Marketing

Fox's Television Critics Association party at Los Angeles's Gladstone's in 2011 took full advantage of the beachy Malibu location. The press wall—a powder-coated steel frame and cable with a grid of floating Fox logos—allowed the beach and ocean behind it to become a part of the photo backdrop.

At the ASU GSV Summit, held in Salt Lake City in May, the main stage had an interesting three-dimensional design. Pieces of vinyl-wrapped foam hung from the ceiling and were mounted to the flat vinyl backdrop to give it the effect. AgencyEA designed and produced the event.

The second Girlboss Rally business conference was held in New York in November, bringing together more than 600 attendees and 30 speakers to discuss the meaning of success. The event featured a feminine, cheery color palette of pinks, reds, oranges, and whites. The stage design by the Gathery offered a simple—yet stylish—backdrop of curved shapes that picked up the same colors and styles as the rest of the conference.

The colorful atmosphere included illuminated tables and a bar, as well as massive LED wall posters depicting imagery and signage from the online and physical ad campaign.

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.