The basics: Google Cloud Generate was held at ExCeL London on Jan. 16, 2024. The sales kickoff event, which last year was held virtually, drew almost 9,000 Google Cloud sales professionals. The name of the event, “Generate,” was a nod to generative AI and a call to action, intending to give attendees the environment, technology, and tools they need to help create the future they want to see through a mix of technologies. Google Cloud collaborated with Opus Agency on the event, while Gramercy Tech led registration and built the event app.
The layout: Attendees were invited to “step into” five different immersive worlds where they could demonstrate their impact—and “generate tomorrow” in real time—using a mix of technologies and activations. The more they learned and participated with the spaces, the more they were able to transform the environment around them. Googlers also had the opportunity to earn swag by interacting with each subworld and collecting “Tomorrow Tokens” within the event app.
“We set out to create an event that truly couldn’t happen without the participants—one that would transport them to new worlds that inspire them to take action,” explained Mia Rovegno, group creative director for Opus Agency. “We designed a 360-degree experience featuring unique microworlds that offered diverse experiences: intimate lounges, immersive stages, direct learning pods, experiential museum-like journeys, tech-based activations, interactive learning paths, workshops, talks, and quieter spaces for reflection and contemplation.” 
“We designed bespoke iconography featuring five distinct shapes signaling these worlds,” said Rovegno. “This came to life through eye-catching graphics and large-scale, kinetic, color-coded LED chandelier sculptures suspended in the air. The sculptures dramatically descended into the keynote room and the worlds to punctuate key moments and provide visual wayfinding landmarks across the grounds.”Photo: Courtesy of Opus Agency
Google Cloud’s Mallory Schlossberg led the creative strategy that inspired the five themed spaces. In the “Understand” world, a spatial audio tunnel and walk of fame featured "Seller Success Stories." There was also the Demo Gallery, which transformed as people completed demos. In the “Grow” area, meanwhile, an interactive workshop area and installation mimicked the "buttons" and "levers" needed to drive revenue.
Other worlds included “Connect,” which had an installation featuring intentional and collaborative learning sessions, including workshops and a Portrait Portal that created AI-generated avatars. And the “Innovate” world had activations where attendees could learn about and interact with a Duet AI journey and Moonshot Meditations, which leveraged speech-to-text and text-to-speech AI. Finally, in the “Imagine” space, guests took an immersive journey through an upcycled, recyclable (Re)Generate Garden Path, including a community giveback activity and the Imag[in]e Tomorrow activation featuring AI-generated text-to-image.
“The space design was flexible and open, prioritizing ‘experience over expo,’” noted Rovegno. “Attendees were free to personalize and imprint on the world around them through a highly curated journey that encouraged freedom and agency, balancing ‘fixed time’ (required scheduled sessions) and open ‘exploratory time.’” 
"When attendees are invited to be the protagonists or ‘main characters,’ they feel inspired to take action," said Rovegno.Photo: Courtesy of Opus Agency
Evolving experiences: By day three of the event, the content within the five worlds looked much different, having been shaped by attendee behavior the previous day. “A Portrait Portal populated as attendees added AI-generated avatar images,” explained Rovegno as an example. “Meanwhile, our (Re)Generate Garden Path ‘grew’ as attendees planted upcycled recyclable flora amidst real trees in a community giveback activity.”
Other highlights included the interactive DEI and culture journey that invited attendees to leave their mark with handwritten reflection cards. Intimate workshops were hosted in a Belonging Lounge while an Imag[in]e Tomorrow activation allowed attendees to create AI-generated text-to-image visuals, transforming the visual landscape across the entire floor. 
A Moonshot Meditations dome (pictured) provided a space for attendees to bring their dreams to life through an AI-generated voice-to-text, text-to-image, and image-to-voice activation, projecting Googlers’ moonshot ideas onto a sky of immersive images and sounds.Photo: Courtesy of Opus Agency
“Our open floor plan resembled festival grounds, featuring large-scale, visually compelling tech-forward activations; interactive learning journeys; and immersive spaces tucked into every corner, encouraging intimate connections and participation,” added Rovegno.
The dog appeared in animated videos, hidden AR messages, and across the event app, playfully informing attendees that the Generate world would only come to life with their real-time interactive contributions. “Our favorite part was designing the dog using what we called the ‘Google goo,’ the beautiful gradient colors and animated shapes that defined the Generate event branding,” added Rovegno.Photo: Courtesy of Opus Agency
Upon arrival, attendees were prompted to listen to a podcast introducing the animal, who spoke directly to them about the event’s rules of engagement. “This prepared them to seek out the magical dog, which appeared in AR form, offering clues on where to discover content throughout the event and how to complete the five activation experiences in a gamified scavenger hunt,” she said.
Moments of connection: As this was the first time the event had been held in person since 2019, the team focused on creating moments of connection. The event’s opening keynote, for example, featured a live orchestra and Brazilian drums performing bespoke compositions representing all countries in attendance.
The final reception also had standout entertainment options, including exclusive AI-generated immersive digital art by Refik Anadol, youth DrumWorks drummers, live VR artist Sean Rodrigo, and a DJ set by Sasha GiGi. These performances were elevated by immersive screen design, moving giant LED chandeliers designed from the original iconography designs, eclectic food trucks, large-scale analog game zones, and a press station where customized subworld icons were pressed onto tote bags.
“With an event focused on AI technologies, we felt it was important to ground the experience in the attendees—the humans driving that tech innovation—and the need to stay connected to our humanity and the natural world,” said Rovegno. 
One of Rovegno’s favorite moments? The ReGenerate Garden. “We felt it was crucial to provide this sensory oasis, filled with the sights and scents of real trees, enhanced by colorful lighting and immersive sound design," she said. "We were pleasantly surprised that this immersive forest was such a hit that people kept returning for intimate conversations and impromptu meetings, engaging in shared experiences they felt welcome to initiate themselves.”Photo: Courtesy of Opus Agency
The results: Overall, Generate was the highest-rated SKO in Google Cloud history. The numbers speak for themselves: 11,447 unique interactions at the activations; 8,104 event app downloads; 13,916 “Tomorrow Tokens” earned in the app; 15,907 session surveys taken; and zero attrition over three keynotes.
"Taking an immersive approach and seeding a strong narrative at every touchpoint helps to deepen an event, making every experience memorable and meaningful," pointed out Rovegno. "By experiencing how their actions transform the event in real time, they carry that energy forward, inspiring them to transform the world around them post-event."
