Case study · Publishing & events

Francesco Zaccarelli

250 people at a live book presentation, from €400 in ads.

people at the live book presentation: 250; people at the live book presentation
total ad spend, about €1.60 per attendee: €400; total ad spend, about €1.60 per attendee

Services: Paid Advertising
Industry: Publishing & events
Platforms: Meta Ads, Event registration, Reminders
Year: 2026

Francesco Zaccarelli website by Optiflow

The challenge

Francesco Zaccarelli is a scholar of religious thought who taught at the University of Urbino for more than fifteen years. His book, Florenskij. La Teologia del Dono (Jaca Book), is about Pavel Florensky, a philosopher most people have never heard of. A theology book is not an easy sell on Instagram. Filling a room for its presentation, on a small budget, sounded close to impossible.

Our approach

We did not try to make theology go viral. We found the people who already care: readers of philosophy, spirituality and religious thought, and people living near the venue. The ads invited them to an evening with the author, not to buy a book. A simple registration and reminders before the date did the rest.

Event promotion strategy
Meta Ads
Event registration
Local targeting
Reminders

What made the difference

Niche is not small if you aim well.

Most people will never read a book about Florensky. We did not need most people. We needed 250 of the right ones, and €400 found them.

What we did

How we did it.

1
Find the few who care
Audiences built on interest in philosophy, spirituality and religious thought, close to the venue.
2
Sell an evening, not a book
The ads invited people to meet the author and hear the ideas live.
3
Keep it simple
A short registration, then reminders before the date so people actually came.
4
Spend like it is your own money
€400 in total. 250 people in the room.

The work