38% MoM Increase in Leads
5th to 1st
in AI search share of voice
1,561%
ROI with 18-day payback period
Customer Story
Popl.co is the complete In-Person Marketing (IPM) platform - combining digital business cards, universal lead capture, and contact enrichment into one centralized system that works at events, in the field, and beyond.
When they discovered that 73% of B2B buyers were now using AI tools like ChatGPT for vendor research, they realized they needed to be visible where their customers were actually searching.
After partnering with AthenaHQ, Popl.co climbed from 5th to 1st position in AI search rankings and boosted their visibility score by 189%.
The impact was immediate: 38.85% monthly growth in AI-driven leads, with an impressive 1,561% ROI and just 18 days to payback.
The Story
Popl.co helps professionals and teams capture leads at events with their in-person marketing platform. But they faced a problem: their customers were increasingly using ChatGPT and other AI tools to find vendors, and Popl was barely visible.
Starting point: 5th position with just 11.2% share of voice in AI search
After 3 months with AthenaHQ:
• Climbed to #1 in AI search rankings
• 38.85% monthly growth in leads from AI
• 1,561% ROI with 18-day payback
Why This Matters
Popl was already successful with their in-person marketing platform. But they spotted a trend that worried them.
The shift: 73% of B2B buyers now start their vendor research in ChatGPT, not Google. When prospects searched for "digital business card solutions," Popl's competitors were showing up, but Popl wasn't.
They needed to be visible where their customers were actually looking.
The Challenge
Popl.co was doing well with traditional marketing, but they noticed a shift. More prospects mentioned finding competitors through ChatGPT. Their challenges:
• Nearly invisible in AI search results
• No way to track how AI influenced their pipeline
• Content that worked great for Google wasn't working for AI
• Traditional SEO metrics looked fine, but leads were slowing
Where We Started
The numbers painted a clear picture - Popl was falling behind:
| Metric | Popl.co | Industry Average | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of Voice | 11.2% (5th place) | 18.5% | -39% |
| Brand Mentions | 14.8% | 28.2% | -47% |
| AI Visibility Score | 10.0% | 25.0% | -60% |
| Overall Presence | 5.1% | 20.0% | -74% |
Performance Metrics
Three-month results:
| Metric | March 2025 | May 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI Visibility | 10.0% | 28.9% | +189% |
| Brand Mentions | 14.8% | 34.0% | +130% |
| Overall Presence | 5.1% | 23.7% | +365% |
Monthly Citation Progression
| Metric | March | April | May | May | Total Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Monthly Citations | 23 | 75 | 152 | 212 | +821.7% |
Business Impact
The results speak for themselves:
• AI-driven leads grew 38.85% every month
This wasn't just a vanity metric. These leads had higher intent, converted faster, and cost less to acquire than traditional channels.
Return on Investment
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| ROI | 1,561% |
| Payback Period | 18 days |
Competitive Advantage
| Category | Result |
|---|---|
| AI Search Position | #1 ranking |
| Citation Growth | +1,080% |
| Content Performance | +646% |
| Market Position | Category leader |
What Made the Difference
Three things drove Popl's success:
1. Better content: We rewrote their pages to answer questions the way AI systems expect - clear, structured, and authoritative
2. Multi-platform approach: We didn't just focus on ChatGPT. We optimized for Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and others
3. Real measurement: We built tracking that could actually tell which leads came from AI searches
What This Means for B2B Companies
The Popl story reveals important lessons:
| Learning | Why it matters | Who should care | When to act |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move early | First movers get lasting advantage | All B2B companies | Now |
| It's technical | You need specialized expertise | Complex products | Before competitors |
| Tracking is broken | Google Analytics can't see AI traffic | Everyone | Yesterday |
| Buyers changed | AI search is the new normal | All companies | Already happening |
The Bottom Line
In just three months, Popl.co went from an afterthought to the top recommendation in AI search results. They saw their leads from AI grow 38.85% month-over-month, and their overall visibility jumped from 10% to nearly 29%.
The 1,561% ROI and 18-day payback made this one of their best marketing investments ever.
The lesson? B2B buyers are already using AI for research. The companies they find there are the ones winning deals.
Quick Popl Shoutout
We already told you Popl does digital business cards. But what we didn't tell you is that they basically invented a whole category called In-Person Marketing (IPM). So here's the deal:
What's IPM? It's the fancy term for "making sure your sales team doesn't lose leads at events because they forgot to follow up." Think of it as CRM for real-world interactions.
Why should you care? You probably came here for the AI search results. But if you've ever been to a conference and collected 47 business cards that ended up in your laptop bag graveyard, you get why this matters.