146% App Downloads and A Seamless Attendee Experience: Inside BRBF’s Festival Strategy

Rooted in community and cultural pride, The Black Romance Book Fest (BRBF) is a movement that celebrates the diversity of Black love stories and the creators who bring them to life. As presented on BRBF’s website: "We’re building something that feels like both a movement and a homecoming."

In 2025, that movement was officially launched when 1,200 book lovers came to Atlanta for the inaugural edition of the festival. It was a weekend filled with panels, signings, parties, and connection.

And while the vibes were high, the logistics could’ve easily been overwhelming.

Instead, BRBF was able to create an experience that felt organized, intuitive, and deeply personal.

Their secret? They leaned on Guidebook’s event app technology to make their first gathering a roaring success.

That decision paid off in a big way, resulting in:

• 146% app download rate.
• 172,000+ schedule session views.
• 87,000+ app sessions.

Let’s take a look at how they did it.

Before the First Panel, Excitement Was Already Building

Festivals like BRBF are about connection. 

For attendees, that means walking into an event that reflects their stories, their interests, and their community. As for organizers, it means running things behind the scenes with as little friction as possible.

With Guidebook, BRBF delivered a mobile experience that supported both sides of that equation.

The attendee experience

Pre-event engagement is something every planner hopes for and struggles to create.
Not BRBF though.

Being able to see the schedule, layout, nearby restaurant choices, and more allowed our attendees to build their ideal schedule beforehand. Thus, they maximized their in-person experience throughout the weekend. - Anastasia Slaughter, BRBF Marketing Manager

That early engagement helped set the tone and gave attendees a sense of control and confidence going into a packed, multi-day schedule.

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The staff experience

The BRBF team used Guidebook’s push notifications to communicate with guests quickly, without needing to print or announce last-minute changes on the fly.

With how busy we were, simplifying any process made a huge impact on our time management and capacity to help in other areas. - Anastasia Slaughter, BRBF Marketing Manager

This balance of control and clarity helped BRBF offer a more thoughtful and less stressful experience for everyone involved.

Designing a Festival App That Works for Everyone

As the BRBF team started planning out their festival app, they took a very thoughtful and intentional approach to how they organized the content. They boiled it down to:

• Who would be there: authors, narrators, moderators, and content creators.
• What would happen: the full slate of sessions, signings, add-ons, and nighttime activities.
• When it would all unfold: the flow and timing of sessions and activities, authors' signing schedules, content creators' meet & greets, moderator sessions.
• Where everything was happening: hotel layouts and maps to help attendees navigate easily.
• How it should feel:a fully branded app, with their signature colors and tone of voice throughout.

By doing the work upfront, the team created a branded app experience that complemented the in-person experience attendees were having.

And perhaps most importantly, it freed up the team to be present, visible, and responsive once the festival began.

Black Romance Book Fest, By The Numbers

By combining a crystal clear purpose with a desire to serve their community, the first edition of the Black Romance Book Fest delivered results that any event organizer would be proud of:

• 1,200 attendees 
• 1,759 app downloads:that’s a 146% download rate, indicating that those who couldn’t attend in person were still curious about the app.
• 172,141 schedule session views, signaling both interest in and engagement with the programming.
• 87,761 app sessions:attendees were returning to the app again and again to stay oriented.

Note:these metrics are from Apr 1 - Jun 1, 2025. Even though the event didn't start until May 30, BRBF saw peak downloads in April, followed by a steady stream of downloads leading up to the event weekend.

The Festival App As an Engine for Connection

Event planning is always full of surprises and one of the best surprises that emerged for the BRBF was just how deeply attendees embraced the app.

They weren’t just checking schedules; they were:

• Setting reminders for their personal schedules
• Uploading their personal social handles and scanning each other’s QR codes to connect in real time. 

Basically, the app turned into a digital meet-cute machine.

Standout features included:

• Reminders: Guests used them to make sure they didn’t miss a single panel or signing.
• Social sharing: With QR codes in play, following a new friend (or favorite author) was just a scan away.

As for their final thoughts on Guidebook, this is what Anastasia had to say:

I can say it saved the team from being asked repetitive questions throughout the weekend, and truly allowed us to focus on any on-site issues that arose. - Anastasia Slaughter, BRBF Marketing Manager

Real-World Takeaways From BRBF

Whether you're organizing a first-year niche event or scaling a well-established festival, BRBF's success offers inspiration for what’s possible. Here are our top takeaways:

Start early, and make it easy

Attendees want to feel confident before they arrive. By letting people explore the schedule weeks ahead of time and build their own plan, BRBF created excitement and anticipation.

Simplify to amplify

Push notifications weren’t flashy, but they made a major impact. Instead of scrambling to share last-minute updates, the BRBF team used features like push notifications to keep attendees up-to-date (and reclaim hours of mental bandwidth).

Design for connection

Aside from being a reliable source of information, BRBF’s app made it easy for guests to meet, connect, and share the festival experience. QR codes, social handles, and personal schedules turned their digital guide into a networking hub.

Stay on brand, everywhere

From the moment attendees opened the app, the BRBF identity was unmistakable — their colors, voice, and vision is reflected throughout the app. 

That consistency builds trust and deepens the sense of belonging.

Build A Festival App That Simplifies Logistics and Strengthens Community

Black Romance Book Fest calls itself “a bold and joyful celebration of Black love stories and the storytellers who bring them to life.” And in its first year, it lived up to every word.

With Guidebook, the BRBF team turned a complex, high-energy weekend into something that felt organized, intuitive, and deeply welcoming. 

Attendees felt seen.
Staff felt supported.
And the buzz carried on long after the final session wrapped.

If you're building a festival that prioritizes connection, clarity, and community, let us help you get there.

Book a demo with our team orstart building your app now.