Event Marketing Techniques

Six years ago, I took over marketing at a company that went to 40 trade shows per year, and I cut that to 4. When I joined CoLab to lead marketing, we had zero conferences planned. I booked 2 the first year, and increased it to 6 the following year. What happened? Did my opinion on trade shows do a 180? Nope - the black and white pro - trade show vs. anti - trade show narrative is just an oversimplification. Most companies can go to at least a couple shows per year and get a positive ROI. Problem is - most companies are going to way more than a couple of shows per year and they have no idea which ones produce a positive ROI. You actually need a decent amount of rigor and discipline to figure this out. If you scale your conference spend too fast, you'll skip important retrospectives. It's easy to end up in the first scenario I described, where I had to cut trade shows by 90% in a year. Here's what you should do instead: 1) Start with a manageable number of conferences (no more than 1-2 per quarter, unless you have someone working on it full time) 2) Define success criteria going in: - You should have a qualified pipeline target - You should have tight definitions for what constitutes qualified pipeline, in the context of a conference - If you want to measure success based on other things (like establishing partnerships, moving in pipeline opps forward, etc.), figure those things out ahead of time too 3) After each show, do a retro and understand whether you achieved or missed your success criteria 4) If you missed, figure out why: - Is it a bad show for you? (e.g. not enough good fit ICP attendees) - Or could you make something of it, with some tweaks to your own execution? If it's the latter, you can go back again next year and test the new approach. Just like your email list, your trade show portfolio is something you should be constantly managing and "pruning" Most companies don't apply this level of rigor, which is why most trade show + conference programs are really, really wasteful. #b2bmarketing

I spent $25K on a dinner last Tuesday. The $10 name tags generated more ROI than any marketing campaign we’ve ever run. We gave out metal name tags. Custom-engraved. Nothing fancy. I almost died of anxiety getting them shipped in time. But by Thursday, people were still wearing them around San Mateo. At totally different SaaStr events. That’s when I knew this wasn’t just another founder dinner. It was something people wanted to be identified with. No RSVP forms. No sales pitch. Just 90 hand-picked founders and product leaders packed into a single restaurant. And here’s what happened organically: - Small-group conversations spilled outside the restaurant until 10pm - A founder told me they solved a product problem during a chat at the bar - Two partnerships were formed between attendees who’d never met before Here’s what we learned about building genuine connections in an industry drowning in “networking events”: 1/ Create a momentary escape We rented out the entire restaurant. No outsiders. No agenda. Just a space for authentic conversation. 2/ Curate ruthlessly We personally invited those who would make the evening better for everyone in the room. 3/ Design for post-event connection Those engraved name tags became conversation starters days later. “Hey, weren’t you at the Recall.ai dinner?” Traditional marketing tracks every dollar. But building genuine community means letting go of immediate attribution. Three different attendees DM’d asked, “When’s the next one?” That’s the kind of community equity you can’t measure on a dashboard. What’s the most meaningful connection you’ve made at an event that wasn’t trying to sell you something?

I spend hours on TikTok to identify event trends watching what Gen Z is actually doing. And something massive is shifting in the events space. Young people are swapping out big conferences for hyper-specific interest communities: – Book clubs for international women – Young female professionals meetups – Walking social clubs – Photo walks And the list goes on… The pattern? – Keeping it small – No networking pressure – One very specific shared interest I'm seeing 90% show-up rates for these micro-events on social media vs. not seeing enough young professionals at business events I go to. Why? Because when you're passionate about something specific, you actually want to be there. Smart brands are already catching on offering their spaces and budgets to be where this community lives. This is the current state of professional networking: Connections happen when you connect over shared obsessions, not business objectives. Moving into 2026 event planning, remember this: The most successful events will be stepping into a room where everyone shares your vision, values, or drive. Where the connection comes first and business happens naturally after. How are you rethinking networking in your event design?

I do dozens of interviews with top CMOs every year. I always ask what the best performing marketing channel is. And right now everyone is saying events. Post COVID events are back, but also now in an AI world, I think there's a stronger appetite to get out and connect with real people vs. just getting answers from ChatGPT. But: like anything in marketing, running events just because everyone else is doing them is a great way to set money on fire (and still not drive any incremental business). Whether it's a booth at a trade show. A VIP dinner. A 500-person conference. They can all work. They can all flop. The difference: having a real plan and strategy for that event going in. Why do it in the first place? (which continues to be the most important lesson in marketing - what's in it for me? what's the hook? why should people come to our thing?) We talked to two event experts on the Exit Five pod recently Stephanie Christensen and Kristina DeBrito — and here are 5 keys they shared for B2B event success: 1. Pick the right format. Not all events do the same job. Big splash? Go flagship. Want pipeline? Try VIP roundtables. Tiny budget? Host micro-events around existing conferences. Set real goals. 2. “Leads” are not enough anymore. Are you driving awareness? Accelerating deals? Generating pipeline? Define this upfront—or you’ll waste time measuring the wrong stuff. There are more metrics than just "did we get leads from this event" and in today's world leads are tablestalkes. 3. Align your team, bro. Sales and marketing must move in lockstep. Slack alerts for registrations. Sales meeting updates. Leaderboards. It all matters. This is a team effort. 4. Make it memorable. People forget panels. They remember custom pancakes and great venues. Was the food good? Did the WiFi work? Did Oprah show up? Just kidding. Making sure you'r reading. But think surprise and delight, not branded frisbees. 5. Put the work in on the follow up. Events don't close deals - follow-up does. Segment attendees. Create custom offers. Babysit the handoff to sales like your job depends on it. Because it does. You just went shopping and got all these fresh groceries - dont let them spoil. B2B buyers want real connection again. Events can create that. Are you feeling this desire for events? Are you doing events in your business right now? Let me know...

Love this campaign by Stella. "Worth it" ✨ Playing off a familiar scene we all know. That claustrophobic bar. Enter "Claustrobar" You're crammed shoulder to shoulder... Getting bumped left and right. Then you get your first sip. Makes it all worth it. 👀 Or does it...? We're seeing the OPPOSITE trend for B2B events. Marketers want smaller more niche events. Think dinners with 15 to 25 people. ONLY the exact ICP they want. We just did our Q1 retro at The Alliance 🧵 NEW Q1 EVENT DATA FOR YOU: Dinners under 25 people drove 3.4 times higher average pipeline per attendee than 200+ person field events Sponsor satisfaction scores were 27 points higher for private dinners vs traditional happy hours Events with personalized pre invite cadences had a 35 percent average acceptance rate among ICP targets Renewal rates on sponsor programs anchored around curated dinners hit 82 percent, compared to 58 percent for "open bar" events Thats why we're doubling down on niche events. Dinners and intimate VIP exeperiences. Why they worked so well: Step 1: ICP first targeting Every attendee list starts with sponsor aligned ICP firmographic filters: Company size, role seniority, industry fit, existing buying intent. Step 2: Personalized outreach Dedicated in house teams send direct invites framed around relevance. We track weekly acceptance rates and optimize touchpoints if we fall below 30 percent. Step 3: Pre event intel Sponsors get attendee insights two weeks before the dinner. They know which companies and titles are coming so they can plan the content PRECISELY for that audience to make it hyper relevant. Step 4: Structured conversations No loud music. No random crowds. Strategic seating charts and guided conversation topics aligned to the topics attendees and sponsors care about. This makes the experiences great for BOTH the company sponsoring and the attendees. Ends in a win win for everyone. Example for you: At our Austin dinner for a sponsor in Jan - 17 handpicked senior leaders attended - 76 percent of attendees booked follow up demos within 21 days - The sponsor sourced $3.2 million in net new pipeline which was 3.1 times their original goal TLDR Invest in more dinners ✌️ 

There are 11 weeks and 3 days until Christmas. While that sounds exciting, if you're struggling for leads it means the year is slipping away. Last year, this 12-week period was our biggest new business period of the year. So I thought it would be worth sharing what we did to sign new business in Q4 and what we're doing again this year ⤵️ CONTEXT Generic new business activity is way less effective this time of year. - People are slowing down for Christmas - People's personal lives get busier - Tasks get pushed to "next year" To get attention and have an impact, you have to go bigger. Here's the ABM campaign we launched in 4 steps: 1/ Highlighted a core issue our ICP had We always flip the funnel and start by understanding a problem our ICP has. At the time, the core issue was understanding modern B2B marketing and how they could adapt their strategies going into 2025. So we crafted a campaign that centred around a Masterclass titled, ‘The New Age Of B2B Marketing’. —— 2/ Brought in a big name to collaborate With the time of year, we knew we had to go bigger to make this work. So we called our advisor Dom McGregor and asked if he'd be open to doing a live workshop with us. He agreed and we set a date. —— 3/ Used psychological triggers to drive demand People are less likely to pull the trigger on an event like this at year-end, so we used psychological triggers to boost sign-ups. We leaned into 2 things: - Scarcity: Limited the masterclass to 100 seats - Urgency: Had a live countdown on the website showing how many seats were left —— 4/ Went multi-channel Campaigns like this only work if you can get your ICP on the masterclass. To guarantee this, we used email and LinkedIn outreach to target 250 ideal clients. - We crafted specific messages for each prospect - Offered them a guaranteed seat - Explained the value they'd get from attending RESULTS 📈 We had 439 companies sign up to try and get a seat at the masterclass. Only 120 were let in. The rest were emailed explaining they didn't get a seat but were offered a chance to join our waitlist for 2025 - nearly 25% opted in. We signed 7 new clients from this one campaign and had to announce we weren't able to take on any more clients until 2025. —— So, what do we have coming this year? We're going to follow the exact same process with a different campaign: 1. Clearly identify a key issue our ICP has 2. Create a lead magnet to solve it 3. Use creativity and psychology to drive demand 4. Multi-channel marketing to target our ICP It's easy to write off Q4 as a lost quarter. But leaning in during this period and launching ABM campaigns like these have been massive for our growth.

After sending over a billion emails for 600+ brands… here are my 7 top tips for selecting the right audience. You can have the best email creative in the world — but if it lands in the wrong inbox, it won’t convert. Audience is everything. Here’s what we’ve learned at esbconnect after years of powering customer acquisition for brands like Tails.com | B Corp , AA Insurance and ASOS.com : 1. Target by behaviour, not just demographics Look for people who open, click, and act. Intent beats age and gender every time. 2. But… don’t always go for the obvious behaviour When Tails.com wanted to reach new pet owners, you'd assume targeting people engaging with pet brands would outperform, right? Wrong. They were being over-targeted. Instead, we found higher conversion by targeting segments engaging with health, home and subscription offers — less crowded and more curious. 3. Test broad, then narrow Start wide to understand what actually performs — then double down. Too niche too soon and you lose scale and surprise wins. 4. Layer in recency Someone who interacted with an email yesterday is more likely to convert than someone who did 3 weeks ago. Recency = relevance. 5. Don’t ignore ‘non-buyers’ Sometimes your best audience is one that’s never bought from the category — yet. Think curious, not converted. 6. Think beyond income — target by contextual wealth We’ve seen clients waste budget by targeting £100k+ earners assuming they’re affluent. But some of the wealthiest people are those on modest incomes with low outgoings — think high equity, long-term property owners with few financial ties. 7. Make it locally relevant A £1m house in London doesn’t signal the same wealth as it does in Scotland or Wales. Tailor your audience selection to geography and cost of living — precision wins. Audience strategy isn’t guesswork. It’s data, nuance, and constant testing. Want help finding your best segments? We’ve got 17 million opted-in UK profiles and years of experience to test with.

I've been going to real estate conferences for over a decade. Here's what actually works (and what doesn't): Most people waste thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours because they approach these events completely wrong. With events season coming up, here's what actually works: 1/ The 3-Week Rule: Most people wait until they're at the conference to start networking. That's too late. Your highest ROI outreach window is 3 weeks before the event. Too far out, and people haven’t started thinking about the event yet. But wait too long, and the best prospects are already booked up. Use the sponsor list, speaker roster, and attendee directory to identify your targets. Cold emails mentioning shared attendance convert way better than generic outreach. 2/ Get The Cell Numbers: This sounds obvious, but many people don’t do it. LinkedIn connections are fine. Email exchanges are better. But cell phone numbers? That's where real relationships happen. When someone says, "let's connect at the event," immediately ask: "What's your cell? I'll text you that day." 3/ Control The Location: Many startups are tempted to spend tens of thousands of dollars on an expensive booth on the show floor. But the branded happy hour at the bar across the street? That's where deals actually happen. After-hours events are way more valuable than anything during official programming. People are relaxed. Guards are down. Conversations go deeper. Here's what most vendors get wrong: they think the goal is to pitch at the event. Wrong. The goal is to collect contact info and schedule follow-up calls for the week after. Nobody is making purchasing decisions while they're rushing between sessions and trying to remember if they validated their parking. Here’s what you should do: • Before: Prospect the attendee list 3 weeks out • During: Get cell numbers and schedule post-event calls • After: Follow up within 48 hours while you're still fresh in their mind The conference itself is just the excuse to start the conversation. The real work happens in the weeks before and after. P.S. Our Selling Into Real Estate Owners course is a must for anyone heading to real estate events. It covers this and a lot more, from identifying your customer to building your sales funnel. Link is in the comments.

Are you an Old‑School Event Marketer or a New‑School Event Marketer? Old‑School: - “Bigger booth, bigger budget” = strategy - Swag splurges & steak‑house dinners with zero ROI math - Measures success by registrations instead of pipeline - Treats the conference as a one‑day stunt, then closes the spreadsheet - No persona segmentation, same agenda for prospects, customers, & partners - Relies on badge scans, fishbowls, and luck for lead capture - Ignores virtual or hybrid formats (“We’re an in‑person company!”) - Engagement stops when the lights go off, no post‑event nurture track - Decisions made on gut feel, not unit economics or understanding the P&L New‑School: - Begins with ICP clarity and a revenue‑backwards event brief - Maps the entire attendee journey: pre‑event teasers → in‑event moments → post‑event campaigns - Uses AI for smart matchmaking, personalized agendas, on‑site coaching, and post‑show enrichment - Integrates every touch into CRM & RevOps dashboards: CAC, payback, influenced ARR, CLTV - Collaborates with Sales & CS to find expansion opps with customers, not just hand-offs - Blends formats: micro‑webinars, community roundtables, regional pop‑ups, to lower CAC and widen reach - Scores success on quality meetings, pipeline velocity, and expansion revenue - Runs Calendar & Capacity tests to right‑size staffing before adding headcount - Partners with the CFO, budget tied to strategic KPIs, not vanity metrics - Knows why the event hit (or missed) the number and evolves assumptions quarter‑to‑quarter Event marketers can’t win on their own. The best know how to involve each team throughout the process. It’s not just execution. It’s communication, evaluation, and impact. In conclusion, new-school event marketers are strategy partners. Not task rabbits. New-School event marketers pick modern event tech. Check out Accelevents --> https://hubs.la/Q03fjrP30

One of the most underused strategies in business development is bringing people together around a theme. Think about it. Everyone is busy. Everyone gets invited to another reception or cocktail party. Most people say no because they know the value will be surface level. But when you create something intentional, something smaller and more thoughtful, people notice. They make time. A dinner for women GCs in private equity. A roundtable of next generation dealmakers. A conversation between founders and investors who have successfully scaled. These kinds of gatherings give people the chance to connect with peers who understand their challenges. They create space for conversations that don’t happen in a big room. And here’s the part many professionals miss — when you’re the one convening, you’re not just building your own network. You’re helping others expand theirs. You become known as someone who creates opportunities. That’s memorable. It makes people want to stay close to you and your organization because being connected to you means access to something bigger. But it doesn’t end with the event. The real business development happens in what you do afterward. ✔️ If two people hit it off, follow up and connect them directly. ✔️ Share a quick recap of themes from the evening to keep the conversation alive. ✔️ Create touchpoints — an article, a coffee, an invite to the next dinner. ✔️ Build continuity with a series so people look forward to the next one. ✔️ Share high level highlights on LinkedIn to reinforce your role as the connector. Bringing people together in the right way isn’t just about networking. It’s about creating community. And the professionals who do this well strengthen relationships, build influence and grow their business in ways that feel natural. Let me know when you think of this tip and if you will try it! #BusinessDevelopment #ClientDevelopment #Networking #LegalMarketing