Event Marketer

---
name: event-marketer
description: Expert event marketing guidance for conferences, webinars, and field programs. Use when planning event strategy, creating booth presence, running webinars, producing virtual events, writing event promotion copy, preparing speakers, designing follow-up sequences, or measuring event ROI. Use for conference sponsorships, trade shows, user conferences, meetups, field marketing, and hybrid events.
---

# Event Marketer

Expert event marketing guidance for conferences, webinars, field marketing programs, and virtual events — from strategy through post-event follow-up and ROI measurement.

## Philosophy

Great event marketing treats every event as a campaign, not a checkbox:

1. **Event as funnel** — Promotion, attendance, engagement, and follow-up are all conversion points
2. **Quality over quantity** — 50 qualified conversations beat 500 badge scans
3. **Experience creates memory** — What they remember matters more than what you said
4. **The event ends when the deal closes** — Post-event execution is where ROI lives

## How This Skill Works

When invoked, apply the guidelines in `rules/` organized by:

- `strategy-*` — Event selection, planning, goal-setting
- `conference-*` — Booth presence, sponsorship, in-person execution
- `webinar-*` — Webinar strategy, production, engagement
- `virtual-*` — Virtual and hybrid event production
- `promotion-*` — Event marketing, registration optimization
- `speaker-*` — Speaker preparation, content development
- `engagement-*` — Booth staffing, attendee engagement tactics
- `followup-*` — Post-event sequences, lead processing
- `field-*` — Field marketing programs, regional events
- `measurement-*` — Event ROI, attribution, metrics

## Core Frameworks

### The Event Marketing Funnel

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                             │
│   ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐             │
│   │ PROMOTE  │───▶│ REGISTER │───▶│ ATTEND   │             │
│   │ (Reach)  │    │ (Convert)│    │ (Show up)│             │
│   └──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘             │
│                                        │                    │
│   ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐         │                    │
│   │  CLOSE   │◀───│ FOLLOW UP│◀────────┘                    │
│   │  (Win)   │    │ (Nurture)│                              │
│   └──────────┘    └──────────┘                              │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Event Type Selection Matrix

| Event Type | Best For | Typical Cost | Lead Quality | Time Investment |
|------------|----------|--------------|--------------|-----------------|
| **Tier 1 Conference** | Brand awareness, enterprise deals | $50k-500k | Medium-High | 3-6 months |
| **Industry Trade Show** | Pipeline generation, demos | $20k-100k | Medium | 2-3 months |
| **Hosted Webinar** | Lead gen, thought leadership | $1k-5k | Medium | 2-4 weeks |
| **User Conference** | Retention, expansion, community | $100k-1M+ | High | 6-12 months |
| **Meetup/Roundtable** | Relationship building, ABM | $2k-10k | High | 2-4 weeks |
| **Virtual Summit** | Scale, global reach | $10k-50k | Low-Medium | 2-3 months |
| **Field Dinner** | Executive relationships | $5k-20k | Very High | 3-4 weeks |

### Event Goal Framework

| Goal | Primary Metric | Secondary Metrics |
|------|---------------|-------------------|
| **Brand Awareness** | Impressions, booth traffic | Social mentions, press coverage |
| **Lead Generation** | MQLs generated | Cost per lead, lead quality score |
| **Pipeline Acceleration** | Meetings booked | Opportunities influenced |
| **Customer Retention** | NPS lift, engagement | Renewal mentions, expansion convos |
| **Thought Leadership** | Speaking slots, content downloads | Media mentions, social engagement |
| **Partnership Development** | Partner meetings | Joint opportunities identified |

### The EPIC Event Checklist

**E — Execute pre-event**
- Promotion timeline and channels
- Registration page optimization
- Pre-event nurture sequence
- Booth/materials preparation

**P — Perform at event**
- Staff training and talking points
- Lead capture system
- Engagement activities
- Real-time content capture

**I — Implement follow-up**
- Lead scoring and routing
- Personalized follow-up sequences
- Content delivery
- Meeting booking

**C — Calculate ROI**
- Lead attribution
- Pipeline tracking
- Revenue attribution
- Learnings documentation

## Event Metrics by Stage

| Stage | Key Metrics | Benchmarks |
|-------|-------------|------------|
| **Promotion** | Email open rate, CTR, social engagement | 25%+ open, 3%+ CTR |
| **Registration** | Registration rate, cost per registration | 2-5% of audience |
| **Attendance** | Show rate, check-in time | 40-60% webinar, 80%+ in-person |
| **Engagement** | Booth visits, session attendance, Q&A | 50%+ session completion |
| **Follow-up** | Response rate, meetings booked | 15%+ response, 5%+ meetings |
| **Conversion** | MQL→SQL rate, pipeline generated | 20%+ MQL→SQL |

## Budget Allocation Framework

### Conference Sponsorship Budget Split

| Category | % of Budget | What It Covers |
|----------|-------------|----------------|
| **Sponsorship** | 40-50% | Booth space, branding, speaking slots |
| **Booth & Materials** | 20-25% | Design, collateral, swag, equipment |
| **Travel & Logistics** | 15-20% | Flights, hotels, shipping, meals |
| **Pre/Post Marketing** | 10-15% | Promotion, ads, follow-up campaigns |
| **Contingency** | 5% | Last-minute needs, upgrades |

### Webinar Budget Split

| Category | % of Budget | What It Covers |
|----------|-------------|----------------|
| **Promotion** | 50-60% | Paid ads, email, partnerships |
| **Production** | 20-30% | Platform, A/V, slides, editing |
| **Speakers** | 10-20% | Honorariums, prep time |
| **Follow-up** | 5-10% | Content, nurture campaigns |

## Anti-Patterns

- **Spray and pray sponsorships** — Sponsoring every event without ICP alignment
- **Badge scanning obsession** — Quantity of leads over quality of conversations
- **No pre-event outreach** — Showing up cold to events without scheduled meetings
- **Post-event black hole** — Leads die in a spreadsheet instead of sequences
- **Same booth everywhere** — Not adapting presence to event audience
- **Measuring attendance, not pipeline** — Vanity metrics instead of business impact
- **Speaker with no follow-up** — Great talk, no content capture or attendee nurture
- **One-and-done events** — Missing the compound effect of consistent presence