The opening-night party took place at the 90,000-square-foot Cinespace film studio on Chicago's West Side. When guests entered, they were greeted with giant blue-and-red letters that spelled out: "How Do You Chicago?"
Hanging letters and signs served to divide the space and add a sense of intimacy throughout. Event Creative also used different hues of light to warm up the sprawling space.
Event Creative staged four lounge areas that had custom furniture, bars, decor, and floral arrangements. One area, topped with leafy chandeliers and decked with hurricane candles, had the outdoor look of the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Large screens showcased video-mapped footage of the Chicago lakefront. Beneath the screens, an elevated area with its own bar was known as the "Lakefront Lounge."
A custom-built bar anchored a room at the back of the space. The room also had farm tables for guests to sit at and stations offering snacks from 30 local restaurants.
Some 20 Event Creative staffers worked to together to create a custom "El" train that circulated one room on a set of handcrafted tracks. Video mapping projected images local Chicago attractions onto two 20-foot-long railcars.
Blue Plate Catering provided snacks—including chicken and waffles—for the 5,500 guests. Fun fact: One staffer for the company wore a pedometer, which indicated that she logged 9.5 miles working that evening.
The closing-night party took place at the Museum of Science and Industry and had a "Pure Energy Chicago" theme. In the rotunda, an area known as "Southside Soul" offered snacks such as mac-and-greens croquettes, pulled chicken sliders, and braised short ribs. Clean white shelves displayed the snacks.
In the area inspired by Chicago's arty neighborhood Pilsen, Sodexo's salmon ceviche was served in clear paint cans. To invoke the area's strong Mexican influence, there were also empanadas, warm churros, and pineapple margaritas. Salsa dancers and a mariachi band performed.
In the Pilsen area, Kehoe Designs set up a glowing bar backed with colorful lights.
Kehoe used Indian-theme decor in a section inspired by Chicago's Devon Avenue. Food in the area included chicken-tandoori lollipops, rosewater macarons, and curried-pea-and-potato samosas. Entertainment included henna hand painting and Bollywood-style dancers performing to Indian pop music.
Chicago native Jennifer Hudson sang on a central stage. Her set included a performance of the Dreamgirls song that won her an Oscar, "And I am Telling You I'm Not Going." Before Hudson came out, local band Lynne Jordan and the Shivers entertained the crowd.
Guests will be more inclined to snap selfies if they feel they're looking their best—so events are coupling beauty treatments with other encouragement. At the Colgate Optic White beauty bar ahead of the Golden Globes in Los Angeles earlier this year, decals bearing the appropriate handles and hashtags decked mirrors near the beauty stations where guests were captive during hair and makeup services.
At the BMF Music Lounge during Coachella, sponsor Tide gave guests all the elements needed to take a selfie and easily share it. In a poolside suite at Palm Springs's Ingleside Inn, the brand decked out a mirror with floral appliques as well as the appropriate hashtag #TidePlus.
Event Farm and HyperVocal hosted the "2.0: The New Media Party" at the Carnegie Library last weekend during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. At the event, the "Selfie Squad" sponsored by Microsoft facilitated quality selfies with guests, decor, the band, and other details of the party. The team then immediately posted the snaps to social sites using the hashtag #NewMediaParty.
During the holidays, fashion brand Ted Baker used the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe to encourage selfies that promoted the brand. At the Ted Baker Fifth Avenue store in New York, Kin Design created a 20- by 20-foot aluminum sculpture to serve as a modern twist on mistletoe, and guests shared kiss pics on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #KissTed. With the help of a specially designed app, photos then fed two 90-inch monitors inside the store’s front windows for passing shoppers to see. On Christmas Eve, the brand selected one participant to receive a free four-night stay for two at the St. Regis Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Online magazine xoJane hosted a party at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, this year that rewarded guests with fame at the event for snapping selfies. In an upstairs portion of the party space, guests were encouraged to take selfies with mirrors. The shots were then printed to add onto the "Shameless Selfie" wall and were projected in the event's main space, where MKG used neon masking tape and ultraviolet lighting for pops of bright color. The event promoted the pub's "Shameless Celebrity" list.
OtterBox gave out its new Symmetry Series phone case to guests at the Kari Feinstein Style Lounge at Coachella. But the free stuff came with a not-so-gentle reminder to help proliferate the brand’s message on social media: A dedicated mirrored “selfie station" allowed guests to share their snaps (with their phones clearly pictured, of course) using the appropriate hashtags.
Offering guests extra props or backdrops to inspire selfies can sometimes seal the deal. During a holiday event, the W Fort Lauderdale placed mirrors in nine spots throughout the property, each embedded in elf-theme vignettes. After snapping their festive shots, guests could then upload the images to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter using the hashtags #WFortLauderdale and #BringtheBright.
Not all selfies are spontaneous; offering a reward can incentivize guests to take and post them. The New York International Auto Show gave out free tickets to opening night to the first 100 people who posted a selfie with a show poster, found in New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
During a talk by Chris Milk, C.E.O. of virtual reality company Vrse, a Google Cardboard viewer and headphones sat on every chair in the theater. Attendees were invited to download his latest virtual reality film and watch it together as he spoke.
Each year organizers create a variety of lounges where attendees can watch a simulcast of speakers. New this year was a ball pit filled with beanbag chairs and beach balls.
Sponsor Delta Air Lines created an immersive installation to introduce its new collaborative research center dubbed the Hangar. Inside the space, 6,000 LED lights simulated a star-filled sky. Attendees could climb throughout the dream-like environment and then submit innovative ideas for Delta to explore.
TED invites baristas from around the world to set up coffee stations at the conference. In a workshop hosted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, attendees also learned about “coffee cupping,” the practice of observing the taste and aroma of brewed coffee.
Sponsor Bluescape demonstrated its visual collaborative software by erecting several multi-touch video walls around the conference. On the walls, attendees could read about conference activities and speaker content and bios, watch live streams of presentations, and contribute comments. Attendees could also access Bluescape using a Web browser.
Vancouver architect and past TED speaker Michael Green worked with local design students to create two 16- by 30-foot “warming huts” where attendees could gather outside the convention center. Following the conference, the huts will be permanently installed in one of British Columbia’s outdoor recreation sites so they can be used by climbers, skiers, and outdoor enthusiasts.
Steelcase, a TED partner for more than 20 years, provided a variety of seating options throughout the convention center. The company’s personal cubicles provided a semiprivate area where attendees could watch the simulcast and do work.
To encourage attendees to mingle, organizers provided blankets and picnic baskets filled with food for six and invited them to find others to share it.
Sponsor Target provided illustrators who created unique pieces of art based on guests’ descriptions of their hopes and dreams.
Heart-shaped cookies were an appropriate dessert at a reception for the 21 TED Fellows on Valentine’s Day, the day before the conference opened.
Sponsor Lands’ End created a lounge where attendees could learn about its Sport Collection. The company also provided large totes that served as the conference gift bag.
