Who is Copenhagen Optimization?
Copenhagen Optimization specializes in software that improves all aspects of airport operations: check-in, virtual queueing, security, stand and gate management, baggage flows, forecasting, shift planning, and border operations. Founded in 2014, they teamed up with Helion in 2023 after COVID forced them to reassess their marketing strategy, especially in the United States.
Challenge: US market expansion post-COVID
While Copenhagen Optimization was experiencing steady growth in Europe and Canada, they encountered several barriers as they tried to expand into the US:
- Limited brand recognition
- Strong preference among US airports for domestic suppliers
- Considerable differences in the way American airports operate compared to those in Europe
These factors made it challenging to determine the right messaging and engage the right decision-makers in a highly competitive market.
The US market has been in focus for them since 2017, but their efforts there initially involved cold canvas sales and conferences. With COVID, of course, everything changed. They needed a more targeted marketing approach beyond physical outreach.
Solution: Full-funnel campaigns and targeted accounts
Fast forward to 2023, and Copenhagen Optimization chose Helion as their partner to help drive integrated B2B marketing in their overall marketing efforts, including in the US. In the words of Senior Marketing Manager Tina Bendix, their team gained access to a diverse pool of Helion specialists that would have been unsustainable to maintain in-house.
Together, we developed a three-pronged solution:
- Create a targeted account list of 194 American organizations segmented into four tiers, including prospects and customers
- Develop an annual, full-funnel campaign plan focused on topics tailored to US airport leaders and aligned with their product offering
- Create relevant, high-value content mapped to different stages of the buyer’s journey — from awareness to engagement to conversion
This approach allowed the Copenhagen Optimization team to engage with cold accounts, support ongoing sales dialogues, and activate potential new clients within the airports they already worked with.
Results: More leads and consistent growth
The transition to a full-funnel, digital-first marketing strategy delivered significant impact, and we’re proud to have helped them get there. Copenhagen Optimization has seen:
- A fivefold increase in lead generation
- 21% consistent growth in lead generation quarter-over-quarter
- 47% of target accounts engaged
- Business in the US and Canada represent a greater share of recurring annual revenue than initially forecasted
Over the coming years, Copenhagen Optimization wants to fine-tune their account-based marketing efforts and deepen market penetration – and we’re excited to help them do it!
“We feel that we have a proactive partner in Helion, and that they want to succeed just as much as we do. It makes my job extremely easy to manage a sales and marketing team, because everyone's playing a part in making sure that we do things in the most optimal way.” - Sarah Procter, Chief Commercial Officer at Copenhagen Optimization
Copenhagen Optimization invited us to tour Copenhagen Airport, where we could get a deeper understanding of where their products and solutions were born.
