Event Marketing Insights: Lessons from 6sense, Keyfactor, and Industry Leaders

Purple Cork VIP Roundtable Participants

Virtual events have become a powerful tool for fostering connections, accelerating pipelines, and showing appreciation for customers—all without geographical limitations. This was on full display during Purple Cork's Valentine's Day chocolate tasting event. The event brought together marketing leaders from 6sense, Keyfactor, and other organizations to taste delicious Delysia Chocolates and share their expertise on maximizing the impact of virtual experiences. Below, we’ve rounded up the most valuable strategies and insights from the discussion, helping you learn how to create impactful, results-driven events of your own.

Engaging Unique Audiences Requires a Tailored Approach

One of the key takeaways from the event was the value of tailoring your strategy to fit your audience. The participants—representing industries like cybersecurity, software, and marketing—revealed how they adapted their approach to meet the needs and preferences of their unique audiences.

• Marketers Love Thought Leadership Experiences
  Alexa Grossman and Scott O’Connell from 6sense shared their method of combining virtual tastings with presentations from subject matter experts. For their enterprise segment, they brought in internal thought leaders like Kerry Cunningham to provide value-packed sessions for marketing professionals. Pairing wine and chocolate with thought leadership helped create a perfect balance of education and indulgence that resonated with their audience.
  

• CISOs and Executives Prefer High-End Enjoyments
  Jamie Walker from Keyfactor highlighted the challenge of engaging technical and executive decision-makers, such as Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs). For this audience, the most impactful events paired personalized, high-quality experiences like bourbon tastings with appearances by senior leaders within their company—chief security officers or CTOs—who could speak directly to their audience’s interests.
  

• Know When to Pivot
  Keyfactor’s evolution from targeting technical audiences for demand generation to using events like these for pipeline acceleration and customer appreciation underscores the need to adapt, especially in rapidly changing markets. Virtual events are a nimble way to address shifting needs and priorities.
  

Personalization is Key

Perhaps the most consistent theme throughout the event was the power of personalization. Broad, generic invitations simply don’t cut it anymore. Examples of personalized strategies included:

• Targeted Invite Lists: Rather than casting a wide net, participants stressed the importance of focusing on specific accounts and personas. For 6sense, that meant targeting warm, qualified leads already in their sales funnel.

• Custom Messaging: Brooke Bartos shared the success of sending plain-text, casual invitations from a VP’s email account to drive higher registration rates. The personal tone—and avoidance of polished “marketing speak”—resonated better with recipients.

Create Layers of Engagement with Extra Touches

To elevate the experience, leveraging unique, memorable elements ensures guests stay engaged while adding credibility and charm to your event.

• Celebrity Guests as Attention Magnets: Events featuring prominent figures, such as Drew Bledsoe or professional sommeliers like Anthony Giglio, offer added appeal. These elevated touches not only draw audiences but also foster deeper engagement through memorable stories or expertise.

• Subject Matter Experts: Pairing tastings with an educational component—like learning about chocolate-making from Nicole Patel of Delysia Chocolatier—enhances the experience and gives participants a takeaway that will linger long after the event is over.

Experience Drives ROI

Virtual events like Purple Cork’s aren’t just feel-good initiatives—they’re proven drivers of pipeline acceleration and customer engagement. Leaders shared their metrics and ROI-driven approaches during the discussion.

• Pipeline Success Stories: 6sense revealed that pairing their elite chocolate and wine tastings with educational components consistently yields results, generating over 10 new stage-zero opportunities in a single session.

• Targeting Late-Stage Deals: For some companies, virtual tastings are reserved for progressing accounts close to the finish line. By offering a memorable gifting experience to decision-makers, organizations create the perfect opportunity for follow-ups to deepen discussions and finalize deals.

• Customer Appreciation Initiatives: Jamie Walker from Keyfactor underscored the importance of investing in customer relationships via these virtual events as a way to fortify loyalty and unlock upsell opportunities.

Your Next Step
Hosting a virtual event isn’t just a box to check—it’s a way to build lasting impressions, progress pipelines, and create unforgettable moments that attendees talk about long after the last truffle is gone. Reach out to Purple Cork and explore how you can tailor your ideal event today!