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About ECTI

Export Compliance Training Institute (ECTI) provides in-depth training on reformed EAR, ITAR, and OFAC regulations for industry, government, and universities and research institutions. In addition to in-person seminars, ECTI offers webinars, international seminars for non-U.S. companies, and flexible e-Seminars.

Strategic 7 Marketing began working with ECTI in 2020 to strengthen and expand their seminar marketing efforts during a period of major disruption to in-person events.
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ECTI Logo

The Challenge

ECTI hosts between 13 and 16 seminars annually across the U.S. and internationally. Following COVID-19, attendance declined and needed to recover to pre-pandemic levels for the seminar program to remain commercially viable.

The challenge was not only driving registrations but doing so consistently across a high volume of events, while improving the digital experience, tracking performance reliably, and keeping campaigns on schedule and within budget.

ECTI needed a repeatable, scalable marketing approach that could support ongoing event promotion without increasing internal burden.

The Solution

Strategic 7 Marketing took full ownership of seminar promotion and event communications, managing all digital marketing efforts tied to ECTI’s seminar program.

Our work included:

  • Developing and executing promotional campaigns across email, social media, Google Ads, and LinkedIn Ads
  • Managing HubSpot for email campaigns, landing pages, lists, registrant tracking, pop-ups, and reporting
  • Designing and launching brand-new event landing pages to replace an outdated layout and improve the registration experience
  • Creating a structured, repeatable workflow to support multiple events running simultaneously

This approach was designed to support volume and consistency. With 13–16 seminars running annually, ECTI needed a system that could be repeated without reinventing campaigns each time. By centralizing execution and reporting, the seminar program became predictable, easier to manage, and less dependent on ad hoc effort—allowing attendance and revenue recovery without increasing internal workload.

HubSpot served as the central marketing platform, while Airtable was used for project and task management. Weekly status calls ensured alignment, and weekly performance reporting—powered by HubSpot metrics—allowed campaigns to be optimized in real time.
ECTI Seminars (1)

The Results

The seminar marketing program delivered measurable business impact:

  • Seminar attendance exceeded pre-COVID benchmarks, including 106 registrants for the 2024 University Seminar compared to 75 pre-pandemic.

  • Revenue showed strong recovery, with an 8.5% increase in 2024 and a projected 9.73% increase in 2025, based on expected full-year revenue of $1.8M.

  • All campaigns and event promotions were delivered on time and within budget, with proactive communication when additional resources were required.

  • New event landing pages provided a more professional, consistent, and conversion-friendly experience.

  • Reliable tracking was established for key performance metrics, including email click-through rates, lead generation from paid media, attendance by seminar and year-over-year revenue growth.

The Impact

This engagement resulted in a repeatable seminar marketing playbook that ECTI now uses across 13–16 events each year. By combining structured project management, consistent execution, and performance-driven optimization, Strategic 7 Marketing helped ECTI restore attendance, grow revenue, and scale its seminar program with confidence.

The case demonstrates how disciplined event marketing—when paired with the right systems and processes—can drive predictable results year after year, even across a complex, high-volume event schedule.

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