Discover how MAG increased sponsor value and member engagement by establishing a dedicated branded community, the ARBS Network.

The ARBS Network (also known as Aesthetic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery Network) is an online community for healthcare professionals and industry experts in the field of aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery. It was developed by the Mark Allen Group (MAG) in partnership with Professor Jian Farhadi and the team behind the annual London Breast Meeting, with a view to extending the engagement from that event year-round.

MAG have also built other communities with Zapnito dedicated to brands in their portfolio: namely Crit Comms and Energy From Waste. All of these communities launched in 2020, with ARBS Net the second of the three to go live in April of that year.

The problem

With the UK forced into lockdown just a month before the launch of ARBS Net, MAG were suddenly faced with the prospect of hosting one of the world’s largest meetings, the London Breast Meeting, for breast surgeons and breast cancer specialists in a solely virtual format.

This raised questions around delivering value to the sponsors of the event. Most sponsorship came from medical equipment suppliers, who would attend in-person events to demonstrate their physical products. MAG, therefore, had to deliver a similar experience virtually.

The vision

The London Breast Meeting was envisioned as a flagship event, with additional Breast Meetings occurring in other cities globally. One of the primary aims behind ARBS Net, therefore, was to position the London Breast Meeting as a must-see, premium global event.

To achieve this, ARBS Net would supplement the event’s content with additional, exclusive digital content. This would extend engagement with the event past the live dates and promote the London Breast Meeting throughout the year, growing its potential audience.

Results

Working with Zapnito, MAG were impressed by the speed to launch, describing the platform as “incredibly robust” and praising the “really engaged customer success team, who are more than happy to go the extra mile.” Since launch, over 250 pieces of premium content have been created for the community and membership has grown to over 2,000 breast surgery specialists.

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