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Adelaide HUG: Loop Marketing with Subnet
7:44

 

Welcome to the first Adelaide HubSpot User Group (HUG) event of 2026! This year's kickoff was all about pushing the boundaries of what HubSpot can do in an increasingly AI-driven world.

If you missed the live session, don't worry. Ben Luks, Marketing Specialist at Subnet, joined us. He delivered a masterclass on how his team adopted HubSpot's Loop Marketing methodology.

Watch the full recording below. You can also read on for a breakdown of Subnet's playbook, weekly processes, and impressive results.

 

The shift: Why traditional inbound marketing is evolving

For years, marketers have relied on the traditional inbound funnel (and later, the flywheel). Last year at Inbound, HubSpot acknowledged a major shift. A traditional inbound marketing strategy faces new challenges from AI search engines and tools like ChatGPT.

Organic traffic and traditional search engine optimisation are changing fundamentally based on how people search. Users are turning to AI overviews for answers rather than clicking through to individual blogs. HubSpot introduced Loop Marketing in response. This rapid, AI-enabled approach helps marketers test, iterate, and adapt quickly.

Subnet’s catalyst for change

For Ben and the team at Subnet, the switch to Loop Marketing was driven by three key perspectives:

  1. The HubSpot Perspective: Adapting to HubSpot’s pivot away from traditional inbound to address the new AI search reality.
  2. The AI Perspective: As an IT services provider, Subnet advises clients on emerging AI technologies daily. Their internal marketing program needed to walk the walk by operating at the forefront of AI.
  3. The Competitive Environment: With heavy Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) activity in the South Australian IT space, interstate providers are increasingly buying out local operators. Subnet needed a cutting-edge strategy to cut through the noise and stand out as a premier, locally-owned partner.

The 4 stages of Loop Marketing in action

Loop Marketing replaces static campaigns with a four-stage, continuous cycle: Express, Tailor, Amplify, and Evolve. These stages cover fundamental marketing activities. However, the real magic is how fast AI lets you execute them.

Here is exactly how Subnet brought these four stages to life:

1. Express: Rearticulating the brand

Subnet kicked off their Loop Marketing journey by re-evaluating their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Using AI prompts, they distilled exactly who they were trying to reach, ensuring their messaging remained deeply customer centric. They then fed this updated ICP into HubSpot's new Brand Identity beta module.

The Result: Subnet instantly applies its unique brand voice to blogs and emails using HubSpot's Breeze AI. This acts as a living brand style guide, ensuring a consistent, targeted tone across all channels, speeding up content creation.

2. Tailor: Same truth, different translation

In the Tailor stage, the goal is to segment communication strategies. Subnet was successfully reaching technical audiences like IT managers. However, they struggled to engage the C-suite on topics like AI and cybersecurity.

AI provided a guiding principle: "Same truth, different translation." The Result: Subnet partnered with a local Adelaide law firm to host an exclusive executive panel lunch. They framed IT trends within the context of Australia's new privacy laws, a topic highly relevant to business leaders. The event sold out its 37-person capacity in less than two weeks, successfully penetrating a previously elusive market segment.

3. Amplify: Scaling video content

To improve the reach of their message, Subnet used the Amplify stage to build a framework for video content. Customer case studies are incredibly powerful assets for landing pages and campaigns. Recognising this, Subnet created a plan to get clients on camera.

The Result: Subnet partnered with an Adelaide video agency. Together, they produced 10 customer case study films in just four months. They cut these films into smaller "trailer" clips. This streamlined approach to creating content fuelled their social media marketing and booked out their calendar through August.

4. Evolve: Rapid real-time experimentation

The final stage is all about testing and iterating. Subnet used AI to create a rapid experimentation program for LinkedIn ads, running simple tests over 1-to-5-day periods.

The Result: They A/B tested their messaging against the current local market sentiment. A standard ad highlighting their experienced account managers yielded an average 0.87% Click-Through Rate (CTR). Another "cheekier" ad capitalised on local frustrations with interstate IT buyouts. This ad skyrocketed to a 2.5% CTR, driving much higher conversion rates.

The process: How Subnet makes it happen

You might be wondering: how does a small marketing team actually execute all of this?

Ben shared that the secret is a dedicated, uncompromised schedule. Subnet dedicates one hour every Friday morning exclusively to Loop Marketing.

  • Week 1: Express
  • Week 2: Tailor
  • Week 3: Amplify
  • Week 4: Evolve

By the end of the month, they have completed a full cycle, and the loop starts again.

Leveraging the AI stack

Subnet relies heavily on the HubSpot Loop Marketing Prompt Library. This collection features about 100 detailed prompts built for this methodology.

During Friday sessions, the team selects a prompt and adds organisational data. They then run this through an AI engine. They spend the first half generating output. The second half focuses on defining actionable tasks for next week.

To achieve the best results, Subnet uses a "best of breed" AI stack:

  • ChatGPT: For broad ideation and heavy lifting.
  • Microsoft Copilot: For processing sensitive data. Copilot provides secure internal guardrails. This ensures Subnet never leaks anonymised client data to public AI models. The team also uses it to give AI-generated drafts a structured, business-appropriate tone.
  • HubSpot Breeze AI: For drafting content and applying the final layer of Subnet’s customised brand voice.

The results and key takeaways

Since fully adopting Loop Marketing in September, the results speak for themselves. Subnet saw an expected dip during Christmas. Otherwise, they consistently meet or exceed their goal of 15 MQLs per month.

To effectively nurture leads throughout the customer journey and maximise these results, Subnet leverages the HubSpot Sales Enterprise tier. The sales team seamlessly follows up on every marketing lead. Advanced marketing automation features like email workflows, deal reporting, and AI transcripts make this possible.

Final thoughts for marketers

Ben closed with a powerful thought. AI no longer just generates content; it builds entire businesses and products faster than ever.

To keep up in a world where the market moves at breakneck speed, marketers can no longer rely on rigid, six-month campaign plans. Loop Marketing provides the agility required to survive and thrive in an AI-driven landscape.

A huge thank you to Ben Luks for his transparency and to all the Adelaide HubSpot users who tuned in! We look forward to seeing you at our next events, which will include some face-to-face, in-person meetups later this year.

Want to get involved? Contact us to share your HubSpot experience with other Adelaide HubSpot users this year!

Want to join the conversation? Watch for upcoming Adelaide HUG events. Also, subscribe to the Refuel Creative YouTube channel for more insights.

Ryan Jones

Ryan Jones

Ryan is the Founder & CEO of Refuel Creative. He's a HubSpot certified marketer and SEO expert.

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