Case study

From the first ad to the ticket.

Event tickets sell late. For Capel Manor College's spring 2026 events, we tracked ticket purchases back to the ads, held budget for the final days and invited past visitors back on WhatsApp.

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253ticket purchases tracked to the spring Meta campaign

At a glance

Client
Capel Manor College
Sector
Further education, gardens and visitor events
Where
Enfield, London
What we did
Meta advertising, WhatsApp through Flowella, HubSpot landing pages and email
Years
2025 to today
Delivered by
Discover Digital, a HubSpot Platinum Partner in Reading, UK

The challenge

Good events. Sales in two places.

Capel Manor is a land-based college with five sites across London. Its Enfield estate, with gardens, a farm and a zoo, hosts family days, shows and weddings. The college wanted those events to earn more, and to leave it with visitors it could invite back.

Before

Tickets sold away from HubSpot

2ticketing platforms, separate from the HubSpot websites

  • Events marketing run in-house by the college team
  • Websites on HubSpot, tickets on Eventbrite and TicketSource
  • Friends of Capel members, who get free tickets, mixed in with paying visitors

After

Purchases traced to the ads

253ticket purchases tracked to the spring Meta campaign

  • Purchases on both platforms tracked back to the ads
  • Friends of Capel kept out of paid targeting
  • Location targeting narrowed to the areas that sold best
  • Budget held back for the final selling days
  • Past visitors invited back on WhatsApp, with their own opt-in

The whole journey

Reach. Buy. Come back.

We do not stop at the click. Each purchase was traced back to its ad, and past visitors were invited back for the next event.

  1. Reach

    Meta ads

    • Facebook and Instagram
    • The spring events programme
    • The areas that buy
    • Friends of Capel left out

  2. Buy

    Ticketing

    • Eventbrite
    • TicketSource
    • Each purchase tracked to its ad

  3. Keep

    HubSpot

    • Event landing pages
    • Email campaigns
    • WhatsApp consent, its own opt-in
    • Replies in the marketing inbox

  4. Return

    WhatsApp, with Flowella

    • Past visitors invited back
    • Easter, a car show, weddings
    • Sales on top of the Meta figures

Next: connect the college's new booking system to HubSpot, so purchases and consent arrive without manual uploads.

The spring campaign

142,000 reached. 253 bought.

  1. 142,000people reached on Meta
  2. 7,800link clicks
  3. 253ticket purchases tracked to the ads

Meta campaign for Capel Manor's spring 2026 events, campaign review July 2026. One purchase can include several tickets. WhatsApp sales are not included.

Return on media

£1 in. More than £2 back.

Ticket revenue tracked to the ads came to more than twice what the media cost, before a single WhatsApp sale is counted.

  • Meta media cost£1
  • Ticket revenue tracked to the ads£2+

2x+the media cost back in tracked ticket revenue

Spring 2026 events, campaign review July 2026. Tracked purchases only; WhatsApp sales come on top.

WhatsApp

Asked first. Invited back.

Alongside the ads, we used Flowella, our sister company, to invite past visitors to upcoming events on WhatsApp, with every journey feeding into HubSpot. Those sales come on top of the Meta figures.

WhatsApp consent is its own opt-in, separate from email and SMS, starting with a small group who had already agreed to hear from the college by email. Replies land in the marketing inbox in HubSpot, so the team answers them in one place.

WhatsApp Automation
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What worked

Four lessons from the spring.

  1. Track

    Tie every ticket purchase back to the ad that led to it, on every ticketing platform.

  2. Target

    Spend only on people who will pay, in the areas that buy.

  3. Pace

    Most tickets sell in the last days, so keep budget for them.

  4. Follow up

    Invite past visitors back on WhatsApp, with consent kept separate from email.

How it unfolded

First call to Easter weekend.

From the first call in December to a four-day Easter event in April.

  1. Dec 2025, done

    First call

    The commercial team wanted its events to earn more, from tickets, sponsorship and advertising.

  2. Feb 2026, done

    WhatsApp

    Capel Manor joined Flowella, our sister company, to promote events to past visitors.

  3. Mar 2026, done

    Meta campaign live

    Purchases tracked on both ticketing platforms. Daily budgets raised in steps of about 20% as the cost per purchase fell.

  4. 3 to 6 Apr 2026, done

    Easter Egg Extravaganza

    Four days, with budget held back for the final selling days.

  5. Spring 2026, done

    More events

    The campaign carried on through the spring programme, including a heavy horse event.

  6. Jul 2026, done

    Review

    142,000 people reached, 253 purchases tracked and more than twice the media cost back.

  7. Next, next

    Booking system

    Connect the college's new booking system to HubSpot, so purchases and consent arrive without manual uploads.

Services used

The services behind this work.

  • Meta advertising

    Facebook and Instagram campaigns for the spring events, with each purchase tracked to its ad.

    Meta Ads

  • WhatsApp

    Past visitors invited back through Flowella, with WhatsApp consent as its own opt-in.

    WhatsApp Automation

  • HubSpot

    Event landing pages, email campaigns and WhatsApp replies in one marketing inbox.

    HubSpot services

Next step

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