Specialist full-service marketing agency for the events industry, Patch Marketing, has launched Octoplus – an innovative new channel management product. The solution has been designed to overcome the challenges many venues face in maintaining their directory listings and keeping profile content up to date.

Jackson Clark, Managing Director at Patch explains: “When Patch formed in 2010 there were just seven venue directory websites for clients to be featured on. Our latest audit identified there are now at least 75, making it near impossible for venues to regularly track where they are listed and when their content was last updated.”

Octoplus was developed specifically to meet the needs of Patch’s growing portfolio of venue clients, which includes {10-11} Carlton House Terrace, Barbican Centre, BMA House and Congress Centre. When surveyed, 77% of venues found the process of updating venue listing sites as “painful and annoying”.

Clark adds: “To ensure maximum visibility and lead generation on directory websites, it’s crucial for venues to consistently update their profiles with quality content and fresh data. This has become even more challenging to maintain post-COVID, as many venues are still struggling to recruit for relevant positions.”

The importance of these venue listing partnerships is clear – 82% of venues rely on them to generate new business. 69% of venues stated they would ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ utilise a solution like Octoplus to manage this process, saving vital team resources to focus on other business objectives.

Amie Murphy, Venue Business Development and Marketing Manager at {10-11} Carlton House Terrace comments: “Having our listings up to date is crucial, ensuring that our prospective clients are getting accurate, current information as well as the latest imagery of our wonderful rooms. Because we have numerous listings, this is often very time consuming and is a task overlooked when the team must prioritise responding to enquiries and delivering events. Having Patch capture that information once and then update all our listings in one go is so valuable and will enable us to focus on responding to enquiries and converting business. It also helps us keep our brand voice and messaging consistent across all platforms, reinforcing who we are and what we have to offer.”

Managed in-house by Patch’s expert team, Octoplus comes in a range of options to suit venues’ specific needs and budget. An initial audit will ascertain every website a venue is featured on, then they need only submit their latest news, images, descriptive copy, packages and specifications one time. Frequent content reviews and recommendations conducted by Patch will ensure seasonal and milestone updates are consistently made, maximising the potential ROI.

Ed Poland, Chief Operating Officer and Founder of Hire Space says: “Great profiles are key to a venue’s prosperity as digital lead generation for events evolves. It’s great to see Patch leading the way for its clients with smart solutions for this key area.”