The Conference Math Nobody Wants to Do

Somebody spends $250K organizing an event in Singapore to bring together 200 people. Half the room is merch hunters. The conversations are light. Everyone posts a photo. Okay. Let's talk CAC now.

I go to a lot of crypto conferences for work. TOKEN2049, Korea Blockchain Week, India Blockchain Week and plenty of side events in between. Every season I watch teams spend huge budgets on events with no idea what they're getting back. A few things I've noticed.

Are there too many side events at crypto conferences?

Yes. At TOKEN2049 Singapore a couple of years ago, there were more than 800 side events. I found myself lost trying to decide which ones to attend, and I do this for a living.

If I'm confused, your target audience is too. Another party in the same week doesn't stand out. It disappears.

What worked better: ecosystem events. When several teams in the same ecosystem come together, the room is bigger, the conversations are better, and everyone shares the cost. Those consistently had more impact than siloed events. I compare the formats in side event vs booth vs sponsorship.

Do small rooms beat big parties?

This year at TOKEN2049, the thing that stood out most was that the closed dinners and small conversations had the best people. The mass events had the crowd.

If you're trying to close partnerships, raise, or meet journalists, 20 of the right people at a dinner beats 500 people at a party. Every time. I wrote up why in crypto conference dinner vs party.

What do journalists want at a conference?

A lot of teams bring reporters to their booth with a product demo. In my experience, journalists at these events are often most interested in the bigger industry conversations, especially regulation.

If you want press at a conference, give them a reason that's bigger than your booth. A data point. A founder with a strong view on the policy debate everyone is talking about.

Should products and services plan events differently?

This one gets missed a lot.

• If you sell a product, conferences are about partnerships, integrations and showing people how they can use you.
• If you sell a service, it's purely about relationships. You don't hard-sell. You have good conversations and follow up properly.

Same event, completely different game plan.

What conference merch actually gets used?

Merch hunts at TOKEN2049 were huge this year, and a lot of projects had a lot of merch. Most of it ends up in a drawer.

Make something people will actually use. At India Blockchain Week in Bangalore one December, it was cold, and I said the best merch would be a sweater or a jacket. I'd have happily worn one all day. Your logo would've been walking around the venue for free. Thoughtful beats loud. More ideas in crypto conference merch that gets worn.

Does creativity still win at crypto events?

The ideas people talk about after a conference aren't the biggest booths. They're the creative ones. A live competition, a strong stunt, a moment people want to film.

And for anyone saying marketing is dead: from what I saw, so many teams want to double down on users and real traction. The energy isn't going anywhere. It's just going to the teams that plan properly.

What should you ask before booking your next event?

1. Who exactly do we need to meet, and are they going?
2. Can we co-host with our ecosystem instead of going alone?
3. What's our story for journalists, beyond our product?
4. How will we follow up within 48 hours? (My 48-hour follow-up system is here.)
5. What would make this worth it, in numbers? (Start with cost per qualified meeting.)

If you can't answer number five, you're not doing an event. You're throwing a party.

The best event strategy isn't the biggest one. It's the one you can measure.