Case study: Sitevinitech 2026, 10,000 attendees, 0 downloads
How Circli ran the digital layer of one of Argentina's biggest expos —agenda, networking, map and gamification— without anyone downloading an app.
The event
Three days in Mendoza, one of Argentina's biggest wine expos: ~10,000 attendees, 100+ exhibitors, and an energy that never let up. And the event's entire digital layer —agenda, networking, venue map, gamification— ran on WhatsApp, with zero app downloads.
Sitevinitech chose Circli as the main technology partner for its 2026 edition, and the result was an experience attendees embraced from the very first minute.
How it felt
It all started with a gesture the crowd already knows by heart: scanning a QR. A single code opened WhatsApp and, within seconds, the person was inside the event portal —no passwords, no "create an account", nothing to download. Language was auto-detected from the first message.
From there, the whole expo was in the palm of their hand:
- They connected with each other. Every attendee carried a personal QR card. You'd meet someone interesting, scan their code, and you were both connected instantly in "My Network". Networking stopped depending on remembering to ask for a contact.
- They moved with the live map. The venue map by area (north, south, east, west) and the booth locator meant nobody got lost: finding an exhibitor took seconds.
- They played the treasure hunt. Walking the booths and scanning their QRs, attendees racked up points and won physical prizes from the organizer. People crossed the entire venue chasing the next stamp —and exhibitors got that foot traffic.
- They kept the agenda on hand. The full professional program, with bookmarks, so nobody missed a talk.
For exhibitors
Exhibitors got their own onboarding to manage their booth profile and capture leads without a single app: an attendee scanned the booth QR and landed in the exhibitor's dashboard with name and WhatsApp (always with consent). Zero forms, zero friction.
For the organizer
A full panel to watch the event live —attendees, exhibitors, and leads—, run the treasure hunt, fulfill prizes, and send WhatsApp messages to audience segments. All in one place.
The scale
- ~10,000 attendees
- 100+ exhibitors
- 0 app downloads
- ES + EN — the event's two languages
What we took away
- WhatsApp wins the front door. The attendee scans, lands in the portal, they're in. No passwords, no downloads. Adoption was immediate.
- Gamification works when it's physical. The treasure hunt kept people walking specific booths throughout the event, with real traffic for exhibitors.
- The exhibitor needs their experience too. The attendee side isn't enough —the exhibitor panel has to be just as fast. And it was.
- Language matters. ES + EN covered the full international audience with zero extra work from the organizer.
What's next
Sitevinitech 2026 was Circli Events' first at-scale operation: proof, at a real event in front of thousands of people, that the model —WhatsApp as the event's operating system, zero downloads— works. We're already in conversations with organizers in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Brazil to replicate the experience.
Running an event? Book a demo.