Event Ideas

Following the panel discussion, the audience watched a brief presentation by Arianna Huffington, who introduced new content.

To use its logo as a functional part of the evening, AOL crafted a large, letter-shaped structure that held snacks packaged in tubes by caterer Pinch Food Design.

More subtle nods to the brand's identity included a color palette of black and white with accents of bright blue and cocktail tables embedded with the logo.

With so many different areas, AOL kept the design focused on all aspects of its brand, with speech-bubble-shaped carpets in the signature black-and-white color scheme and TV screens displaying content attached to walls that hid the back-of-house production.

For musical entertainment during the pre- and post-cocktail receptions, Solange Knowles made an appearance as the DJ.

During the slot devoted to home blog DIY Life, AOL showed off housewares in the brand's color.

Every guest received a name tag with their affiliation.

One of the most popular features of the hub was the photo booth, where guests could pick up props related to the day’s theme and have photos taken with the Nokia Lumia 1020, which features a 41-megapixel camera. To encourage social interaction, attendees could tweet or Instagram their snaps with the hashtag #MsftAW for the chance to win V.I.P. tickets to see DJs Avicii and Cazzette spin at Microsoft’s Wednesday night Advertising Week event.

The activation inside Advertising Week's main venue was simple, with clean lines, white tables, and pops of color to highlight key statistics from AOL properties. The colorful signs stood atop small booths, which offered free pens, candy, and electronic device chargers.

Above a centrally located information desk was a five-screen display that showed video streams, event updates, and tweets using AOL's #gettalking hashtag.

The central component of the gallery in the TimesCenter lobby was an iPad bar, a series of three tables topped with the tablets, with each table showcasing a different site, property, or product from AOL. For instance, there was one that showed a site the Huffington Post specifically launched for Advertising Week, another for AOL Video's male-focused content, and one for AOL's advertising trade site. A separate table held touch-screen computers, which allowed visitors to create their own digital ad using the Premium Format app.

Looking to top last year's event in Manhattan, AOL hosted its 2014 NewFront at the Duggal Greenhouse, a 35,000-square-foot space in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The event's planners and producers paid a lot of attention to the transportation logistics, organizing ferries and providing staffers to guide guests from the dock to the venue.

The venue's mezzanine was turned into a V.I.P. lounge, and producers made sure the content shown on the screens was visible from the elevated space.

Even the T-shirts screen printed on site matched the night's theme of "Connected."

Guests checked in to the event on iPads outside before walking through the black drapes into the event space.