Event ideas

Facebook participated on the community floor for the first time this year, creating a public booth activation highlighting creators including Huda Kattan, Laura Clery, Julius Dein, 80Fitz, the Crazy Gorilla, Nala Cat, and Doug the Pug. The booth featured a series of rooms where fans could pose with on-theme props and backdrops.

One photo op area featured the brand’s signature blue and thumbs-up icon, while others had 3-D emojis.

Facebook also created a tranquil, outdoors-meets-indoors booth specifically for creators. An oversize logo served as an area for photo ops, while a sky-blue backdrop added to the tropical vibe.

Comfortable seating areas featured florals and cactus plants.

Visitors to the booth could write inspiring messages on a chalkboard wall. Creators could also try out products such as the Oculus Go VR Headset.

To celebrate the original MTV Cribs franchise but add a modern, D.I.Y. twist, MTV tapped creative agency MKG to design an eye-catching, interactive booth built for social media. The space was designed to resemble a house, with a kitchen, a living room, and a second floor that offered a unique view of the convention center. Rock Steady contributed scenic design to the booth.

The living room area was covered in colorful patterns on the walls, floor, couch, books, TV, and plants.

The kitchen was inspired by recent food trends of unicorn and mermaid toast. Cabinets were filled with MTV-branded cereal boxes, glittery slime bottles, Snooki pickle jars, and sand art.

On the kitchen table was a 3-dimensional MTV logo, which created a fun photo op: Guests could make it look like they were biting into the logo.

The kitchen fridge led to a secret tunnel constructed from pool noodles, as well as a fish wall installation where the fish said phrases such as “Okkkkuurrrrr” and “It’s T-Shirt Time!”

Twitter worked with Los Angeles-based event agency The Say OK for its lounge, which featured multiple rooms designed in monochromatic colors. The green area, which also included branding for influencer network Niche, featured a rounded entrance lit with neon. A series of Twitter and Niche icons formed on-theme decor on the wall. Each colorful room featured props, furniture, carpets, and pillows that matched the color scheme.

In another area, a giant illuminated hashtag created a fun—and on-theme—photo op.

Guests could get customized hoodies printed with the hashtag of their choice.

YouTube worked with MAS Event & Design for the third consecutive year. The Brooklyn-based event firm produced all the brand’s onsite lounge and party spaces inside the convention center, including the B2B Lounge, which included a presentation stage and lounge for advertisers, brand partners, and creators. A large YouTube logo featured names of the platform’s creators.

For the second year in a row, MAS produced a lounge space dedicated exclusively to YouTube creators. It was designed to resemble a retro diner, with a soda counter, a dessert case, diner booths with mini jukeboxes, and a temporary tattoo parlor. The dessert case was filled with branded skateboards and sweatshirts, which were custom-made as giveaways for creators.

An on-theme “menu” featured fun details such as a creator-name word search and fun facts about the brand.

This year's partner reception was themed after a movie-studio backlot, designed to celebrate YouTube’s original programming. The front entrance featured a custom-illustrated movie studio arch.

More illustrations throughout the space included a water tower vignette on the bars. The event also featured props and sets from YouTube original shows such as Liza on Demand and Escape the Night 3.

YouTube also capitalized on its acquisition of influencer marketing platform FameBit with a photo studio space and lounge where featured creators could go for makeup styling and professional headshots. A second FameBit lounge, which was open to all VidCon creators, had a pop-up beauty bar plus food, DJs, and other entertainment.

Video app Cheez worked with Santa Monica-based experiential marketing agency Mirrored Media on a booth. A stage area, where guests could see their Cheez creators, was surrounded by mylar walls, custom lighting, and a colorful branded exterior wall.

The booth also featured a dance challenge stage. Guests stepped in front of a camera to try their best dance moves, which were broadcast in the Cheez app.

Staffers were on hand to capture Polaroid pictures of guests, which were then displayed on a wall.

Snapchat created a tranquil space for meetings and networking. Greenery, umbrellas, and colorful chairs gave the indoor event an outdoor feeling.

In one area, guests could pose for photos on a swing inside the Snapchat logo, which was displayed in front of a wall of greenery and florals.

To celebrate its broadcasting community and app features, video platform LiveMe worked with Mirrored Media to create a two-story experience featuring a DJ booth and an adjacent stage. Other features included a branded rotating halo sign, a large die-cut logo, and TV screens showing both streamed content and top LiveMe broadcasts.  A money machine doubled as a shareable photo op: Guests were challenged to grab as much LiveMe money as they could in the machine, which was then redeemable for custom swag and giveaways.

Local tourism organization Visit Anaheim welcomed attendees with a social-media-friendly photo op in the convention center lobby. Guests could pose inside of a 6-by-8-foot magazine cover constructed by Lounge Logikk; attendees who posted the photo on Instagram were entered to win tickets to Disneyland.

BMF Media Group designed 25 activations that each were reflective of a specific Marriott hotel brand. For the Aloft Hotels “Listen Up” section, the design reflected the brand’s passion for music and technology innovation. A structure with four cube-shape directional speakers was built to allow guests to place their heads inside and listen to artists from brand’s “Live at Aloft Hotels” concert series.

Moxy, which is known for having a fun, millennial-focused aesthetic, showcased a “Play On” area that featured a ball pit hanging from a truss cube. Guests were invited to jump in and search for prizes in the hot pink plastic balls. The station also had a bar that served cocktails in Capri Sun-inspired pouches.

Courtyard’s “Classics with a Twist” was inspired by the game Twister, featuring a structure that resembled an oversize game board on the floor that extended to the walls. The dots on the game board represented Courtyard’s brand positioning, food and beverage concepts, partnerships, and the breadth of the brand’s portfolio. Attendees were encouraged by brand representatives to participate in a game of Twister as a photo op.

Element’s “Balancing Act” featured a living wall of moss and greenery with letters spelling out the eco-conscious brand’s tagline. The floor mimicked a natural bike path with wood chips and grass. Three green bicycles were mounted in front of the greenery as a photo op for attendees.

As the brand positioning of Autograph Collection is that every property has “its own unique story,” BMF created a library-inspired installation with a massive book staged in the center of the space. The book highlighted Autograph properties and brand pillars.

While many stations incorporated color, Delta Hotels “Clean/Chaos” featured a white bedroom set staged in front of a string art installation. The string material spelled out the brand’s name and tagline: “Delta Hotels. Simple Made Perfect.”

Le Meridien’s “Swings of Glamour” featured a chic travel-theme swing set photo op, designed to remind guests about the meaning of savoring a travel experience. The activation was inspired by the “France is in the Air” campaign from Air France—the founder of the hotel brand.

The Renaissance Hotels “Navigators Hot(e)line” was designed to highlight the local and personalized service offered by the brand’s Navigators—hotel employees that give guests tips on finding local experiences. Five rotary phones were placed on plinths in front of a black wall showcasing quotes related to destinations including Dubai, New York, and Beijing. Guests who picked up the phones heard pre-recorded audio from Navigators offering tips for that particular destination.

For W Hotels “Color Boldly,” BMF built an all-white room that served as a blank canvas. The room’s centerpiece presented six paint colors that corresponded to six W experiences, which were described on labels.

Guests were invited to take brushes and rollers to paint what they wanted on the walls. The word “luxury” was displayed on the back wall.

Sheraton’s “Revolution” scratch-off wall was inspired by the brand’s transformation and the power of community. The initial black matte wall displayed gloss black negative connotations about the brand, including “old” and “tired.” Guests could take hotel keycards to scratch away those worlds.

The wall was gradually scratched off to reveal new Sheraton brand messaging, which offered terms such as “community,” “modern,” and “global exchange”—nodding to the guests’s team effort.

For TownePlace Suites “Closet Essentials,” BMF created a custom walk-in closet. To emphasize the brand’s appreciation of guests’s D.I.Y. attitude, the closet had hanging racks displaying paper fashion pieces that attendees could pose with. Additional items on closet shelves nodded to the hotel’s brand partnerships.

The Ritz-Carlton “#RCMemories Shop” was inspired by the brand’s mission of selling memories, rather than simply room nights. The activation featured shelving units styled and displayed like a retail shop with all-white framed photos of travel images and social media posts. A brand representative was on site to speak about what memories were “for sale.”

SpringHill Suites’s “Space to Infinity” provided guests with an indoor planetarium experience. The exterior of the cube featured constellation-style brand messaging.

Inside the SpringHill Suites cube, guests could walk around and “stargaze.” A 360-degree fiber optic installation provided the starry night effect.

For St. Regis, BMF created an illuminated tree installation to demonstrate the history of the brand, which has roots that go back to 1904 in New York. The installation, which was inspired by the brand’s modern indulgence aesthetic, hung over a long table that displayed key milestones in the history of the brand.

The Luxury Collection offered guests three “portals” designed to virtually transport them around the world. Guests were greeted by a “concierge” who directed them to the closed doors. When guests looked through the door peep holes, they saw digital vignettes of locations in Peru, Thailand, and off the coast of the western U.S.

Tribute Portfolio’s “Add Your Own Color” featured a life-size coloring book, inspired by the brand’s colorful aesthetic. The content of the coloring book design offered illustrations and names of Tribute destinations.

Attendees were encouraged to color in the book using a variety of colored pencils.

Wellness-focused hotel brand Westin showcased a modern take on the apothecary shop. The shop consisted of shelves with curated items including herbs, fresh fruit, fitness items, essential oils, and Westin sleep balm.

At the entrance, a mannequin with a 20-foot-long arm held shopping bags from Klarna partners, including Topshop, Mango, and H&M.

Inside, guests could make their own name badges with quirky stickers.

At a photo booth, guests could wear a shaggy brown coat and stand in front of a fan, which mimicked a Klarna ad starring an Afghan dog. The booth, from Smilebooth, printed lenticular photos and offered videos for social sharing. Oversize props came from 11th Street Workshop.

Hands poking out of a curtain served guests glasses of champagne at a “mystery bartender” station. Sequence created a “funky flavor” event design, which also included fur-covered bar fronts and walls wrapped with custom event collateral. The event’s furniture rentals, from Patina Rentals and Taylor Creative, had the brand’s muted color palette.

Pinch Food Design catered the event. Stations included dessert trays attached to oversize helium balloons. Catering staff guided the balloons through the crowd.

To get to the main Colgate experience, guests walked through an illuminated hallway that illustrated the brand’s history.

The event featured a variety of branded areas for photos, including one that invited guests to pose in a neon circle. 11th St. Workshop helmed fabrication for the event.

At branded stations, Colgate scientists held demos that showed different stages of creating the toothpaste.

A living mint wall created by B Floral served as a step-and-repeat.

Guests could learn about how toothpaste kills bacteria by interacting with a motion-activated screen.

Aerie’s intimate dinner took place at Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria. Decor included white floral centerpieces and a portrait of the brand’s newest “Aerie Role Models,” who include Busy Phillips, Jameela Jamil, and Samira Wiley.

Each place setting had branded menus and custom necklaces engraved with each guest's name. On the reverse side, "Aerie" was written in Braille, a detail inspired by one of the new brand ambassadors, Molly Burke, a YouTuber and motivational speaker who is blind.

Cocktails served were inspired the brand’s ongoing #AerieReal campaign, which promotes body positivity and self-love.