Activations

Quiet Events—which provides wireless headphone rentals for silent discos and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Austin, London, Ottawa, and Tokyo—offered a meeting-friendly idea during the trade show's morning education sessions. Because four workshops were happening simultaneously, with only draping separating them, the headphones were used to ensure audiences could hear the sessions. Speakers spoke into a microphone, which fed directly into the headphones that had been provided for each attendee. The headphones can be customized with company logos, and they work as far away as 1,500 feet from the speaker and have a 12-hour battery life.

Los Angeles-based entertainment company Lucent Dossier provided costumed circus-theme performers throughout the day. The company can supply customized entertainment packages, including large stage shows, roaming characters, interactive stations, aerial performers, and more for social and corporate events. Previous clients have included Google, Warner Bros., and Dr. Dre. Lucent Dossier can also handle event production and design, creating gatherings with themed performers, lighting, menus, decor, and more.

Celebrity event planner Kristin Banta designed the networking luncheon, creating a colorful, elegant tabletop display. Luxe Linen provided the tablecloths and runners, Stems Floral and Event Design provided flowers in a variety of colors and sizes, Borrowed Blu provided tabletop decor, and Town & Country Event Rentals provided furniture. The Copper Key provided catering.

Romeo Chocolates, based in Long Beach, showed off its unique flavors at the BizBash kick-off party on July 17. The shop highlights a line of artisanal confections featuring world-sourced chocolate, with flavors such as berries and white chocolate; Marcona almond and sea salt; and pistachio, Bing cherry, and sea salt. The shop can provide custom desserts and gifts and also hosts chocolate-tasting classes where owner Romeo Garcia educates groups on cacao percentages, flavor nuances, texture, color, and more.

Holographic Entrance uses FogScreen technology that allows event guests to walk through projected video imagery. The effect is fully customizable; guests can be walking through company logos and graphics, pictures of guests of honor, and more. A speaker system can be added to further the effect. The screens are not actually made of fog—it’s high-velocity air channels—which means there’s no danger of setting off fire alarms or of guests getting wet. The activation is generally eight feet wide, but customization is possible.

Brand Activation Services, which is based in New York but does work nationally, provides memorable and interactive experiences for brands, including social media photo ops, customizable giveaways, video booths, games, and more. At BizBash Live, the brand showed off its Shower Karaoke, inspired by the notion that people love to sing in the shower. The company had created a similar idea for an Art of Bathing campaign for American Standard, where passersby in Times Square donned virtual-reality goggles and sang karaoke in the shower, and then shared the videos on social media.

Brand Activation Services also showed off its beer pong table, which has a video screen embedded on the tabletop. The screen can display company logos or videos, or even stream live sporting events.

G-Smatt America's G-Glass combines commercial-grade glass with micro-LED lighting and media content. While originally developed for buildings and public spaces, the company has also begun offering the glass for events, both as a branding option and for an interactive activity. Glass can be customized with sponsor logos, advertisements, communication, or graphic art; it can also change shapes depending on attendees moves, creating a fun activity and photo op. Click here to see the glass in action.

The show entryway featured an attention-grabbing wall of more than 1,500 balloons from Balloonzilla, an Orange County-based company that creates custom balloon art for events. (The company also designed last year’s memorable balloon canopy.) The wall of green, white, and magenta balloons—which tied into the expo’s overall color scheme—was complemented by marquee letters from Lights for Nights. In addition to light-up letters, the Southern California-based company can provide chandeliers, uplighting, lanterns, gobos and monograms, LED crystal garlands, and more for events.

Las Vegas-based event entertainment company Champagne Creative Group created a futuristic, mirror-theme booth on the exhibit floor that showcased a variety of characters, including a man made from mirrors and a woman posing in a martini glass. The company can provide entertainment and production for brands, retail environments, product launches, and more, and has worked with clients that include MGM Resorts, Virgin Atlantic, and the N.F.L. Event and entertainment themes can include circus, winter wonderland, Mardi Gras, rock star, steampunk, and more.

Blueprint Studios served as the official designer for the overall trade show, and it showcased a variety of new design ideas and rental options on the exhibit floor. One standout was an area the company dubbed “Modern Mosaic of Texture and Color,” which featured bright pillows and decor to offset the dark-gray linen chairs and couch from the company’s Bespoke collection. Blueprint’s Rosa accent tables completed the look. The company has offices in Northern and Southern California and Las Vegas and offers full-service event design and production, rentals, floral design, and more.

Borrowed Blu is a Culver City, California-based rental company that offers dinnerware, flatware, textiles, candlesticks, and other luxury tabletop items. For its BizBash Live booth, the company took an unconventional approach, hanging a tabletop vertically on the wall to give attendees a better view of the items. Borrowed Blu has additional locations in Hartford, Connecticut, and New York City and can work nationwide.

For an offbeat event activity, OC Ramps, based in Orange County, rents skateboard and bike ramps for events, trade shows, and TV and music videos. Options available for rent are the mini half pipe, quarter pipes, grind rails, grind boxes, and launch ramps; custom ramps can be designed and built for an additional fee. Ramps can be delivered to Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Riverside counties.

Creative Plant Rentals, based in Yorba Linda, California, offers eye-catching flowers and greenery for events. The company can also help produce events with themes such as rainforest, tropical, western, beach, and more. The team provides design, delivery, set-up, maintenance, and tear-down for events; previous events the company has worked on include the Academy Awards, the Super Bowl, and the Summer Olympics.