In September 2021, Lysol Pro Solutions, a Reckitt brand, and Grab Philippines launched a webinar that has drawn over 4,600 viewers to date.  Experts from both teams came together to educate GrabFood and GrabMart merchants about hygiene science during the COVID-19 pandemic and introduce the Lysol Pro platform.

ADDRESSING A STRUGGLING INDUSTRY

At the time of the webinar, during the pandemic, the food delivery and restaurant industry had taken a major hit. Sensitive to the audience’s situation and needs, Lysol wanted to take a conversational, information-first approach to the webinar, putting education around hygiene and rebuilding trust in a struggling industry above all else. The content revolved around what viruses are, why they’re different from bacteria, and practical tips for keeping safe.

INTRODUCING A NEW WAY TO BUY

In addition to the educational content and how-tos, the webinar informed viewers of a special offer for the Lysol Pro platform. Combined with a special offer for restaurants, online sellers, and other hospitality businesses in attendance, the Lysol Pro platform was positioned as a way for business owners to efficiently purchase Lysol products that help to protect their businesses and keep customers healthy. 

ONBOARDING A GLOBAL TEAM OF SPEAKERS

The Reckitt and Lysol team came up with great ideas and enthusiasm for sharing their team’s expertise. With their leadership, the PaperplaneCo team worked with an all-star lineup of experts on hygiene, including Aleli Arcilla, President and General Manager at Reckitt Philippines;  Blake McKeown, Commercial Director AMEA, Business Solutions; Dr. Lisa Ackerley, Director of Medical & Scientific Engagement, Hygiene Research & Development; and Chef Rosebud Benitez Velasco as the webinar’s host.

The project managers at PaperplaneCo took care of introducing the project to the speakers, onboarding them through the webinar script and speaking process, and ensuring that the team felt comfortable before and during the live event.

CREATING CONTENT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

PaperplaneCo worked alongside the expert speakers to develop a webinar structure that prioritised education, science, and how-tos for merchants and workers handling food on a daily basis. The Reckitt and Lysol Pro team wanted to take a conversational approach to the webinar—and engaging visuals—to ensure the scientific content did not feel like a lecture. PaperplaneCo also developed promotional copy around the event, which attracted over 1,500 live viewers when it aired on Zoom.

The webinar is still available online and has continued to grow, drawing in more than 3,100 on-demand viewers to date.

After a successful first season, the Adobe Commerce Accelerator Webinar Series came roaring back with a second season featuring six two-part episodes. Each episode contained a thought leadership part and a more technical part that showed off the software.

The first season of the series, under Magento Commerce branding, explored modern consumers and their needs. It explored how new technologies and business models were upending entire sectors, creating ongoing waves of disruption for every business — and it was a success with over 90% of attendees reporting that they found the series helpful. Season 2 was developed as a practical business roadmap, putting a spotlight on the Adobe Commerce tools that help organisations advance and adapt quickly.

A SERIES THAT EMPHASISES SIMPLICITY IN A SEA OF COMPLEXITY

Commerce, by nature, is full of complexities. Adobe Commerce’s target market includes commerce brands with varied product catalogues, working in multiple markets and using multiple currencies, and running on multiple sites and channels. The array of Adobe Commerce solutions is also complex, allowing enterprises with diverse needs to grow and optimise their performance. The aim of this series was to acknowledge the complexities of doing day-to-day business while highlighting solutions in a straightforward way.

CREATING A PRACTICAL BUSINESS ROADMAP

Sometimes, the best approach is to take it step by step. To encourage viewers to put their knowledge into action and drive business transformation — without feeling overwhelmed — the episode list was developed to reflect a step-by-step approach, moving through specific areas of the business that can be optimised with Adobe Commerce. The premier episode gave viewers a high-level look at Adobe Commerce. The second episode focused on increasing customer lifetime value among current customers, an easy yet valuable place to start for any existing business. The episodes moved forward through improving the checkout experience, reducing purchase friction, and keeping customers engaged via content. The season wraps up with a recap of the many key ways Adobe Commerce technology can help.

DESIGNED FOR ENGAGEMENT

No lectures found here! This series was designed for interactivity. Each episode of Season 2 contains two separate events, helping to separate thought leadership content from solution and demo content and preventing viewers from needing to digest too much information at once. Each part-one “webisode” was divided into sections, including introductions, learning objectives, theory and research presentations, case studies, and a coffee chat segment, followed by a live Q&A session and resource sharing. Each part-two “webisode” included introductions and learning objectives, a product demo or case study interview, and time for Q&A, giving viewers a chance to see Adobe Commerce features in action. Having a host, multiple speakers, and the coffee chat format made each episode lively.

Customer experience has never been as vital to a brand’s success as it is today.

In fact, research shows that 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. By 2020, customer experience is expected to be the key brand differentiator among consumers leaving price and product behind.

No one knows this better than Nicholas Kontopoulos, Head of Commercial DX Marketing at Magento Commerce, the leading e-commerce platform. With more than 20 years experience in the industry, Nicholas has always been a CX evangelist and passionate about putting customers at the heart of a brand.

GETTING CX RIGHT TAKES WORK

Even though omnichannel was a hot topic, Nicholas realised there was substantial FUD around its practical application within organisations. Putting the customers’ needs first as opposed to selling to them required thinking and operating differently. From the C-level down to customer-facing teams, decision-making now needed to focus on the customer. Business silos had their own operational structures, processes, and technology. Breaking down these silos and developing new capabilities around People, Process and Technology to deliver a differentiated, personalised experience seemed highly intimidating.

Having led several digital transformation projects, Nicholas began looking for ways to share his expertise and knowledge.

A TEAM EFFORT

As the producer of these webinars, Maryel Roman-Price, Field Commerce Marketing Manager, was instrumental in bringing the series to life.

Acting as the enthusiastic bridge between Magento and PaperplaneCo, she ensured each webinar covered multiple viewpoints in an engaging way. Whether it was finding and coordinating speakers and panelists, getting statistics or information about the webinar platform, or providing deeper insights into who our audience is, she made the most out of our content by promoting the series across new and established audiences.

CREATING ACTIONABLE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

The question we asked ourselves was: how could we help break down a vast and evolving topic like CX transformation into digestible, practical knowledge? How could we instill in the audience the confidence to make the shift?

Piecemeal resources such as research papers, blog posts and webinars on the omnichannel experience are freely available across the web. What we wanted to create was a series of webinars, much like a TV series, that would serve as a complete guide towards developing and implementing an omni-channel CX strategy.

The Magento Accelerator Webinar series, would help companies understand their customers’ needs, and use that knowledge to plan and optimise their buying journey. Retailers would then be able to provide a seamless, personalised experience to their shoppers across channels, keeping them coming back for more.

DESIGNING WITH THE CUSTOMER IN MIND

Nicholas was single-minded about the audience: mid-market enterprises, and later stage SMEs who were looking for an e-commerce platform to further their business growth.

Having a clear idea of the audience was crucial. Without this clarity, the webinar would need to appeal to a broad audience and lose its purpose to deliver meaningful content.

We broke down the webinar series to address each stage of the customer journey to enable the audience to step into the shoes of their customer. Each episode explored what the customer is thinking, doing and feeling, together with strategies on how to tip them into the next stage.

FINDING THE STORY IN THE FACTS

We knew that the knowledge we had to share could have a big impact on how businesses approach e-commerce, but we were also aware that we were offering a new perspective and the information could become quite dense.

Content strategist, Tim Marsh, enjoys challenges like this because he believes complexity can seem simple when delivered in the right order. “Developing each episode starts with a deep dive into the customer psychology, and how that’s being met in the marketplace. At first the bulk and variety of concepts can be almost overwhelming. Then when it begins to crystallise and become clear, I get this rush of enthusiasm. It becomes like a revelation that I can’t wait to share.”

Asked if this is what he likes about his role, he replied, “Having your work really appreciated by people such as Nicholas and Maryel who certainly know their stuff, and then seeing them turn it into so much more when delivered, that’s what keeps me interested.”

MERGING PERSONALITY WITH INFORMATION

Nicholas is a natural thought leader and host for the series because he has a genuine passion for optimising every customer experience. His charisma is born of a desire to really help people. We worked to capture this instinctive ability while providing structure and supporting research for his content. To achieve this, we share many engaging conversations with him, and then work his patterns of speech into the script. This results in a smooth and confident delivery of material that Nicholas relates in his own words.

Using visual storytelling tools, each episode is designed to be engaging and energising with plenty of audience participation. To make the series relatable and interactive, we incorporate fireside chats, polls, and audience Q&A. We also examine useful tools, and use real-world case studies and success stories to translate theory into hands-on practical action.

IT PAYS TO BE INVESTED IN YOUR CUSTOMERS

From the beginning, we wanted to create not just a webinar but a whole learning universe. Apart from the webinar, Magento’s Accelerator Series also offers the audience opportunities to view Demos On Demand, participate in live events, workshops and self-assessments.

The Q&A session is highly interactive, with members from the audience peppering Nicholas and guest speakers with questions and sharing their own experiences. The active participation in polls is evidence of a high-quality, highly-engaged audience.

Almost in its second season, the webinar has been well-received with 500 viewers registering for its first episode and an average of 290 registrations taking place per episode. On average, each episode is attended by about 100 participants.

While the audience’s attendance speaks for itself, every new lead generated through the series is an opportunity for Magento to continue the conversation and nurture prospects on their customer journey.