Attendee Acquisition
The marketing strategies and tactics used to attract and convert target audiences into event registrants.
Definition
Attendee acquisition encompasses all efforts to build event registration: from early awareness campaigns through final conversion optimization. This includes email marketing, social campaigns, partner promotion, speaker outreach, early-bird pricing strategies, and referral programs.
Sophisticated acquisition strategies segment audiences, personalize messaging, and optimize the registration funnel just like e-commerce conversion optimization.
Why It Matters
Event success depends on attracting the right attendees, not just filling seats. Acquisition strategy determines whether an event draws engaged participants who benefit sponsors and justify investment.
Understanding acquisition metrics helps optimize marketing spend and predict registration trajectories.
Examples in Practice
An event team A/B tests registration page headlines, finding that value-focused messaging converts 40% better than speaker-focused messaging.
Acquisition analysis reveals most registrations come from personal invitations by past attendees, leading to investment in a referral program.
Segmented email campaigns send different value propositions to executives (networking, strategy) versus practitioners (skills, tactics).