Event Ideas

H&M's loungey tent on the festival grounds beckoned attendees to drop in and share kisses in photo booths; every kiss resulted in the brand donating $1 toward HIV/AIDS causes. It offered other amenities like freshen-up products, and candy.

Guests entered the space through a dramatic uplit corridor.

At T-Mobile's party, Polite in Public set up a space theme—props included—at its photo station.

For Arcade Fire's set, the Creators Project released 1,250 high-tech beach balls, which came cascading down on the audience.

The "ReelMobile" had the look of a giant reel-to-reel player on wheels, from San Francisco-based artists.

In the 10-for-1 bottle exchange program, guests could collect 10 empty water bottles to redeem for one full one.

The balls were outfitted with LED light units and radio transmitters, and lit up as they bounced among the crowd.

A logoed Ferris wheel towered over the A|X and 944 Neon Carnival.

Celebrities like Kellan Lutz participated in games at the Neon Carnival.

Thousands of guests flooded 944 and Armani Exchange's second annual Neon Carnival, which started at 11 p.m. Saturday and lasted just about all night.

Lacoste brought inflatable pool toys in the form of the brand's signature alligator to its weekend-long party.

Lacoste distributed products from its Lacoste Live line in a gifting suite at its party.

Likenesses of Lacoste's signature alligator lined a lake on the party's sprawling property.

Celebrity blog Just Jared tweeted from Lacoste's party for some social media integration.

At Lacoste's party, partner HTC distributed festival survival kits, a bit of smart marketing that included eye drops, wet wipes, deodorant, and other immediately applicable products.

At the Lacoste party, guests cooled down with Patrón ice pops.

Lacoste-clad servers offered the Patrón pops from a cart on site.

Filter brought back its ninth Coachella event, and expanded it.

Filter brought three days of programming, including live performances.

Guests played a game of boccie amid Red Bull signage during Filter's Coachella event.

A T-Mobile logoed photo booth snapped guests' mugs at Filter's event.

A DJ booth and stage at the Belve Music Lounge offered live performances throughout the weekend.

Guests lounged in the pool at the inaugural Belve Music Lounge.

A sea of cabanas lined a lake at the Oasis Beach Club.

The festival-long programming at the Oasis Beach Club included live music.

Guests stopped by the G by Guess style lounge at the Oasis event.

Oxygen's setup at Oasis served up sweets like snow cones and cotton candy.

Case-Mate brought its products to Belvedere's party (as well as to the Neon Carnival).

Guests lounged poolside at the Oasis Beach Club.

The 2011 premiere party for WE TV's Braxton Family Values—a show about singer Toni Braxton—took place atop the London West Hollywood and featured a decidedly feminine look. To gussy up the central pool, florist C.J. Matsumoto covered foam spheres in bright pink flowers, then attached the arrangements to weights anchored to the bottom of the pool.

To kick off its summer-long partnership, eyewear brand Warby Parker hosted a summer pool party in June 2012 at the Standard in downtown Los Angeles. In addition to staffers pushing library-style book carts around the space as a way to get guests to try on the limited-edition shades, poolside tables also displayed the glasses alongside buckets of branded towels.

In March, Vogue Eyewear hosted an al fresco party at a private mansion in Los Angeles. In the backyard, beach balls and a gobo of the brand's logo decorated the pool, around which furniture groupings and lanterns hanging from trees created a summery feel.

To launch its latest special edition art series label—and raise funds for Haiti—Ferllen Winery teamed up with the Amigos Near Foundation for an arty event in Miami in February. On the deck upstairs, mounted pieces from photographer Tomas Loewy floated on the turquoise water, giving the appearance of unusually decorative rafts.

Ideal for poolside events where you want to send a message, Melbourne, Florida-based Aqua Art Enterprises makes custom mats in the shape of corporate logos (or other images) that sink to the bottom of a swimming pool for a painted-on look.

To mark the 25th anniversary of Shark Week, Discovery hosted an event in August 2012 that put sharks in the pool of the Beverly Hilton. The scary fish weren't real, of course, but rather slowly moving projections devised by the planning and production team from Event Eleven.

In addition to the roaming Playboy bunnies, playmates, and scantily clad dancers at Playboy's 2010 Super Bowl party in Miami, performers dressed as mermaids from Zhantra Entertainment swam in the pool and posed for pictures.

Internet Week title sponsor Yahoo gathered some 100 business executives for a private event at a five-story loft townhouse in New York in May of 2012 to mark the relaunch of advertising tool Genome. The Internet company partnered with Swank Productions to give the space a more modern aesthetic, which included decorating the indoor pool area with large clear and silver balloons, and hiring a trio of synchronized swimmers from Gotham Synchro dressed in head-to-toe body suits.

To build buzz around its summer tour series, Sunglass Hut hosted a block party in June 2012. Produced by Relevent's Tony Berger, the early evening shindig spanned an entire West Village block in New York and included a pool built on the sidewalk. As a way to spark interaction, guests received permanent markers to sign the wooden deck surrounding the pool.

During the first weekend of Coachella in 2012, Lacoste threw a pool party presented by HTC at a private estate in nearby Thermal, California. Surrounded by branded cabanas, the pool was filled with inflatable versions of the clothing company's signature green crocodile.

Guests at the Lacoste Live pool party during Coachella in 2012 could cool off with snow cones at a station provided by sponsor Fiji Water.

During Simon G. Jewelry's launch of its eco-friendly line in 2010, held at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, pool performances by women dressed in white costumes doing ballet moves inside huge plastic bubbles floating on the water added drama to the evening. The performers were booked through Best Agency.

In 2010, email newsletter Thrillist brought Hotel Thrillist, a party-packed traveling promotion, to Los Angeles. The weekend-long programming included a pool party at a private mansion on Saturday afternoon, where the Aqualillies performed a synchronized swim routine.

One of the biggest annual events on the South Beach spring-break circuit, the Victoria’s Secret Pink pool party took place at the Shelborne Beach Resort in Miami in March 2012. The upscale poolside lounge was turned into a Victoria's Secret Pink haven, decked out in branded furniture, pool toys, balloons, and beach gear.

Absolut Vodka launched its latest vodka in November 2012 at an ExtraExtra-produced event at the Standard Miami Beach. Self-sealing mylar balloons spelling out the brand name were clustered as a backdrop for a synchronized swimming performance by the Dolphinettes to music by DJ Mia Moretti.

Making the most of the rooftop pool at the Empire Hotel in New York, La Perla floated its name in the water for a poolside swimwear presentation during Fashion Week in 2008.

To launch its "It's So Miami" campaign in 2012, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitor's Bureau erected a pop-up pool party in New York's Union Square. The setup included a plunge pool and a wading pool, as well as 17-foot-tall palm trees, a cabana for the media, lounge chairs, and a DJ area. The pools looked out of place in the gritty big-city locale—which was exactly the point of the promotion.

A new art piece on the festival grounds called "Mirage," envisioned by festival art curator Paul Clemente and created and executed by experiential design and media company Pearl Media Productions, took the form and architecture of a mid-century Palms Springs mansion. A total of 12 zones of high-tech HD projections made it appear that changing activities were taking place inside the home's rooms and its pool.

The Starlight Children's Foundation hosted its Starlight Gala, sponsored by Toys "R" Us, at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York Hotel on April 6. Organizers created a whimsical bash filled with circus-inspired ideas. Dinner tables were topped with miniature Ferris wheels that held cupcakes with colorful frosting.

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Designed by Shiraz Events, the event took place on December 13 at New York's Angel Orensanz and had a sinister, superhero-inspired look. Deriving inspiration from comic books, the dessert table had candies with phrases such as "pow!" and "blow!" written on bright signs.

Tired of the all-white leather look? Leslee Bell of Decor & More is creating lounge areas with rental furniture that incorporates textured fabrics such as suede, chenille, herringbone, and wide whale corduroy, along with throw pillows featuring stripes, abstract patterns, and animal prints.

Vintage China Hire offers an eclectic mix of vintage and antique tableware for events of as many as 120 people. Vintage China Hire has also partnered with Loic Gourmet to offer catered afternoon tea packages for a minimum of 12 people.

Contemporary Furniture Rentals has a variety of items ideal for pulling off a rustic look, including barrel stave chandeliers, coffee and cocktail tables made from reclaimed wood, and its new Farmhouse dining chairs (pictured).

In an effort to prevent large staging and exhibit structures from ending up in landfills, Arlington, Virginia-based design firm Beth Singer Design has developed modular staging systems that can be reused, reconfigured, and resized. The portable, lightweight frames are easily customized with a variety of wrinkle-free fabric skins.

Event planning company Well Rehearsed offers its ready-made Streets of San Francisco centerpiece collection for rent or purchase. The 10 reusable designs in the line incorporate some of San Francisco’s most iconic landmarks, imagery, and neighborhoods.

Blueprint Studios rents a variety of modern display furnishings engineered to contain the latest technology, including media towers, coffee tables, and bars fit with LCD displays. The company’s Museo collection also includes its new iPad station that can be branded and customized.

Rental company Archive Rentals has a showroom in San Clemente offering vintage items, handmade furnishings, and antiques for events. The company’s vintage Western- and camp-themed rentals (think reclaimed wood tables, picnic linens, horse tack, canoes, and retro Airstream trailers) are ideal for summer events.

Searching for modern-looking, green-minded centerpieces? Britton Neubacher-Caligure of Tend Living often eschews florals in favor of succulents, air plants, and cacti, to create organic-looking arrangements. Neubacher-Caligure also offers how-to workshops.

Scottsdale-based company BizBox offers solar-powered, portable pop-up buildings that can be used as mobile showrooms, food shops, retail stores, or tradeshow display centers. The sleek units can be purchased or leased, and feature glass walls, display panels, and a wraparound deck, all of which can be set up in about 20 minutes. The newest model features full-glass siding.

The new SculptLamps from Scottsdale-based SculptWare can work as centerpieces or cocktail-table accents. Available to rent in two sizes—14 inch, $45, or 30 inch, $65—the lamps include remote-controlled LEDs that can glow in 13 colors.

Available to rent for events in Arizona starting at $9,000, Just Light That offers pressure-sensitive interactive LED-lit floors in sizes up to 24 by 32 feet that can be synced to music. The floors can also display logos, animated images, scrolling text, or static branding.

Lititz, Pennsylvania-based production and scenic goods company Atomic Design has introduced its modular Buule and Laser panels. The 5-foot-wide fabric panels have zippers so you can customize the length and width of your backdrop. For easy shipping, a 50- by 30-foot drape fits in a 24-inch cardboard box that weighs 70 pounds.

Add a rock ’n’ roll vibe with tabletops from Max King Events that are made to look like acoustic and electric guitars. The tops can be used on 30- or 42-inch stands. The handcrafted tabletops are available in 12 designs. Prices start at $85.

The Little Glass Slipper is a new floral shop in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, owned by Cary Pereyra, who creates arrangements that offer a dose of aromatherapy. Her creations can include botanicals like echinacea for a weak immune system or mood-boosting lavender for seasonal depression.

Taylor Creative Inc. is now carrying Kartell’s invisible coffee table. A match for Louis Ghost chairs, the sleek Lucite tables rent for $150 each, and there are 16 available. Also new to Taylor’s inventory: Kartell’s invisible dining tables.

The new graffiti-inspired “Tag It” line from AFR Event Furnishings includes items such as leather sofas, chairs, acrylic tables, and ottomans that guests can permanently leave their mark on with Sharpies. The furniture items, which are for sale only, can be displayed in the office post-event.

Atlas Party Rental carries a variety of new brightly colored dishes that can add a splash to tabletops. The eye-catching purple-and-turquoise Luxe charger (pictured) rents for $8.

Little World Design specializes in sculptural, botanical objects and installations. Owners Heather Pando and Manuel Acosta favor long-lasting materials, like branches, seed pods, feathers, moss, stones, linen, and even real butterfly wings.

Holo-Walls offers interactive LED liquid tabletops filled with pressure-sensitive fluids that are designed to fit on 30-inch round cocktail tables. The illuminated, chrome-edged tiles are available to rent from $100 each; matching Liquid Fusion dance-floor tiles are also available, starting at $50 per tile.

The Vintage Table Company offers vintage china, glassware, and flatware sourced from estates, thrift stores, and flea markets, for a completely mismatched tabletop look.

Town and Country Event Rentals now offers the Cielo Blanco 4- by 8-foot dining table, available with custom fabric insets.

California-based La Tavola Fine Linen Rental has opened its first Las Vegas showroom. The company offers 11 linen collections, as well as coordinating pieces, like napkins and seat cushions.

For place settings that tie into the rustic, all-natural trend, rent Swift & Company’s 500 new Capri wood chargers for $7 per piece. Crafted from reclaimed wood and made by hand in the company’s Houston workshop, the chargers’ patinas and distress marks make for a striking tabletop element.

Event rental company Suite 206’s new Savile Row collection—from $55 to $350 for individual pieces—is inspired by the London street famous for its bespoke men’s tailoring shops. The masculine-looking furniture collection includes pieces such as the Wayly chair (pictured) and the tufted Ted settee in gray, silver, and black.

New England Country Rentals is a full-service Boston-based event rental company. The inventory includes bars, lounge furniture, china, flatware, chairs, glassware, and vintage decor items, but the company specializes in rustic custom-made tables, chairs, and benches.

The book's name illuminated the wall.

Branded postcards decorated the tops of tables.

PSAV's lighting design included projected constellations.

Moons, stars, and candlelit hanging orbs also decorated the space.

Bartenders poured raspberry lemonade cocktails with vodka from sponsor Rokk.

Dressed like an astronaut, DJ Cousin John spun Top 40 tunes.

Passed snacks included crispy foie gras spring rolls with peach relish.

The "Cosmo-naut" cocktail was alcohol-injected gelatin floating in a liquid chaser.

Also on the menu: smoked salmon with charred lemon gel and bagel chips.

Guests could purchase the book on site and have it signed by the author.

FOMO, which stands for "fear of missing out," is designed to feel like a futuristic spaceship.

Motorized solar systems provided a centrepiece for the high-top cocktail tables.

As part of the Smirnoff Experience series of events in 2010, Mosaic Experiential Marketing placed graphic illustrations in the windows of Toronto's Andrew Richard Designs. The illustrations depicted comic book characters arriving at a party, mimicking the arrival of guests on the red carpet.

Stackable Sensations' Saviour Universal USB Charger ($8.60 each for 50) can charge two devices at once and includes a logo display.

Booze is a surefire hit as a take-home gift. Pinhole Press can create custom-branded bottle labels ($10 for nine; bulk pricing available) for wine or any other type of beverage.

Toast's engraved wood iPhone covers ($30; bulk pricing available) can be customized with logos and brand names.

The retro-style phone receivers ($30; bulk pricing available) from Native Union plug into most cell phones. A logo can be placed anywhere on the handset.

The flap of the classic canvas-and-brown faux leather bags ($28.40 each for 24; additional bulk prices available) from Pinnacle Promotions can be debossed with a logo.

GelaSkins offers cases (from $15; bulk pricing available) for a whole slew of tech gadgets. Simple logo designs can be ordered through the Web site; for orders or more than 100, GelaSkins' designers work with clients to create customized layouts.

Fluf makes durable, reusable lunch and snack bags (from $18; bulk pricing available) that can be customized.

Bikn ($130 for the set; bulk pricing available) from Treehouse Labs is a new tech-savvy lost-and-found system. Just place a tag on anything you don’t want to lose, and your phone finds it.

A branded leather luggage tag and passport case ($83 for the set; bulk pricing available) from Graphic Image comes in several colors and embossed finishes.

Earbud headphones ($6.82 each for 100) from Empire Promotional Products come in a customizable container.

Baggu offers a range of carryall bags, including the recycled cotton canvas Duck tote ($24; bulk pricing available) that can be screen-printed.