FROM SCRAPPY TO SCALABLE: HOW HAPI BUILT A REAL MARKETING ENGINE IN JUST ONE YEAR
CHALLENGE
After a number of successful years, Hapi was ready to scale beyond the relationships and networks that had fueled its early growth. The head of sales was also juggling marketing by managing a contract writer and an outside agency, while trying to keep deals moving and support existing customers. With some new competition in hospitality tech and a complex platform to explain, Hapi needed to clarify its story, reach new audiences, and build a real, repeatable marketing engine for the first time.
SOLUTION
Hapi brought me as its first marketing team member to build and lead a team, define the narrative for the Hapi integration platform, and build the strategy and systems to support growth.
Budget, Events, and Infrastructure
The first thing I tackled was building a realistic marketing budget and calendar so we could understand what was possible and make smart trade‑offs. From there, I identified and prioritized the key industry events that would matter most to Hapi’s audiences, knowing they require the longest lead times for planning, sponsorship, and campaign support. We mapped a full year of event strategy with focus areas around ITB, HITEC, and The Hospitality Show, making them the most successful years for Hapi at each event.
In parallel, I led the evaluation and selection of a new marketing automation platform, giving Hapi the infrastructure to scale campaigns, nurture programs, and measurement. We did all of this, defining the real value Hapi delivers, removing data barriers for hotel brands and tech providers, so our spend, events, and systems would ultimately reinforce the story we wanted to tell.
Marketing Strategy
I created a marketing plan aligned to Hapi’s revenue targets by segment and defined clear strategies for positioning, launches, and lead generation. We first prioritized top of funnel, creating a presence on LinkedIn, expanding PR and thought leadership, and focused speaking engagements to clarify the value and credibility to solve this unique challenge.
We launched integrated campaigns (like The Future of Hotel Data Report) and stood up an ABM motion. To support execution, I hired a full‑time marketing senior specialist and assembled a blended team of agencies for PR, design, and web, giving Hapi the bandwidth to execute at a higher level without building a large in‑house department.
Company and Product Positioning
We started at the beginning, focusing on the overall organization’s mission, vision, values, and the unique solution we offered in the industry. From that work, we repositioned Hapi around a clear, defensible promise: hospitality’s connectivity partner that removes data barriers so brands can unify data, power AI, and create differentiated guest experiences. This became the anchor for the brand‑level story, “Where Data Meets Opportunity.”
Next, we reviewed the way we were going to market with our products and made some necessary shifts in product families, meaning all new positioning for five product families in about two months, so we could get them live on the new website in time for HITEC.
Messaging
With positioning in place, we rebuilt Hapi’s messaging framework. I developed new one‑sentence, 50‑word, and 100‑word descriptions; UVPs by audience; and product narratives to help make the platform easier to understand and sell. We created persona‑specific value stories for each buying segment and reframed features in terms of outcomes. This work rolled into updated sales decks, one‑pagers, and a content plan organized around three pillars.
Website
Next, we turned the new story into a cohesive web experience. I partnered with both a design agency and a web agency to refresh Hapi’s website, modernize the brand expression, and restructure the navigation around the new segments and product families. The updated site clearly explains the value for each segment we serve and creates a clear pathway to each product family. And with this rollout, we filled all of the gaps in marketing automation so we could track every visit, form fill, and opportunity back to specific programs.
RESULTS
I’ve been asked not to publicly disclose these! They’re pretty fantastic, so all the more reason for you to reach out and learn more. (Nothing like a good cliff hanger!)
“Jacki has been a transformational fractional marketing leader for Hapi, bringing clarity, focus, and measurable growth in just one year. She quickly aligned our leadership, sales, and product teams around a clear narrative for the Hapi Integration Platform, then translated that into a focused marketing strategy and budget. Under her guidance, we refreshed our positioning and messaging, relaunched our website, and equipped sales with content and enablement that made our value proposition easier to understand. In the first year, her work drove material closed-won revenue and materially increased our qualified pipeline, while laying the foundational systems and reporting needed to track this impact going forward. Jacki also assembled and led a blended team of full-time and contract marketing support, giving us the bandwidth and expertise to execute at a much higher level. I strongly recommend Jacki Brown Marketing to hospitality or travel tech companies that need senior-level marketing leadership without building a large in-house team.”
