The Essence
The Marketing Event is where relationships happen in shared time and space — physical or virtual. It represents planned gatherings: conferences, webinars, trade shows, workshops, meetups.
Unlike Appointments (which are 1:1 or small group meetings) or Courses (which are structured learning), Marketing Events are broader engagements designed to connect your organization with many people simultaneously.
They answer "what gatherings are we hosting or attending, who participated, and what resulted?" Marketing Events create engagement data that connects offline/event activity to the digital relationship record.
"Events create shared experience. That shared experience is relationship equity. Don't squander it with impersonal follow-up."
Unified View Contribution
Customer View
Primary contributor. Event attendance history reveals engagement patterns. Who shows up to your webinars? Who visited your trade show booth? Who attended your user conference? This participation data is part of understanding each relationship.
Business Context
Supporting contributor. Event performance (registration rates, attendance, resulting opportunities) informs investment decisions. Which events drive value? Which should be expanded or retired?
Revenue View
Supporting contributor. Event attribution connects gatherings to pipeline. That Deal originated from a conference introduction. This renewal was influenced by user conference attendance.
Team Enablement
Minimal contributor. Events create follow-up tasks and coordination work, but aren't primarily about team capability.
Sarah's Story
Sarah's journey included multiple Marketing Events:
The Webinar (Researcher Stage): Sarah first encountered Value-First through a webinar: "Beyond Leads: Rethinking Your CRM Strategy for Manufacturing."
She registered through a form. The Marketing Event record captured her registration. When she attended (watching 47 of 60 minutes), her participation status updated. The webinar recording was sent afterward — she opened it twice.
All of this lived on her Contact record: Registered for event, Attended event, Engagement score from participation. When Ryan later reviewed Sarah's history, he could see she'd engaged with Value-First content before ever raising her hand.
The Trade Show (Hand Raiser Stage): Value-First exhibited at the Manufacturing Technology Summit. Sarah visited the booth. The badge scan captured her information, creating a Marketing Event participation record: - Event: Manufacturing Technology Summit 2024 - Status: Attended - Notes: "Asked about multi-location implementation. Manufacturing ops background. Interested in CVP."
This wasn't just a lead scan — it was relationship context. Ryan's follow-up wasn't cold; it referenced the conversation. "Great meeting you at the Summit. You mentioned the challenge of coordinating operations across multiple facilities..."
The User Conference (Advocate Stage): A year into her implementation, Sarah attended the Value-First Annual Summit — their user conference. She wasn't just an attendee; she was a speaker. Session: "How Precision Components Manufacturing Transformed Operations with CVP."
Her Marketing Event record showed: Speaker status, session attendance at her talk (73 people), post-session engagement (12 business card exchanges). Sarah had moved from webinar attendee to conference presenter. Her relationship had deepened through shared events.
What It Holds
Event Definition
Timing
Logistics
Organizer
Participation Tracking
Individual Participation
Attribution
What It Connects To
Primary Associations
Who participated? Association labels clarify participation status: Registered, Attended, No-Show, Cancelled, Speaker, Sponsor.
Which organizations were represented? Exhibitors, sponsors, attendee companies.
What marketing initiative does this event belong to? Events are often part of larger campaign strategies.
Opportunities influenced by event participation. Attribution tracking for pipeline generated.
Event-to-Contact Labels
Signed up to attend
Was present at event
Registered but didn't attend
Registered then cancelled
Presented at event
Sponsor representative
Event-to-Company Labels
Company has booth/presence
Event sponsor
Company represented by attendees
Why These Labels Matter
Event participation status shapes follow-up strategy. A no-show needs the recording. An attendee needs conversation continuation. A speaker needs relationship deepening. The label enables the right response.
Common Patterns
The Webinar Pattern
The Trade Show Pattern
The Conference Pattern
The Workshop Pattern
The Event Series Pattern
Value-First vs. Industrial-Age
| ✗ Traditional Thinking | ✓ Value-First Thinking |
|---|---|
| Events = Lead generation | Events = Relationship development |
| Badge scans = Leads captured | Badge scans = Conversations documented |
| Attendance = MQL | Attendance = Engagement signal |
| Event ROI = Leads generated | Event ROI = Relationships influenced |
| Follow-up = Sales call immediately | Follow-up = Continue the conversation |
| Event data lives in event tool | Event data lives on Contact record |
Why This Shift Matters
Traditional events are lead harvesting operations. Scan badges, export list, blast emails, call everyone. The relationship context gets lost. The person becomes a lead, not a human you met and talked with.
Value-First sees events as relationship touchpoints. The badge scan should capture not just contact info but conversation context. The follow-up should reference what you discussed, not send generic sales emails. Event attendance should enrich the Contact record, revealing engagement patterns over time.
In Practice
Implementation details and configuration
What You'll See in HubSpot
Marketing Events appear in the Marketing Hub. Each event has:
- Left sidebar: Event properties, dates, registration counts
- Middle column: Activity timeline, participation events
- Right sidebar: Associations to Contacts (participants), Companies, Campaigns
Event views show upcoming events with registration stats, past events with attendance and outcome data, and contact participation history.
Key Properties
Key Properties
Native HubSpot Properties
| Property | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
hs_event_name Native | Text | Event title |
hs_event_description Native | Text | What the event is about |
hs_event_type Native | Enumeration | Webinar, Conference, Trade Show, Workshop, etc. |
hs_event_status Native | Enumeration | Planned, Active, Completed, Cancelled |
hs_start_datetime Native | DateTime | Event start |
hs_end_datetime Native | DateTime | Event end |
hs_event_url Native | URL | Event page or virtual link |
hs_event_organizer Native | Text | Who's hosting |
hs_registration_count Native | Number | How many registered |
hs_attendee_count Native | Number | How many attended |
Value-First Custom Properties
| Property | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
vf_event_format | Enumeration | In-Person, Virtual, Hybrid |
vf_event_cost | Currency | Total event investment |
vf_target_audience | Multi-select | Who this event is for |
vf_value_path_stage_fit | Multi-select | Which stages this event serves |
vf_pipeline_influenced | Currency | Deal value attributed to event |
vf_attendance_rate | Calculated | Attended / Registered percentage |
Participation Status Flow
Invited
Considering attendance
Received invitation, hasn't responded
Registration or declination
Portal Experience
In Sarah's portal:
Upcoming Events
Events she can register for, tailored to her interests and stage.
My Registrations
Events she's signed up for with calendar integration and preparation materials.
Past Events
Events attended with recording access and related resources.
Speaking/Presenting
If she's a speaker, her sessions and presentation materials.
"The event experience should feel like community, not marketing. 'Join us' not 'Register now for this limited opportunity.'"
See It In Action
Experience in the Value Path Simulator
Key Moment: Event data isn't a separate silo — it's part of the unified relationship picture. Sarah's journey includes webinar attendance, trade show conversation, and conference speaking. All visible. All connected.