Activations

Drawing Booth specializes in live digital art for events. The company works with a team of artists who can walk around events asking if guests would like their portrait drawn. The realistic portraits, which are created on iPads, take about three to four minutes to draw and then can be emailed to the subject immediately. Artists also print the image using a special printing belt, providing another instant favor for event guests that won’t disrupt their evening. Drawing Booth can also provide branded backgrounds for the portraits, incorporating company logos or other custom images. The company has been expanding its offerings to include marketing activations, product launches, and in-house digital art for corporations. Drawing Booth has offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and London, but is available for events worldwide.

Calabasas, California-based Wax Creation makes colorful wax models of hands that serve as interactive party decor or favors. Guests dip their hands into the liquid wax to create an impression, which dries in a few minutes. Wax Creation also offers a candle-coloring activity for holiday events, where guests can dip and color their own custom candles. The company services events throughout California and Nevada; it also recently launched an east coast branch that serves Florida. For events in the Los Angeles area, Wax Creation charges $595 for two hours of activity, which includes unlimited hands, delivery and pick-up, and two attendants.

SuperCool Creamery specializes in frozen desserts, cocktails, and treats prepared on the spot—with an entertaining twist. A team of “Taste Technicians” uses liquid nitrogen to make flash-frozen ice cream right in front of guests. When the nitrogen is poured over ice cream or cocktail products, evaporation causes a crowd-pleasing cloud of smoke. Ice cream comes in more than 40 different flavors, and a variety of custom cocktails are also available. The company can cater events throughout the Los Angeles area. At BizBash Live, SuperCool Creamery was part of AFR Event Furnishings' booth. The furniture and accessories company rents items for special events in major cities across the United States.

Las Vegas-based entertainment design and production company Champagne Creative Group specializes in surprise-and-delight event moments featuring costumed staff. A summery, Instagram-friendly option for events is the bicycle buffet, which provides a roaming food and beverage station for events. Models’ attire can be customized based on an event’s color and theme; pricing for the bicycle buffet starts at $1,800 for two hours in California (prices may vary for events in other locations). Other creative serving options include the Strolling Carousel Buffet, the Champagne and Dessert Diva Dress, Living Topiary Greeters, LED Robot Greeters, and more options incorporating models. Logo branding is available for an extra fee on all items.

Leatherology provides customizable wallets, travel tags, key chains, accessories, and gifts. The Dallas-based company offers more than 300 products for corporate gifting that come in an array of colors and can be personalized with company logos. Leatherology also recently launched a line of gifts for weddings, which features complimentary monogramming for initials, wedding dates, and more. The company uses a hand-deboss technique to create a distinct, long-lasting monogram; customers can choose their own fonts, deboss types, motifs, logos, and more. Hand-drawn designs or signatures are also available on select items. Volume discount pricing is available, and the company ships across the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia. In the future, the company hopes to offer live monogramming at events.

As with past years of the festival, a major draw for attendees was the Lab—a group of digital, immersive art installations created by New York artists and designed and curated by Meta.is. Whereas previously guests had to experience each installation chronologically in a giant dome, this year installations were housed outside and in three mini domes. Attendees were able to explore the area in "choose your own adventure" style. "Infinite Wild," an outdoor installation created by artist collective Smooth Technology, was created with 60,000 LED cables that drew power from solar panels. 

"As Above, So Below," another outdoor installation, was created by Kate Raudenbush and inspired by the Sierpinski triangle. Festivalgoers could pose for photos in the structure, which also had an interactive audiovisual floor design programmed by Eric Chang. 

Pixel Vortex, created by Brooklyn-based collective Windmill Factory, invited guests to play with LED balloons that swirled in a wind vortex. The installation was also accompanied by an aura-reading box, where guests could place their hands under a metal pad that was connected to a camera. Once the camera flashed a picture of the participant, the colors inside the installation changed based on that person's aura reading.

The aura-reading box produced polaroids, which were hung outside the installation for guests to take home. 

Superbright, a company that specializes in augmented- and virtual-reality production, created "Dance For Us," an immersive dance floor experience that invited attendees to dance in front of changing digital graphics. Dancers were recorded with motion capture data, and their silhouettes could be viewed outside of the installation in an accompanying A.R. app.

"Portal to Flatland," created by Brooklyn-based duo Magenta Field, was housed in a tunnel and served as a “pre-show” to the film screened in the Lab’s main dome. A combination of sound and lights that changed in different patterns and colors were meant to “transport” guests to the presentation.

After walking through the tunnel, festivalgoers could watch Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, this year’s 360-degree short film. A contemporary take on a satirical novella by Edwin Abbott Abbott, the film follows a cube that discovers hidden dimensions. The film was adapted and directed by Meta.is founder Justin Bolognino and featured a musical score by St. Vincent, who also performed at the festival.

American Express returned with its two-story cardmember club and hospitality space, which was produced by Momentum Worldwide. This year, the space had an island theme inspired by the festival venue of Randall’s Island. Guests could pose in a hammock attached to palm tree cuts, in front of a floral sign featuring the name of the brand's latest campaign.

An installation of fabricated palm trees with streamers in multiple colors invited guests to write their best advice for living a happy life. 

Guests who wanted to stay active indoors could play a game of mini bowling. 

The brand provided a fresh take on water refill stations, with three that resembled outdoor showers. The space also featured a custom mural with colorful, cartoon illustrations depicting New York.

Cardmembers were given branded beach mats to use at the festival. 

New to the festival this year was a branded ferry, which transported guests to Randall’s Island. 

Bud Light brought its traveling dive bar activation to the festival, which provided a small stage for intimate sessions from up-and-coming artists and a rooftop viewing deck for fans. Mosaic conceptualized the activation, which was executed by experiential marketing agency Engine Shop at the festival.

The brand sold customized merchandise at an onsite stitch shop.

A multicolored marquee sign welcomed guests to the activation and also served as a popular Instagram moment.

The activation's dive bar aesthetic incorporated arcade games such as N.B.A. Jam and Ms. Pac-Man. 

While cans of Bud Light were served throughout the festival grounds, guests could also get cans at a custom vending machine. 

Eyewear brand Zenni activated a branded lounge and onsite glasses shop at the festival for the first time. Relevent led the concept and buildout of the activation, which featured details that included oversize yellow sunglasses with rainbow string art in the frames. The lounge is slated to travel to numerous U.S. festivals through the remainder of summer and into the fall.

Hendrick’s Gin activated a three-story bar that served specialty cocktails. Actors dressed in early 20th-century garb, blew bubbles, and interacted with guests. The bar was produced by Momentum Worldwide. 

Bar decor included cucumbers and roses in branded vases.

Deep Eddy Vodka served signature cocktails from a retro-style, refurbished 1940s Spartan trailer, which had a full bar, lounge, and custom sound system. The trailer, which was created by Timeless Travel Trailers, will also go to the Summer Melton Music Festival in Darrington, Washington, the Elements Music and Art Festival in the Bronx, and the Crave Food & Music Festival in Lexington, Kentucky, all of which take place later this month. 

Festival beauty sponsor Sephora went heavy on the glitter this year, with a galactic rainbow-color tent that offered full-service hairstyling, D.I.Y. temporary hair coloring, glitter makeovers, and makeup touchups. One hair station gave guests “holographic space buns,” and featured salon mirrors with the quote “Festival vibes as good as my hair” in purple letters.

People could pose for photos in a life-size, glittery compact mirror. Additional props included a giant makeup brush and lipstick.

Riffing off a popular meme on social media, a sign invited guests to pose with their new festival hairdos. 

Toronto's Vert Catering provides lunch service for meetings via its "Pickle Cycle." Staffers on old-fashioned bikes deliver salads and sandwiches such as ham and cheese with candied apples. Items are served in eco-friendly, reusable takeout containers, which the company picks up weekly to fully wash and sanitize.

For part of its new marketing campaign, confectionary brand Black Forest activated a giant fabricated tree that rained gummy bears. Woven baskets were filled with gummy bears, and brand ambassadors were on site to shake more from the tree. The activation, which took place August 2 and 3 on the High Line in New York, was produced by Mission.

Tim Hortons hosted a pajama party and movie screening for media and influencers on August 2 at the screening room at Thompson Toronto hotel. Guests were given branded robes to wear, while they indulged in the Canadian fast food company’s breakfast offerings and custom coffee cocktails served in Tim Hortons cups. The event was planned and executed by NKPR and the custom robes were designed by Plan-It Promotions.