Users entered the Bose Southbooth, covered in mirrors and disco balls, and chose a single song to add to the official Spotify SXSW playlist.
HBO’s SXSWesteros house promoted the cable network's hit series Game of Thrones and featured an interactive sword-playing game where attendees used Bluetooth-enabled swords to hit targets on a screen. Before the activity, participants posed for photos that were then incorporated into the game.
A large interactive table at the center FX’s Fearless Factory showcased the television channel's mobile app. Smaller tablets were built within side tables, too.
The department store featured a Twitter mirror in the artist area at its Make Some Noise house. Users were able to take photos of themselves, add additional content like text and drawings, and then tweet out the image through the brand’s Twitter account.
Yahoo showcased the brand’s digital magazine content through projections on a cube set up near the entrance of the venue during the daytime. For evening events like the Community and Sin City Saints parties, images from the shows were shown.
The premiere party for Unfriended, which was screened at SXSW, featured live streams of the current event throughout the space, alongside a Twitter feed of the party’s hashtag, mimicking the film’s plot centered on live video chats.
Samsung housed the “Insurgent Shatter Reality” virtual reality experience. Using Samsung VR technology, guests could visit the realm from the Divergent film series.
New York
#1 Fashion Industry Event
More than 100,000 industry insiders gather at Lincoln Center for eight days of runway shows from designers such as Naeem Khan, Carolina Herrera, and Betsey Johnson and flashy parties during the semiannual event. The event is produced by IMG Fashion, with Mercedes-Benz as the title sponsor. Next: February 5-12, 2015
New York
#3 Fashion Industry Event (up from #4)
The fashion industry honors its own at the Swarovski-sponsored black-tie gala. Categories include designer of the year in womenswear, menswear, and accessories as well as a lifetime achievement award. Director John Waters hosted this year’s event, but singer Rihanna stole the headlines with a sheer gown. Next: Spring 2015
National
#2 Music Festival
The electronic dance music festival remains massively popular—a record 402,000 people attended its marquee weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this year—despite well-publicized incidents of drug abuse at the events. The show also takes place in New York and Orlando. Next: November 7-8, Orlando
Manchester, Tennessee
#8 Music Festival
This year Elton John headlined the four-day festival held on a farm. Owned and produced by Superfly Presents, the festival attracts 80,000 people but reached new audiences by streaming performances and offering exclusive content through a partnership with Xbox. Next: June 2015
Los Angeles
#4 Benefit (up from #5)
The museum’s annual gala celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2014 and also marked two other milestones: the appointment of a new director, Philippe Vergne, and a fund-raising effort that pushed its endowment to more than $100 million. Diana Ross performed for the 850 guests, and the evening raised $2.4 million. But as much as it’s known for being a reliably strong fund-raiser, guests have come to expect creative production that, appropriately for an institution with its mission, challenges and entertains its guests. “The unique part of the MoCA Gala is that the format changes every year depending on the artistic direction,” says Paula Morehouse, the museum’s development and special event manager. “On occasion, the creative lead is taken by an artist—for example Rob Pruitt in 2013, Marina Abramovic in 2011, and Doug Aitken in 2010—and other times the decor and concept is imagined by the event chairs and event producer.” The event also partners with what Morehouse calls “significant brands,” such as last year’s presenting sponsor Louis Vuitton. Another change over the years: Even as society seems to be moving in a more casual direction, the gala is not. Once requiring only cocktail attire, the event is now a black-tie affair. Next: Spring 2015
Houston
#9 Trade Show (new to the list)
About 75,000 attendees attended the show, which focuses on the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production, and environmental protection. Next: May 4-7, 2015
Las Vegas
#1 Technology Industry Event (up from #2)
The debut show in 1967 wasn’t exactly a small event, bringing in 17,500 attendees and 250 exhibitors to two hotels in New York. The event overcame some struggles—it cancelled its 1995 summer show because of competition from the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and in 1998 merged its winter and summer editions into one show. But now it holds a secure spot as the top tech event, where the world learns about the next must-have gadgets. Over the years the show has introduced the VCR, camcorder, Microsoft Xbox, and Blu-ray Disc, and in 2014 there were more than 20,000 product announcements. It covered more than two million square feet of exhibit space in the Las Vegas Convention Center and drew nearly 160,500 attendees and 3,670 exhibitors this year. The show also deploys innovative technology at the event itself, from show-specific apps to beacon technology to guide attendees around the show floor. “The sheer number of devices and how ubiquitous they are in our lives and the importance and relevance of the technology industry to consumers lives speaks to the growth and success of C.E.S. as well,” says Tara Dunion, a spokesperson for the show. Next: January 6-9, 2015
San Francisco
#2 Technology Industry Event (up from #3)
The cloud computing show from Salesforce.com offers more than 1,400 sessions, big-name speakers, and performers: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Tony Robbins, and Bruno Mars are all on this year’s schedule. Next: October 13-16, 2014
Washington
#2 Business & Financial Industry Event (new to the list)
Former President Bill Clinton has been a featured speaker at all five summits, which focus on the country’s long-term debt and economic future. Other speakers have included Bill Gates, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and past Federal Reserve chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker. Next: Spring 2015
