Unified Global Marketing: AirPlus International and Huble's Strategic Partnership

How Huble joined forces with AirPlus International to transform regional efforts into a cohesive, well-trained global marketing operation

About AirPlus

AirPlus International is a leading international provider of corporate payment solutions. 55,000 corporate customers rely on AirPlus for the payment and evaluation of their business trips and other purchasing services. The products and services are marketed worldwide under the AirPlus International brand. AirPlus is an issuer of the UATP and Mastercard card schemes. The AirPlus Company Account is the most successful billing account within the UATP. For more information, visit www.airplus.com.

Bridging global and regional marketing gaps

AirPlus first engaged with Huble when looking for a trusted agency of record to facilitate the transition to HubSpot Marketing Hub as their new marketing platform.

They needed a partner to implement the new system in the AirPlus organization and provide comprehensive training and support for their global and regional marketing teams. Additionally, AirPlus aimed to move towards a digital-first inbound marketing approach, which required not only software training but also marketing methodology training for the full team. 

Since 2019, Huble and AirPlus have built a lasting, and honest partnership, transforming Huble from a service provider into a true extension of the AirPlus marketing team. What started as a software implementation has evolved into a trusted, ongoing, and evolving relationship. 
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AirPlus faced several key challenges at the outset:

  • Technology Challenges: Their existing CMS system made it difficult to create and manage web-based campaigns and landing pages, necessitating modernization and efficiency to support effective inbound marketing campaigns quickly and efficiently.

  • Global and Regional Challenges: There was a disconnect between the global marketing team and regional teams, leading to inconsistent campaign execution and regional disparities. Additionally, with operations in multiple regions, AirPlus needed a central controlled system that regional teams could use, ensuring everything was aligned and consistent, including multi-language support.

  • Training and Strategy Support for the Team: AirPlus required extensive training for their teams to adapt to inbound marketing strategies and effectively utilize the new platform. They also aimed to grow and develop their team’s skills and outlook to fully embrace the inbound marketing approach.

Establishing the Huble and AirPlus partnership

In January 2019, Huble contracted with AirPlus for a 12-month HubSpot setup and ongoing support contract. This partnership aimed to support AirPlus with their HubSpot implementation on the corporate site and address initial strategy and training requirements. This engagement allowed Huble to collaborate closely with AirPlus' global and local teams, ensuring a successful rollout and adoption of HubSpot.

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How Huble and AirPlus created a unified global marketing strategy

01

Utilising HubSpot to manage Marketing Qualified Leads 

AirPlus is primarily using HubSpot for managing leads and customer interactions with the goal to integrate HubSpot into their customer CRM in the future. Once fully integrated, this will establish a seamless connection between HubSpot and their trusted CRM software, enabling automatic transfer of leads to the sales team.

 

HubSpot remains crucial for managing MQLs, serving as a benchmark metric for performance evaluation from a marketing perspective.

02

Coaching AirPlus on inbound marketing strategies

Together with AirPlus, Huble has developed a new digital marketing strategy that focuses on a stronger inbound-oriented approach.

 

This resulted in the launch of targeted email marketing campaigns to reach out to both potential and existing customers and used marketing automation tools to personalize and optimize communications.

 

This approach helped to increase engagement, improve conversion rates, and build closer relationships with customers. To comply with GDPR and set a standard globally, AirPlus then introduced a standardized double opt-in (DOI) process, which was further refined with Huble during joint workshops in October last year. Additionally, Huble conducted in-person training at their offices in Germany, bringing together all their regional marketing teams for sessions on HubSpot and inbound marketing best practices.

03

Ensuring the AirPlus team has multi-language assets

Huble ensured multilingual support for blog and landing pages in various languages, including Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, and Dutch, and is currently working on adding Spanish.

 

They also facilitated the needs of AirPlus' regional marketing managers by providing access to HubSpot, templates, assets, and other resources through a centralized system managed by a dedicated team. This approach allows regional marketing managers to focus more on creativity and strategic execution, rather than the operational details of campaign implementation.

04

Training the AirPlus team to be self-sufficient in HubSpot

Huble provided extensive training to AirPlus' global and regional marketing teams, ensuring they were well-versed in inbound marketing strategies and the effective use of the new platform.

 

This training was crucial for bridging the gap between global and regional teams and ensuring cohesive campaign execution.

05

Creating new and innovative paid advertising strategies

Huble and AirPlus have  recently conducted joint performance marketing workshops, in which Huble offered AirPlus new perspectives and approaches using meta, Google trends, and other innovative methods to build audiences.

 

The workshop was mostly focused on LinkedIn, centering around Best Practices for LinkedIn Campaigns, including how to create a strategy, build an audience, and more. This helped AirPlus’ internal Marketing teams grow and develop their skills, combining operational support with strategic guidance. 

06

Building KPI dashboards in HubSpot

Huble has helped AirPlus build specific KPI dashboards and benchmarks into HubSpot. This allows AirPlus to monitor not only industry benchmarks but also their own benchmarks based on previous performance and data, ensuring continuous improvement and effective performance tracking.

 

AirPlus can now track a comprehensive list of KPIs in HubSpot, both general marketing as well as  campaign-specific KPIs. 

 

By integrating systems, optimizing digital strategies, and fostering a collaborative partnership, Huble has made a great contribution to positioning AirPlus for sustainable success. Let's take a closer look at the results.

Updating templates with new AirPlus branding

Huble undertook three theme builds in HubSpot for AirPlus, rolling out and optimizing multiple templates to align with the company's branding changes. As part of this effort, we also completed four design updates, which are showcased in the accompanying images.

 

These templates facilitated quick, consistent campaign launches, ensuring all marketing efforts adhered to the new guidelines. Supporting the AirPlus brand team, which is continuously evolving its visual identity, Huble keeps HubSpot templates, themes, and assets up-to-date.

 

This provides a robust foundation of modules and templates, allowing the AirPlus team to focus on creativity rather than technical details. Visuals and templates are continually refreshed to align with the evolving brand standards, ensuring consistency and modernity in all marketing materials.

Airplus Branding Landing Page

HubSpot forms drive over 100% MQL increase for AirPlus

The long-term partnership between Huble and AirPlus has resulted in significant improvements across multiple areas, leading to a more efficient and effective marketing strategy.

 

Let’s have a closer look at some of the key outcomes:

HubSpot forms drive over 100_ MQL increase for AirPlus

1. Measurable results and continuous improvement

  • Better conversion rates: Optimized digital marketing efforts, including the use of marketing automation tools, have led to improved conversion rates, turning more leads into customers. Tracking key performance indicators in HubSpot also help AirPlus measure and enhance the effectiveness of their campaigns. Previously, AirPlus used other CMS forms on their website. After updating to HubSpot forms, the number of MQLs increased by over 100% between Q1-2 in 2023 compared to the same period in 2024.

  • Sustained growth: The long-term partnership with Huble ensures continuous support and strategic advice, helping AirPlus adapt to market changes and stay ahead of the competition. Regular reviews and strategy sessions facilitate ongoing enhancements to marketing and sales approaches, ensuring sustained growth and success. 
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2. Consistent campaigns

  • Uniform marketing efforts: By standardizing campaign processes and utilizing centralized tools, marketing efforts across different regions have become more consistent, ensuring a unified brand message.

  • Effective Collaboration: Improved communication and collaboration between teams have led to more cohesive and impactful campaigns.
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3. Enhanced efficiency

  • Time and effort savings: The new system has significantly reduced the time required to launch localized campaigns, freeing up resources for other strategic initiatives.

  • Improved workflows: With automated processes and better data management, the team can focus on higher-value tasks, enhancing overall productivity.
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4. Strategic initiatives and continuous support

  • Project management: The day-to-day involvement of Huble's project manager in charge of this partnership has been crucial in maintaining smooth operations and effective communication. Huble's project manager works as an extension of the AirPlus team and has ensured stability and continuity.
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Long-term partnership: Huble's ongoing contribution to AirPlus' global Marketing strategy

The collaboration between Huble and AirPlus has evolved into a strategic partnership that has stood the test of time Huble has remained a steadfast partner, providing stability and continuity in their marketing efforts. By consistently delivering value and aligning closely with AirPlus' goals, Huble has proven to be more than an agency, but a trusted extension of AirPlus' marketing team, ensuring sustainable growth and success.

 

Huble's project manager has established Huble as the central source of truth that connected the regional teams, eliminated duplication of effort, and maintained alignment at a global level. 

 

Looking ahead, Huble is committed to further supporting AirPlus in achieving its strategic goals.. With a renewed focus on performance management, Huble will use HubSpot's expanded capabilities and a stronger focus on Google and LinkedIn Ads to drive more effective campaigns. While AirPlus has used performance agencies in the past, they will work differently with Huble, combining operational support with strategic leadership to maximize their brand impact and market presence.

Sahra Ewings
Sahra Ewings
Director, Marketing Communications

"Huble has been instrumental in unifying our global marketing efforts, providing critical support and training to our regional teams and making our multi-channel marketing campaigns more efficient and cohesive. Over the years, Huble has been scaling with us and consistently providing us with valuable insights and solutions. Their long-term partnership has been key to our continued success.”

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