This year's "Give Kids the World" benefit took place at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in May and had an "Under the Big Top" theme. For dessert, executive pastry chef Alain Vergnault put together a confection that combined caramel apple cake, cotton candy, and soft-serve-style vanilla crème fraîche.
This year’s Opera Ball, a benefit for the Washington National Opera, took place at the Residence of the German Ambassador in June. For the first time, planners incorporated video content into the decor. There were two 18-foot towers with an illuminated event logo and screens that rotated images of past Washington National Opera performances in German as well as images of German architecture and art to honor the culture of the host venue. The event's logo for this year also was incorporated into the towers.
On May 21, the Baeumler Family Foundation held its third annual “celebrity karaoke” gala at the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto. The fund-raiser’s 450-guest crowd included several famous faces, among them DJ Joel Zimmerman of Deadmau5, Suits actor Patrick J. Adams, and celebrity chef Lynn Crawford. The evening included an interactive silent auction, cocktails, and dinner; its centerpiece was a karaoke showcase that helped raised money. Here’s how it worked: The celebrity guests had their head shots added to an app, designed by Ready Set Auction, which guests could access at the event or online beforehand. At the event, those in attendance could donate money via the app to see their favorite celebrity get up and sing karaoke.
On June 4, the SickKids Foundation hosted its 14th annual “Scrubs in the City” benefit at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto. At the end of the night, a food trunk gave guests a taste of next year's theme: "London Is Calling." The truck had the date of next year's event written on its side.
Chicago's Shedd Aquarium hosted its annual gala on June 20. The event's theme, "Metamorphosis," was inspired by the current exhibition of amphibian species. Event Creative handled decor and built a custom bar that celebrated the theme with glowing cutouts of salamanders.
As an alternative to serving unhealthy snacks such as muffins and doughnuts, Chicago company SnackItToMe customizes healthy snack boxes for meetings and events. “Our mission is to rework the corporate snack culture,” says founder Todd Barancik. Packs include whole-food goods such as pumpkin seeds and organic snack bars from small manufacturers. Items are all-natural, calorie-conscious, and preservative-free.
Eleni’s Cookies in New York offers a new collection of emoji cookies that shows a variety of the expressive faces often used to illustrate texts and social media posts. Eleni’s can customize the treats with corporate logos and messaging.
For a new take on event signage, Ultra Vista Systems offers 3-D lighted signs. The Los Angeles company can customize signs with illuminated brand names, logos, or art in a lightweight and low-voltage design.
In Los Angeles, Deutsch LA hosted its holiday party in December at Hangar 8 at the Santa Monica Airport. The company chose a "Studio 54" theme based on the address of its office: 5454 Beethoven Street. To bring the theme to life, Schaffer's Genuine Foods added miniature disco balls to a food station.
For the 2011 event at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the party's theme was “A Night at Studio 54,” a nod to the Grammys' 54th year. As part of the decor, a truss surrounded a giant mirror ball. The Recording Academy's Branden Chapman, Rex Supa, and Clay Upton were the event's executive producers, and Along Came Mary Productions, helmed by longtime collaborator Mary Micucci, produced it.
At the McKesson booth, a graphic artist from Ink Factory created a new piece of art each day around a specific health care topic based on Twitter and in-person comments. The company recorded a time-lapse video of the artist at work, which it then shared on its social networks.
Alere used circular structures in a tunnellike design to emphasize that its services support a continuum of care.
CliniComp International used drapes, contemporary chandeliers, and lounge seating to create a 13- by 15-foot living-room-style meeting area in the middle of its booth.
To emphasize its theme of “Connected Care in Action,” Medecision had dancers clad in bright bodysuits playing Just Dance 2014 on an Xbox One. The dancers wore Fitbit tracking devices, and attendees could enter for a chance to win a game system by guessing the total number of steps the dancers would take during the conference.
Sunquest used 16-foot string curtains to create semiprivate meeting areas in two corners of its booth.
Dubbed the “anti-photo booth,” the Hollywood, Florida-based PhotoTap brings back the idea of old-school event photographers, but with a technological twist. To help eliminate photo booth lines, guests are given N.F.C.-enabled wristbands or lanyards, which the company’s roaming photographer scans after capturing a shot. The photos are then delivered to the guests’ Facebook, Twitter, and email accounts.
Heal the Bay hosts a fund-raising gala each year, but it had identified a past problem with losing guests’—and donors’—attention in a disconnected environment. So this year, for its 30th anniversary, the environmental nonprofit worked with Events by Fabulous to tweak the layout so it would feel more intimate and inclusive. That meant a new stage design and program meant to draw an emotional response from guests by showing high-res video stories of the honorees and the mission of the charity, rather than by way of a speaker with a microphone. Beyond that, the team also created a multistage arena, with a catwalk that led into the center of the crowd and two additional satellite stages for performances that could better distribute the action within the event space.
For its 2011 gala in New York, the National Center for Learning Disabilities used the vertical pillars in the space to its advantage, rather than viewing them as obstacles. Designer Bronson van Wyck created custom column wraps printed with colorful logos and key messaging about the group's mission. In addition to brightening up the room, the columns also served as places to affix screens that improved guests’ view of the evening’s presentations.
SodaStream debuted new flavors of sparkling waters by chef Paul Liebrandt at an event at New York's Gramery Park Hotel in January. The brand showed off newly redesigned machines as well as the flavors in areas of the venue that had a color theme such as green, red, or orange. Papush produced the event.
A display can use artistic interpretations of the actual product. At this year’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami, Coca-Cola presented its bottle in a sand sculpture at the Coke Cabana. The display was part of Coke Bottle 100, the brand’s 100th anniversary celebration of its bottle, which debuted in 1915.
Sugar Factory, the restaurant and candy emporium, used its confections in a number of topiary-like candy arrangements that served as centerpieces at the July opening of its Ocean Drive location in Miami. Gummy bears, gum drops, lollipops, and other candies figured into the decor. Live It Productions produced the event.
French cognac brand Martell celebrated its 300th anniversary on an unoccupied floor of One World Trade Center September 16. A wall of greenery bore the message “tweet to enter” in front of a private room. Select guests who tweeted using the #Martell300 hashtag were granted entry.
Now available in Toronto through the Idea Hunter, Original Beverage Toppers are edible disks that can be branded with corporate logos, colors, and taglines. The discs float on top of hot, cold, iced, or frozen drinks and are easy to apply.
EatWith, a San Francisco-based global platform that provides alternative dining experiences with local residents and chefs, has a private-dining venue in the city. Called Test Kitchen, the space seats as many as 24 guests or holds 40 for receptions; the site can also host cooking classes.
Located in New York, artisanal dessert catering boutique Bake-tique 212 has been a favorite of event professionals since 2013, but the shop is now expanding to serve a wider clientele like at-home hosts. The bakery specializes in events such as charity affairs and birthday parties, with a menu of unique treats like ghuvikelz (a filled pastry), one-bite smidgens with marshmallow and chocolate, and mini pies that are the size and shape of a cookie.
Washington event firm Taylor and Hov Events Design's social-media-driven Top Nosh Dinner took place October 14 at Decatur House on Lafayette Square. The Downton Abbey-theme dinner featured social media menu cards that listed the Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook handles of the vendors that contributed to the overall production of the event.
Painting on a hotel’s walls would normally result in a fine or worse. At Marriott Stanton South Beach, groups can channel the arty vibes of the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami and “vandalize” the hotel’s walls during organized graffiti lessons. The “Murals & Meetings” activity pairs groups with local artists to create their own street-art masterpieces.
To bring more energy to the trade show floor, organizers of the 2013 National Auto Dealers Association Convention & Expo created four destinations that offered activities such as makeovers, 20-minute dance workouts, health screenings, and chair massages. One section provided pinball machines, arcade games, Nascar simulators, a photo graffiti wall, and golf swing analysis for attendees to play.
Blue lighting and sequined tablecloths made for a striking look at Ronald McDonald House Toronto’s holiday season gala in December 2012.
Event planner André Wells designed the 2010 Washington Ballet ball around the gala chair’s favorite color. Nearly every shade of purple was used in event, dubbed the “Purple Rain Ball.”
A threesided set up gives attendees a sense of proximity to the speakers.
Comfort is a priority, especially during lengthy meetings, Wilde says. Offering multiple seating options can keep attendees engaged and also suit different personalities.
Quartz also experimented with seating. In the front of the room there were couches reserved for V.I.P. guests, and in the back of the room there was a row of high-top tables where laptop users could work.
Bags that attendees received at registration had various charts taken from Quartz stories that could serve as conversation starters.
Q&A sessions with speakers continued in a designated space outside of the ballroom. The move allowed more intimate access to speakers.
Quartz encourages its sponsors to bring unusual and engaging activations to its events. One example was a fully functional mini planetarium from Qualcomm.
Not every event wants to meet at a hotel. Variety and WWD chose Smashbox Studios for a different feel.
An unexpected addition to the stage was a DJ booth.
Before lunch and the presentation, guests gathered in a sponsor activation area. Its design had a look consistent with the main room, with the same color palette and furniture rentals.
Bored of traditional theater- or classroom-style room setups? Designing a arrangement with an assortment of furniture "is an ideal way to provide flexibility and choices for attendees’ different personalities," says Michele Wilde, the resort's director of conference services and event sales.
The Museum of Ice Cream pop-up, a project from creative strategist Maryellis Bunn and Lightbox founder Manish Vora, is on display through August 31 across from the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The homage to ice cream has numerous installations, including a pool of fake sprinkles produced by Vance Garrett Productions.
The event featured crescent moon photo booths designed by Michael Arenella.
Artisanal jerky brand Krave launched an Olympics-inspired campaign in May, promoting its jerky on a mobile tour from a branded Airstream lounge. Conceptualized and produced by GoodDog, the sister agency of LeadDog Marketing Group, the lounge has stopped at music and culinary festivals on the West Coast. The tour's last stops will be at Bumbershoot festival in Seattle on September 5 to 7, and the Kaaboo Del Mar festival in San Diego on September 16 to 18.
The ninth annual Outside Lands music festival took place August 5 to 7 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The Heineken House activation, created by Heineken and the Corso Agency, offered a digital graffiti wall with shareable photo experiences for consumers. Guests posed for a picture and then "tagged" the image with logos and stencils. Pictures could be sent via email, printed, or shared over social channels.
Rendezville is an app that launched in April, targeted to small-to-medium-size festivals, conferences, and events. The system operates as a Web app, meaning users don’t have to download it to their phones. Instead, they choose “add to home screen” and a link to the app will reside there. Planners can customize the look of the app so it matches their events. Content can include schedules, maps, bios, photos, and links to SoundCloud, YouTube, and social media. Organizers can test the interface for free, and only pay if they decide to publish.
Pandora hosted its fourth annual Summer Crush on August 13 at L.A. Live's Microsoft Square. Sponsor SweeTarts enticed guests to engage with its activation through a giant inflatable game in the brand's bold signature colors. Guests lined up to try their luck at knocking each other off the color-coordinated launch pads, which looked just like oversize SweeTarts candy. Brand ambassadors were on hand to distribute candy samples.
Once through the gates, guests found a giant version of Pandora's app icon, more than 12 feet high in 3-D, and covered in reflective disks to match the custom stage backdrop. Guests lined up throughout the day to climb into it and take photos.
Revolve helped launch Moet & Chandon's new rosé on July 22 at a home in Watermill. Decor included a greenery-fronted DJ booth with social media handles and hashtags spelled out in Scrabble-style tiles.
The 60th annual Grammy Awards took place at Madison Square Garden in New York January 28. In the week leading up to the event, which came to the city for the first time in 15 years, MasterCard hosted a series of performances and chats from January 22 to 27. The MasterCard house, which was produced by BMF Media, featured an album display wall where guests could scan the QR codes to purchase the music on site.
Absolut Lime and Spotify teamed up for a pre-Grammy celebration that took place January 25 at the Public Hotel. The party, which was produced by creative agency MKG, featured dangling limes and Absolut bottles as decor over the bar.
Dating app OkCupid celebrated the launch of its first marketing campaign—which encourages users to redefine the “F” in D.T.F.—with an art gallery-inspired party January 18 at the IAC Building in New York. The event, which was produced and designed by Small Girls PR, had a red, white, and blue postcard-writing station that was inspired by the campaign's "DTFight About the President" scenario. Guests were invited to write postcards to President Trump and other elected officials about issues that mattered to them.
