You know the feeling. Your competitor just pulled off a massively successful event: buzzing with energy, packed with attendees, and dominating social media. Meanwhile, your event? It was fine. The engagement was decent, but it didn’t quite ignite the same excitement.
So what gives? How are they making it look so easy? More importantly—how can you take what they’re doing and make it even better?
The truth is, your competitor isn’t reinventing the wheel. They’re just using a smarter strategy. The good news? You can crack their code and adapt it to make your events the ones everyone is talking about.
What Your Competitor is Getting Right
1) They Know Their Audience Inside and Out
Great events aren’t built on gut instincts. The best event marketers dive deep into audience data, understanding not just who their attendees are but why they show up.
Take Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual tech conference. They don’t just slap together a speaker lineup and call it a day. They leverage years of audience insights, AI-powered data analysis, and direct attendee feedback to design hyper-personalized event experiences. From beginner-friendly workshops to advanced deep dives, every session feels like it was made just for you.
Compare that to an event that tries to cater to everyone—you know the ones. Generic keynotes, panel discussions that go nowhere, and a schedule packed with filler. The result? Attendees walk away feeling like the event was just meh.
What You Can Do:
- Conduct pre-event surveys and analyze past attendance data to uncover key interests and trends.
- Use AI-powered platforms like Bizzabo or Cvent to personalize attendee agendas based on preferences.
- Segment your audience and tailor messaging for each group. (Your Gen Z attendees want bite-sized, interactive content, while senior execs might prefer high-level strategy sessions.)
- Incorporate live polling and real-time feedback tools to adjust programming on the fly.
Bottom line: The more your event feels custom-made for your attendees, the more engaged (and loyal) they’ll be.
2) They Focus on Creating Experiences, Not Just Events
Think about the last event you truly remember. Chances are, it wasn’t just a standard conference with a speaker droning on about industry trends.
The best event planners don’t just schedule speakers and panels—they craft immersive, shareable experiences that attendees want to be part of.
Look at SXSW. It’s more than a conference. It’s a cultural phenomenon. Attendees don’t just go for the sessions; they go for the unexpected brand activations, surprise performances, and creative networking experiences. The event turns every attendee into a content creator, flooding social media with live posts, videos, and engagement.
Compare that to a cookie-cutter event with little more than keynote speeches and a buffet lunch. Those events are forgettable.
What You Can Do:
- Turn passive attendees into active participants. Host live demos, hackathons, or interactive workshops.
- Use technology to make your event feel alive. Incorporate AR/VR experiences, AI-powered networking, or immersive sound and lighting design.
- Give attendees something to share. Create visually stunning installations, gamified scavenger hunts, or exclusive behind-the-scenes moments.
- Gamify engagement. Apps like Slido and Brella make networking, Q&A sessions, and real-time participation fun.
Bottom line: If your event feels like a classroom, you’re doing it wrong. Make it an experience people can’t stop talking about.
3) They Leverage Multi-Channel Promotion Like Pros
If your event marketing strategy is just email blasts and a few social media posts, you’re missing out on serious engagement.
Your competitor? They’re treating event promotion like a full-blown product launch.
Take Adobe MAX, the annual creativity conference. Their marketing isn’t limited to a single email campaign—it’s an ecosystem of content. Months before the event, Adobe teases speaker announcements, runs influencer partnerships, and drops behind-the-scenes content on TikTok and Instagram. By the time tickets open, demand is sky-high.
Meanwhile, a competitor might be relying on the classic “post once on LinkedIn and hope for the best” approach. That’s not going to cut it.
What You Can Do:
- Start early. Begin building anticipation months in advance with teaser content, countdowns, and early-access perks.
- Use multi-channel storytelling. Instead of repeating the same message across platforms, tailor content:
- Instagram & TikTok: Behind-the-scenes, speaker interviews, attendee testimonials.
- LinkedIn & Twitter: Thought leadership posts, industry insights, event news.
- Email marketing: Personalized reminders, exclusive content drops, and VIP offers.
- Run retargeting ads on social media for visitors who showed interest but haven’t registered yet.
- Tap into user-generated content. Create a custom hashtag and encourage attendees to share their excitement.
Bottom line: If your event promotion strategy is a one-note campaign, you’re losing to competitors who create a full-fledged experience months before the event even starts.
4) They Keep the Conversation Going After the Event Ends
Most brands treat their event as a one-and-done deal. They focus on the big day and then… radio silence.
Your competitor? They know the real power is in what happens next.
Look at Apple’s WWDC. Even after the event wraps, Apple keeps developers engaged through exclusive post-event content, follow-up discussions, and deep dives into their announcements. This ensures the excitement (and conversation) lasts long after the closing remarks.
What You Can Do:
- Send post-event recaps with exclusive content, key takeaways, and downloadable resources.
- Repurpose event content into blog posts, LinkedIn articles, and YouTube videos to extend its lifespan.
- Keep the networking alive. Create a LinkedIn or Slack group where attendees can continue the conversation.
- Offer exclusive access to next year’s event with early-bird pricing or VIP perks.
Bottom line: An event isn’t just a moment—it’s a movement. Keep people engaged, and they’ll be begging to come back next year.
Time to Flip the Script
Your competitor’s event strategy isn’t better than yours—it’s just more intentional.
If you want to truly outmaneuver your competitors, you have to shift your mindset. The best event strategists don’t just focus on logistics, speaker lineups, or smooth check-ins. They focus on emotion; the way an event makes attendees feel before, during, and after they step through the doors.
Think about it: people don’t just remember what happened at an event; they remember how they felt. The rush of an exclusive product reveal, the connection sparked from an unexpected conversation, the excitement of a surprise guest appearance, these are the moments that make an event unforgettable.
Great events aren’t just well-organized; they create energy. The best ones feel immersive, like stepping into a different world, one where every touchpoint—lighting, sound, branding, interactive elements—contributes to the overall experience. Your competitor isn’t just running an event; they’re designing a journey that makes people feel something real.
When you stop treating events like a checklist and start treating them like a story, you’ll create moments that last long after the doors close. And when the next big industry event rolls around, it’ll be your brand that’s setting the gold standard.
Ready to elevate your event strategy? Let’s talk. At Paragon Events, we don’t just plan events—we craft immersive experiences that leave lasting impressions. Reach out today, and let’s make your next event one to remember.
