How This Cybersecurity Conference Handled an Unexpected Increase in Attendance

CrowdStrike's Fal.Con 2024 was a master class in creative problem-solving—especially when it came to spatial design.

November 13, 2024

"Using an amazing, unexpected surprise-and-delight opportunity with this art installation is just a great way to drive home the message of how adversaries are always changing," says Pamela Corcoran, senior director of global events for CrowdStrike, of the massive sculpture found at registration.Photo: Courtesy of VDA

LAS VEGAS—Fal.Con, cybersecurity platform CrowdStrike's annual conference, has seen some impressive growth over the last few years. In 2022, the show welcomed 2,000 attendees; then 4,000 attendees in 2023; and now 6,000 attendees at this year's show, which took place in September at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

The 2024 iteration of the show was a master class in creative problem-solving, especially in terms of spatial design. Experiential agency VDA led the production of the event, which featured a trade show floor of customer booths from the likes of Mercedes and Mattel, a dome-shaped education theater, and a swag studio for personalized takeaway gifts.

One of the most prominent ways VDA reinforced the CrowdStrike brand was by creating a massive live-painted sculpture near registration to immediately set the tone. The piece—featuring three 13-foot-tall "adversary" characters that CrowdStrike has used in branding over the years—was meant to depict the ongoing battle between CrowdStrike and cyber criminals and to represent the ever-evolving nature of cyber threats.

"We created turntables on lifts with the artists on lifts and scaffolding, so that at no moment were any one of the three adversaries facing in the same direction," says VDA principal designer and founder David G. Breen. "At no moment were any of the adversaries at the same height or any of the painters ever at the same level, so there was this constant shifting. It was a performative dance."

Adaptability was also a theme found in the ways the VDA and CrowdStrike teams handled spacing adjustments. The venue was booked years ago, when the cybersecurity platform planned for 4,000 attendees. With the head count clocking in closer to 6,000, VDA and CrowdStrike worked to make the best use of the available space and to keep attendees connected—even when they all couldn't physically fit into the ballroom for the keynote.

When CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz took the stage for his keynote, about 2,800 attendees watched from a ballroom. For those who wanted to view the keynote but couldn't make it into the room, the presentation was livestreamed onto screens throughout the trade show floor, aka the HUB, from the CrowdSphere theater to other branded walls with built-in video screens.

"There were hundreds and hundreds of people who watched the keynote from five different viewing areas in the HUB," says Pamela Corcoran, senior director of global events for CrowdStrike. "People loved it because it's just a different way to watch it; it's a little more casual. We will definitely use that as a best practice moving forward, even if we have enough space in the keynote for next year."

Those are just a few of many fascinating design and production details and creative problem-solving from this year's Fal.Con. Keep scrolling to see more photos and insights from both the VDA and CrowdStrike teams below...

One challenge the VDA team had to overcome was the splitting up of the conference's trade show floor, aka the HUB, into two ballrooms. This arch tunnel—meant to evoke how the modular CrowdStrike platform operates—connected the two sides. "It was probably the most photographed thing from the whole show," Breen says. "That was a super successful way of connecting the two halves of the HUB, and making CrowdStrike's platform the core focus of that connection."

Photo: Courtesy of VDA

To help balance both halls where the HUB was located, CrowdStrike created two activations, one for each side. They both featured interactive kiosks and LED messaging.

Photo: Courtesy of VDA

VDA created a geodesic dome to put in the center of one side of the HUB. It served as a theater specifically for all of the products and demos from CrowdStrike.

Photo: Courtesy of VDA

The sphere featured lighting, projection, a curved LED screen, and enough seating for 50 people to sit and have an experience within an enclosed environment. "It became a real destination," Breen says.

Photo: Courtesy of VDA

For one hallway outside of the ballrooms, VDA built this 60-foot-long structure filled with customer testimonial banners. "This was one way we made sure that there was a connectedness," Breen says.

Photo: Courtesy of VDA

The HUB also featured these Partner Theaters.

Photo: Courtesy of VDA

One of the most popular areas found in the HUB was this Swag Studio. Here, attendees could choose an item—like a T-shirt, hat, or tote bag—to take to one of a handful of personalization stations, which included embroidery and screen printing. "It was an opportunity to show gratitude for the support customers and partners have given us," Corcoran says.

Photo: Courtesy of VDA

The Customer Showcase on the floor of the HUB allowed clients like Mattel to share their experiences with CrowdStrike’s solutions.

Photo: Courtesy of VDA

Breen says continuity of experience is "ultimately what makes this event such an incredible conference that attendees want to come to year after year, and why it's growing so exponentially. What we've created is a continuous visual story across all of CrowdStrike's capabilities."

Photo: Courtesy of VDA