Event growth & advocate strategy framework
Event growth & advocate strategy framework
Takeaways from Corporate Events Marketing Association Summit (CEMA)
Why this matters
Growing an event isn’t just about getting more people in the room—it’s about creating impactful experiences that turn the right attendees into long-term advocates. To own every moment with your audience, you’ve got to move beyond email blasts and registration pages. Real growth comes from syncing with sales, personalizing outreach, and building strategic partnerships that make your event impossible to ignore.
Strategic foundation
• Focus on quality, not just quantity: Attract the right personas — decision-makers, power users, and influencers.
• Multi-year view: Use a long-term plan (e.g., 5-year vision) for growth.
• Define clear personas: Understand who is attending and their role in the buyer journey.
Focus on quality, not just quantity: attract the right personas.”
The 5-part event growth framework
1. Meet them where they are
Integrate event messaging into existing customer touchpoints (webinars, forums, support, case studies).
Avoid overloading new channels; embed in existing conversations.
2. Motivate internal teams
Address awareness, bandwidth, and accountability.
Use creative internal marketing (e.g., QR codes at coffee stations).
Align the event to sales priorities and pipeline goals.
Run incentive programs (e.g., contests, social sharing, speaker recognition).
3. Activate advocates
Look beyond alumni: tap into superusers, partners, and influencers.
Create VIP advocate experiences and collect live feedback.
Use tools like Ingo to track shareability and discover new advocates.
4. Balance what works with what’s next
Maintain ~75% of proven tactics.
Test 25% new ideas (e.g., session trailers, brand/topical clubs).
All experiments must tie back to business outcomes.
5. Create something remarkable
Design moments worth making a remark about (“Purple Cow” principle).
Filter experiences by: shareable, original, human, simple.
Key learnings
• Sales-marketing alignment is critical: Co-own goals, connect event KPIs to adoption, expansion, and pipeline.
• Actionable analytics: Move beyond vanity metrics; measure what matters and iterate in real-time.
• Cultural fluency: Navigate internal politics by tying ideas to broader business strategy.
Scalable tactics you can use.
Webinar promotion slides
Impact: Seamlessly promote events at the top of funnel.
Case studies w/ event mentions
Impact: Drive interest through peer proof and story.
Social advocacy toolkit assets
Impact: Equip internal/external advocates with trackable assets.
Session trailers (video)
Impact: Boost engagement & anticipation for content
Brand clubs (micro-events)
Impact: Localized, tactical meetups that feed into the main event.
New attendee engagement
Impact: interview first-timers, ask for feedback, and empower them to evangelize.
To get started on driving event growth, please contact your AD or info@iv.com.