress.

To make the presence on these platforms more human-centric and aligned with the ESC branding and tone, speakers and FESCs were provided with an advocacy toolkit, which included social media posts, messaging, slide templates, and other collateral. This ensured their advocacy was consistent and the strategic messaging was reinforced at every opportunity.

To amplify awareness and conversion, a strategic Paid Media proposal was created for Google Ads, LinkedIn, and Twitter which included highly-targeted, campaigns in a variety of formats. Ensuring each potential delegate touchpoint was utilised, the omni-channel approach provided key value propositions at each stage of their purchase funnel.

TMC Strategic Communications

Drinks in the Dam

During Congress, a sub-campaign was also launched to encourage attendance to the social networking event for delegates. “Drinks in the Dam” provided a relaxed opportunity for delegates to meet and build relationships. To ensure the success of the event, a bespoke landing page, emails, and ads within the ESC Newspaper were created to publicise the value held in attending.

Throughout the entire promotional period, results were assessed through strategic monthly and end-of-phase reports. These reports provided the project management team valuable insights into where to direct reactive communications and how to best respond to user behaviours to maximise engagement.

At TMC, we take pride in our collaborative approach to communication strategies. We use behaviour data to influence performance and work with multi-disciplinary teams to create omnichannel campaigns that align with commercial objectives.

What next?

Aiming to optimise your congress or event attendance through a comprehensive communications strategy?

If you are interested in an obligation-free conversation about how we can elevate your experiential marketing, please contact us on: +44 (0)1260 295700 or email hello@wearetmc.com.

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