Using the Snapchat signature yellow as the sky, the Snap Lounge offered cloud-inspired photo ops; guests could also experience the power of Snap AR through curated experiences including Snap's AR Mirrors and the Snap AR Photo Studio.Photo: Pierce Larick of New Revolution Media
ANAHEIM, CALIF.—A former VidCon executive once described its attendees as “the most media-savvy audience in the world”—and that held true at the 2023 edition of the Paramount-owned convention, which ran June 21-24 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Its second in-person iteration after 2020’s shift to a summerlong virtual series, the trade show had a 10% increase in attendance this year, ultimately drawing more than 55,000 fans, video creators, social media influencers, and other industry attendees. Freeman served as general service contractor for the event, which drew social media favorites like Keke Palmer, Dream, and The Try Guys Zach Kornfeld and Keith Habersberger.
This year, VidCon put an even greater spotlight on sustainability, debuting a new nighttime show called Night of Impact, which the team said "celebrated community, invention, and love for planet Earth." Headliners like America’s Got Talent alum Sofie Dossi, PENG PENG, KreekCraft, The Beverly Halls, and more focused on creating sustainably, the social ecosystem, and building community virtually and in person.
"Our audiences, especially the younger people, are well known to be environmentally, socially, and ethically minded, so programming that speaks to this is a home run," explained VidCon Anaheim's executive producer Julia Maes in a post-event interview with BizBash. Sustainability was a major focus throughout the entire four-day show, she added, with components like lounge furniture from Rewilder that was made from upcycled VidCon banners from last year's show.
"Rewilder put together an amazing behind-the-scenes video so attendees could get a closer look at their work and the impact it has by keeping materials out of the landfill," she said. "We also had Goodwill and Honeycomb on site this year; Goodwill set up donation bins for sponsors to leave leftover materials like clothing and furniture from their booths during move-out, and Honeycomb was on site to dig deeply into the energy, water, and waste data from our event and to speak to our on-site vendors about how to best partner with them in future years in this area."
To Maes, thinking sustainably is all about making small changes every year. "We want to turn these types of things into habits for more people over time, instead of shocking or forcing people into an event experience that doesn’t make sense to them," she said. "Because this really only works when everyone is involved!"
VidCon also drew its usual mix of eclectic booths, lounges, and brand activations designed to encourage content creation. Scroll down to see how brands like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snap, and Paramount+ grabbed creators' attention at the busy convention, both on and off the show floor.
