Case Study Summary
When Dibble Digital took over paid social for Towcester Food Festival, ticket sales more than doubled year-on-year, from £20,092 to £43,452, with the same ad spend.
By replacing boosted posts with a structured, data-led Meta Ads strategy, we:
- Identified and targeted two core audiences: empty nesters and young families
- Built warm and lookalike audiences from existing data to target (and retarget) high-value prospects
- Introduced a two-step sales funnel for awareness and conversion campaigns
- Phased spend in line with demand across awareness and conversion campaigns for maximum ROI
- Used Eventbrite purchase data and Meta’s Conversion API to optimise ads from real time sales data
This resulted in a 106%+ increase in ticket revenue, better audience insight, and a repeatable framework now used across Polyfony’s other food and drink events.
The Challenge
Towcester Food Festival, run by Polyfony (the team behind Bite Street, Northampton Sausage & Cider Festival, and Northampton Winter Food Festival), had reached a ceiling with ticket sales.
Despite a loyal following and strong local buzz, paid social campaigns were limited to boosted posts. They increased reach and engagement, but not sales. There was no structured targeting, conversion tracking, or data feedback loop.
When Polyfony came to Dibble Digital, they wanted to turn awareness into measurable results without increasing their ad spend.
The Problem with Boosting Posts
Boosting posts might feel productive, but it is not a proper campaign strategy. Boosted posts optimise for likes and reach, not purchases. They offer limited targeting, weak reporting, and no way to feed conversion data back into Meta’s algorithm.
In short, they create noise, not results.
Our Approach
When Dibble Digital took over, we built a full-funnel, data-driven campaign focused on real conversions.
1. Clear audience segmentation
Using Google Analytics and insights from the event team, we identified two key audiences:
- Empty nesters – local foodies seeking a relaxed, high-quality festival experience.
- Young families – parents looking for great food, drink, and entertainment for the kids.
We developed separate ad sets and creative for each group, ensuring visuals and messaging matched what mattered to them.
2. Warm audiences and lookalikes
We uploaded the event’s existing email list and previous purchaser data (hashed and GDPR-compliant) into Meta. This allowed us to retarget past ticket buyers and create lookalike audiences – people similar to those who had already purchased tickets.
3. Real conversion tracking
Integrating Eventbrite with Meta using Zapier, we integrated both the Meta Pixel and Conversion API (CAPI) to track every purchase accurately. This data fed directly into Meta’s learning algorithm, helping it find more users likely to buy, not just browsers.
4. Smarter funnel and budget phasing
We ran a two-step campaign:
- Phase 1: Awareness – early ads focused on low-commitment actions such as “Save the date”, building warm audiences to retarget later.
- Phase 2: Conversion – high-intent campaigns launched three weeks before the event, with spend ramping up closer to the event: when most people were ready to buy.
This approach ensured every pound was spent when it mattered most.
5. Split targeting and creative management
We ran separate campaigns for:
- Website visitors and Facebook event engagers (remarketing)
- Previous purchasers and their lookalikes
- Interest-based audiences for each demographic
- A broad optimisation campaign to find new, high-value buyers
We also managed the photo and video creative, tailoring visuals to match audience intent and campaign stage.
6. Collaboration with Polyfony
A strong paid social media campaign should always run alongside a solid organic social media strategy (posting to the feeds). We worked closely with the Polyfony team to help shape the organic social media strategy using feedback from the ads, and took over the organic socials in the final moments before the event to allow the team to get ready for their attendees.
The Results
Ticket sales more than doubled year-on-year.
- Previous year: £20,092.12 in paid-social-attributed revenue
- With Dibble Digital: £43,451.80
With the same spend, we achieved over 116% year-on-year growth, proving that structure, targeting, and tracking make all the difference.
What the Client Said
“Working with Dibble Digital transformed our approach. They helped us understand our audiences, refine our messaging, and use data to make every ad count. The results were incredible – we more than doubled ticket sales in a single year.”
— Managing Director, Polyfony.
Key Takeaways
- Do not boost posts. Build campaigns that are optimised for sales, not likes.
- Segment your audiences and speak to them about what they actually care about.
- Feed your conversion data back into Meta to optimise targeting and find more buyers with data.
- Phase your spend – awareness early, conversion later.
- Use visuals that reflect your audience’s intent and stage in the funnel.
- Align your paid strategy with other marketing channels for maximum impact.
Next Steps
Want to turn your event marketing into measurable results?
Book a strategy call with Dibble Digital to find out how we can help you turn engagement into sales.