App = Entry ticket
This is a proven best practice
Why use the app as the official entry ticket?
It’s proven that event apps work best when attendees log in early and start using the app before the event has begun. Higher login rates lead to better engagement, smoother communication and fewer questions on the day of the event.
That’s why many events now use the app as the official entrance ticket. By making app access a requirement for entry, attendees naturally download and log in ahead of time long before they arrive at the venue.
Using the event app as the official entry ticket has proven effective for many events. Event managers who have used this method experience:
Higher app login rates before the event, leading to stronger ongoing engagement
Faster check-in at the entrance, with reduced queues and fewer questions
Clearer communication for both attendees and staff on where and how to access tickets
Proven case studies
An annual educational conference introduced app only entry to encourage attendees to engage with the programme and event information ahead of time.
This helped the organiser with session registrations prior to the event, to allocate the capacity of each session room.
App login rate
1395 logins / 1418 visitors (98.3%)
1563 logins / 1477 visitors (105.82%)
*105.82% = Users who didn't visit the event, still had a small interaction with the app and logged in. *Overall app hit increase of 19.3%
A large European technology trade show has worked with the event app over multiple years. For their latest edition of the event, the organisers introduced the app as the official entrance ticket and saw a significant increase in early app adoption and attendee engagement.
Tickets were made available via a prominent “My Ticket(s)” button on the app home screen, supported by staged attendee communication and an event day QR fallback email.
The organisers were able to clearly measure the impact through app usage statistics, including higher login rates and increased interaction in the days leading up to the event.
App login rate
4044 logins / 5197 visitors
(77.8%)
4871 logins / 5396 visitors
(90.27%)
*Overall app hit increase of 61.52%
An annual knowledge congress focused at local govenment members, professionals and students. Using the app = entry ticket the organiser has been able to not only increase the login rate to the event app, but additionally promote the in-app registration of workshops in advance of the event.
App login rate
502 logins / 478 visitors (105.2%)
105.2% = Users who didn't visit the event, still had a small interaction with the app and logged in.
*Overall app hits 81349
How app-only entry works (in practice)
The most successful app-only entrance setups follow a clear, structured flow from registration through event-day entry:
Registration & confirmation email
After registering, attendees receive a confirmation email. The content depends on whether the app is already live:
If the app is live: attendees are informed they can access their entry ticket immediately inside the app.
If the app is not live yet: attendees are told their ticket will become available in the app once it launches.
Reminder communications
In the lead-up to the event, reminder emails are scheduled and sent to attendees who have not yet logged into the app. Click here to see communication flow example
Our default onboarding mail flow promotes App = Entry ticket
Entrance experience on-site
At the entrance, staff follow a simple process:
Attendees are asked to open the app and show their QR code via My Ticket(s)
If an attendee does not have the app available, they can show the QR code from the event-day fallback email
This keeps check-in fast, reduces queues, and prevents ticket access issues at the door.
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