Attendee Acquisition Practices Driving Growth Today
This study updates research first conducted in 2022, which examined attendee acquisition strategies as the business events industry reopened following the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2026 edition focuses on current attendee acquisition practices and the strategies organizers are using to drive future attendance growth. New questions were added to assess the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in attendee marketing.
Previous research on this topic may be found here.
This series is available as a complimentary download for IAEE members.
Reports Two and Three will be available in Q4 2026.
Report One: How High-Performing Organizers Operate
This report examines attendee acquisition practices for B2B exhibitions held during the past two years. It benchmarks the strategies, resources, performance measures, costs, and outcomes organizers use to attract attendees and compares recent results with prior editions.
The findings provide a snapshot of attendee acquisition in today’s operating environment and highlight practices associated with events reporting attendance growth. The report offers benchmarks and insights to help organizers evaluate and strengthen their attendee acquisition strategies.
This report is available as a complimentary download for IAEE members and $99 USD for non-members.
