This week's roundup includes a virtual-reality Mars installation in Miami, kitchen-knife signage in New York, a bear-inspired insurance activation in San Francisco, and a 3-D floral photo booth in Los Angeles.
The seventh annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic took place October 15 at Will Rogers State Historic Park in Los Angeles. New to the event this year was a 3-D floral photo booth that was designed and produced by A-1 Array.
The 11th annual New York Comic Con took place October 6 to 9 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Jack Morton Worldwide in New York produced the Audible Recall activation, which featured seven game stations that invited convention attendees to guess Audible audio book titles from listening to 15-second clips. Players who guessed the most correct titles in the least amount of time won prizes. The booth was built by Jack Morton's office in Princeton and the game was developed by Genuine.
The inaugural Future of Storytelling Festival took place October 7 to 9 at the Africa Center in New York. The event featured more than 70 interactive exhibits that showcased different types of immersive storytelling. The festival's visuals and props included nods to storytelling history, including typewriters, instruments, and even Melcher’s own Macintosh collection.
Cloud computing company Salesforce's annual Dreamforce conference took place October 4 to 7 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. This year, the event incorporated Salesforce's outdoorsy online learning tool Trailhead as a theme. The Farmers Insurance activation in the Customer Campground linked to the Trailhead theme: The display was based on a real Farmers Insurance customer’s claim about a bear that broke into a home. It was one of eight activations in the Campground produced by Sparks.
Salesforce C.E.O. Marc Benioff was one of dozens of keynote speakers at the event. To tie into the theme, wood logs lined the keynote stage and background decor evoked a forest setting.
To bring its fall advertising campaign to life, online shopping brand Gilt took over a downtown New York townhouse from September 30 to October 8 to host a series of consumer-focused events tied to the brand's various lifestyle offerings. A culinary event took place September 30 and featured a signage wall that had the phrase "In Good Taste" created with various kitchen knives.
A kid-friendly family event took place on October 2. Brand signage for the event was created with Crayola crayons. Kids and parents were encouraged to color in the rest of the wall.
The fourth annual III Points Music Art & Technology Festival took place October 7 to 9 at Mana Wynwood in Miami, despite the bad weather caused by Hurricane Matthew. Festival sponsor Stoli had an al fresco lounge with a vintage, silver cocktail trailer and red, encased swings. Brand ambassadors distributed Stoli merchandise to guests.
Returning local innovator Aileen Quintana revealed "Sunset@Noon," which posed as a 6,000-square-foot indoor performance space, as well as a Vaporwave mall. The installation had Internet-inspired decor and multisensory elements, highlighting local art, musicians, and fashion.
Fusion network and NASA teamed up for "Mars 2030," a virtual-reality installation that debuted at the III Points Festival. Attendees were encouraged to enter the pod and dress in designated eyewear and headphones. The multisensory experience, from Fusion virtual-reality producer Julian Reyes, transported volunteers to Mars, where satellite imagery created a realistic world to explore.
