Synchronizing Eventbrite and HubSpot: the ibis RockCorps case study

Centralize data and actions with HubSpot

"You give, you receive". Promoting volunteering through music: that's the ibis RockCorps initiative. An exceptional concert organized by ibis RockCorps and only one way to attend: give 4 hours of your time to a volunteer project benefiting an association. Giving life to this project involves creating a website to collect volunteer registrations, and synchronizing HubSpot and event manager Eventbrite to manage citizen projects. The organization called on the services of Make the Grade, both for its expertise in website design and HubSpot synchronization.

Synchronizing Eventbrite and HubSpot to encourage volunteering through music

ibis x RockCorps: a collaboration that sets the tone

ibis RockCorps is a collaborative initiative between the ibis hotel group (Accor Group) and RockCorps, an organization that encourages volunteering through music. RockCorps is a British company that has already made a name for itself many times over, all over the world. Rihanna, Maroon 5, Snoop Dogg... the list of artists who have taken part in a RockCorps concert over the past 20 years is long.

RockCorps and ibis teamed up to organize an exclusive concert at the Accor Arena at the end of May 2024 - and to organize 215 citizen projects in the 3 months leading up to the concert, to enable young volunteers to get involved. The idea was to design and build an event website on HubSpot. Young people could sign up for the volunteer project of their choice and then benefit from their reward: a ticket to the exceptional concert featuring Macklemore, Franglish and Ronisia.

The Eventbrite platform was chosen to manage the registration process. First, the events were created on the app. However, the idea was to group them together on the same platform, to prevent them from getting lost in the Eventbrite event stream. This would also help centralize information, give the project more context, and more generally define a real strategy and brand identity for it.

ibis RockCorps: an obvious choice for HubSpot

The question of synchronization between Eventbrite and HubSpot arose because the initiative's teams were already convinced by the platform's power. Ease of use, integrated SEO, reports and dashboards: they chose to adopt the HubSpot CMS for all these reasons, as well as for its CRM dimension and sales tools.

Indeed, the objective was to centralize data and actions. Behind the website lay an entire marketing strategy, implemented with the help of Make the Grade, to automate lead nurturing and qualification in particular.

Synchronization between the Eventbrite event platform and HubSpot was a key issue from the outset.

ibis RockCorps challenges Make the Grade to deliver in 3 months

Make the Grade was approached with a major challenge: to design and deliver a functional event website in just three months. A challenge we were ready to take up, confident in our teams and their expertise:

• Custom website design.
• API synchronization.

Beyond these technical aspects, the challenge was also human. Exemplary logistics, organization and project management.

Starting from scratch: creating a website on HubSpot

The first technical challenge was to create a complete website from scratch. Prior to this project, ibis RockCorps had no site of its own. The site not only had to act as a showcase for events, but also integrate functionalities such as registration, user profile management and synchronization with Eventbrite.

Having to create a website also represented a challenge in terms of scheduling. HubSpot's intuitive drag-and-drop functionality and anticipation of content integration enabled us to meet this challenge brilliantly.

Synchronizing Eventbrite and HubSpot

At the heart of this project was the synchronization between Eventbrite and HubSpot. The aim was to automatically upload information about events and citizen projects created on Eventbrite to the new site. This information had to include the date, location, descriptions, visuals and number of places available. It had to be updated in real time.

In addition, the customer wanted to include information that was not available on Eventbrite. This was the case, for example, with the names of partner associations for each citizen project. The Eventbrite <> HubSpot synchronization information therefore needed to be enriched.

Data storage and marketing strategy

A final challenge for RockCorps was to correctly store participants' data in HubSpot. Project date, registration date, registration status: this data would then be used to trigger HubSpot automated workflows. This includes sending marketing emails such as D-7 reminders or event notifications.

Solutions: organization and synchronization

To meet the customer's various constraints and deliver the project with flying colors, organization was key. A retro-planning schedule was put in place, and the Make the Grade teams mobilized in a logical sequence. From site construction and HubSpot Eventbrite integration to acceptance testing, every step was optimized, and regular exchanges were maintained with the customer.

Designing and developing an event website

First of all, we had to design the site's tree structure and mock-ups. Some thirty modules were created for eight graphic layouts. At Make the Grade, we always work with SEO and conversion in mind. The aim is to organize content logically and clearly to optimize the user experience and improve engagement.

Since this is an events site, and even more so with this focus on music and concerts, the integration of video content was a must. A technical constraint we took into account from the outset.

To meet the requirements of an event website, the developed site also features a membership area with registration, login and user profile.

Integrating Eventbrite with HubSpot

Technical development included the creation of a custom API to synchronize Eventbrite and HubSpot. The aim was to feed events created on Eventbrite directly into our customer's site. This integration enabled real-time display of information such as :

• Event date and location.
• Event description.
• Number of places available.
• Associated visuals.

Visitors were thus able to browse through the 215 available citizen projects and register in just one click!

Creating a HubDB

Then, in parallel with the Eventbrite and HubSpot synchronization, a HubDB was developed. The aim was to store additional information on events. The names of partner associations, for example, were not available on Eventbrite, but were essential for RockCorps. HubSpot's HubDB thus made it possible to cross-reference data and offer an enriched view of events.

Technical CRM development

In order to meet this requirement and support our customer in the development of a marketing strategy, a second synchronization was necessary. Some information, such as the project date or registration date, was not automatically added and stored on HubSpot. This technical CRM development overcame this problem, enabling marketing workflows to be triggered. On the user side, volunteers are kept informed of their event and notified so they don't forget. On the customer side, this enabled real-time registration tracking, contact list segmentation and efficient lead qualification.

Training ibis RockCorps teams

To guarantee the autonomy of RockCorps teams on HubSpot, it was imperative to provide them with customized training. Make the Grade provided training for both Content Hub and Marketing Hub.

The RockCorps teams thus had the keys to integrating the site's content on HubSpot, but also to creating a contact form, static or dynamic lists, emails, etc.

These training courses enabled the RockCorps teams to manage and update the site independently once it was online. For example, once the final concert was over, the homepage was updated. It is now dedicated to thank-you notes and an aftermovie.

The results: satisfaction and a concert

The site went online at the beginning of February, meeting the project's tight deadlines. During the registration period from launch to the end of May, the site was viewed 1.4 million times. A total of 49,871 accounts were created, with over 22,000 signing up for a volunteer project.

Thanks to this project, ibis RockCorps offered several thousand people an exclusive Macklemore concert at the Accor Arena in Paris. As proof of the success of this collaboration, our teams were themselves invited to the concert in VIP mode!