2016-02-19

At Event Marketer, we like to give credit where credit is due. So last fall, we renamed the Event Design Awards The Experience Design Awards to better reflect the caliber of work being created and submitted across this award program’s 14 unique categories. Smart event designers have always been skilled in the art of transforming marketing goals into impressive and strategically designed spaces. But more and more, the event designer’s skill set has evolved to encompass a much wider range of talents. From “shareable” footprints thoughtfully designed to be a catalyst for measureable social media impact, to innovative technology interactives that boost dwell time and impressions, to pop-up shops that are so effective at driving sales you’d think they were real retail stores, events have become experiences with event designers leading the evolution. Indeed, the days of the merely pretty exhibits are long gone, and in their place are the programs you’re about to discover—the winners of the 2015 Experience Design Awards. They are on the cutting-edge of the XD movement, and we congratulate them, one and all.

Check out our visual tour of all the winning entries, below.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Best Overall B-to-B Event Environment

Experience Design Award Winner
Partner: Imagination The Americas Inc., Dentsu America, Inc.

Client: Canon

Project: Canon EXPO 2015

Gold Winner
Partner: Simmetrico Network

Client: Fiat

Project: Alfa Romeo Giulia Launch

Silver Winner
Client: Facebook

Project: Facebook IQ Live

Best Overall Consumer Event Environment

Experience Design Award Winner
Partner: Team Epiphany

Client: Nike

Project: Cold Weather Product Launch

Gold Winner
Partner: Allied Experiential

Client: Zappos

Project: The Zappos Escape

Silver Winner
Partner: Sitelines

Client: Wizards of the Coast

Project: Battle For Zendikar

Best Pop-Up Store

Experience Design Award Winner
Partner: SET

Client: Nike

Project: All-Star 2015

Gold Winner

Partner: Mosaic

Client: Coca-Cola Co.

Project: Diet Coke Get a Taste: Style Bar

Silver Winner Partner:

Engine Shop

Client: Motorola

Project: Moto Shop Chicago

Best Mobile Marketing Vehicle

Experience Design Award Winner
Partner: Manifold

Client: LinkedIn

Project: Picture Opportunity Tour

Gold Winner

Partner: Manifesto

Client: Intel

Project: InsideOut

Silver Winner

Partner: JT Mega

Client: Hormel

Project: The Art of Di Lusso

Best Outdoor Environment

Experience Design Award Winner
Partner: iDEKO Productions

Client: Epson

Project: Swimming In Ink

Gold Winner
Partner: Pop2Life

Client: HGTV

Project: Super Lodge

Silver Winner

Partner: GMR Marketing

Client: Infiniti

Project: Concours d’Elegance 2015

Best Entrance

Experience Design Award Winner
Partner: George P. Johnson

Client: American Honda Motor Co.

Project: Acura Sound Experience Entrance

Gold Winner
Partner: LEO Events

Client: Hilton

Project: You Can Count on Us

Silver Winner

Partner: FreemanXP

Client: Microsoft

Project: The Commons at WPC 2015

Best B-to-B Stage Experience

Experience Design Award Winner
Partner: Zed Ink

Client: Microsoft

Project: Xbox 2015 E3 Briefing

Gold Winner

Partner: BI Worldwide

Client: Country Financial

Project: Financial Sales Congress

Silver Winner

Partner: Drury Design

Client: IBM

Project: InterConnect 2015

Best Trade Show Exhibit (50′ x 50′ and up)

Experience Design Award Winner

Partner: The Taylor Group

Client: Intel

Project: CES 2015

Gold Winner

Partner: Czarnowski

Client: General Motors

Project: Cadillac at 2015 New York International Auto Show

Silver Winner
Partner: Impact XM

Client: Canada Goose

Project: ISPO 2015

Best Trade Show Exhibit (Under 50′ x 50′)

Experience Design Award Winner

Partner: Pinnacle Exhibits

Client: Nature’s Path

Project: Natural Products Expo West 2015

Gold Winner

Partner: Mirror Show Management

Client: Capital One

Project: The Future of Banking

Silver Winner
Partner: Access TCA

Client: Boston Biomedical

Project: ASCO 2015

Best Single Technology Interactive

Experience Design Award Winner

Partner: Momentum Worldwide

Client: American Express

Project: You vs. Sharpova

Gold Winner
Partner: Sparks

Client: Google

Project: YouTube 360 Theater

Silver Winner

Partner: Opus Agency

Client: 21st Century Fox

Project: Virtual Reality Demo

Best Collection of Technology Interactives

Experience Design Award Winner

Partners: Mosaic, Thuzi

Client: Microsoft

Project: Worldwide Partner Conference 2015

Gold Winner
Partner: Barkley Kalpak Agency

Client: AOL

Project: Future Front

Silver Winner

Partner: Simmetrico

Client: Azerbaijan

Project: EXPO 2015

Best Overall Use of Media A/V

Experience Design Award Winner

Partner: Momentum Worldwide

Client: American Express

Project: Rally on the River

Gold Winner

Partner: Second Story

Client: Vornado Realty Trust

Project: Times Square 4K Screen Launch

Silver Winner

Partner: VIVA Creative

Client: Avaya

Project: Champions Excellence Summit

Best Permanent Corporate or Retail Installation

Experience Design Award Winner

Partner: Clickspring Design

Client: Brown-Forman

Project: Jack Daniel’s White Rabbit Bottle Shop

Gold Winner

Partner: George P. Johnson

Client: Anheuser-Busch

Project: Bud Light Patio

Silver Winner

Partner: JGA

Client: Hershey’s

Project: Hershey’s Chocolate World Las Vegas

Best Museum Environment

Experience Design Award Winner

Partner: Ralph Appelbaum Associates

Client/Project: Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Gold Winner

Partner: Kubik

Client/Project: Canadian Museum Of Immigration at Pier 21

Silver Winner

Partner: BaAM Productions

Client: Discovery Science Center

Project: LA Kings Science of Hockey at DCLA

BEST OVERALL B-TO-B EVENT ENVIRONMENT

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Imagination: The Americas, Dentsu America
Client: Canon
Project: Canon EXPO 2015



You may think of Canon as a camera brand, but as its EXPO program set out to prove, it’s much more than that. Its worldwide exhibition tour, featuring a 161,090-square-foot experience at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, brought to life the various spaces it operates in, from sports to medicine, broken out into 11 zones. The exhibit weaved in local landmarks and scenery, telling its brand story through an adventure in the Big Apple and its “See Impossible” messaging.

The hub of the experience was Canon Central Park. From this zone, visitors had a 360-degree view of the entire footprint. Suspended above the space was a 16-foot by 16-foot projection cube that featured calls-to-action, seminar schedules and topical videos for each zone.

Each zone had secondary entry and exit points that offered organic wayfinding from one zone to the next. In the Imaging Journey zone, Canon offered a series of immersive rooms showcasing New York photographs from surprising perspectives. The Film Production zone offered two film sets with cameras to test out; intimate dark rooms on the perimeter showcased the resolution of Canon’s 8K technology. The Enterprise Zone recreated the streets of Brooklyn and Wall Street to showcase tools for small and large businesses.

Other zones included Customer Experience, Medical & Wellness featuring Canon’s full offering of medical equipment, complete with a waiting area; the University Zone with telescope and robotic technologies; and the Home Zone with live vignettes and demos. And in the Industry Zone, attendees could immerse themselves in a hotbed of emerging technologies from Mixed Reality to Augmented Reality to advanced scanners.

Finally, in the Stadium zone, there was a 4,500-square-foot Yankee Stadium diorama complete with bleachers and an LED screen showing live footage. This was surrounded by an array of lenses visitors could try out. The backdrop was a 110-foot long by 20-foot high photograph taken using the Canon 5D Mark III and contained 22 billion pixels—making it one of the largest prints ever created. How’s that for product showcasing?

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Simmetrico Network
Client: Fiat
Project: Alfa Romeo Giulia Launch

What’s the ultimate driving experience? For 105-year-old Italian automaker Alfa Romeo, it’s style and speed and history, a theme the brand merged with the launch of a futuristic sedan at the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum with 460 brand representatives, journalists and dealers in attendance. The event offered 3D environments, a wind tunnel, a rotating podium, contemporary dance performances and opera star Andrea Bocelli, live—all of it driving home the brand messaging that Alfa Romeo doesn’t “make cars,” it “creates experiences.”

SILVER WINNER
Client: Facebook
Project: Facebook IQ Live

At Spring Studios in New York City, Facebook targeted the “next generation” of agency and advertising leaders (as opposed to the c-suite) with IQ Live. The event focused on everyday moments, highlighting different audiences’ paths to purchase with installations on two floors. Among standouts—an immersive life-like Home installation with live actors acting out new parent scenarios, an Instagram café with a latté artist and a main stage “park” with picnic benches, blankets and 70-feet of artificial turf.

BEST OVERALL CONSUMER EVENT ENVIRONMENT

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Team Epiphany
Client: Nike
Project: Cold Weather Product Launch



The Nike Women’s 15K race at Lake Ontario over the summer was more than a race. For the 13,000 athletes and onlookers from 22 countries taking part, it was a destination where they could network, offer support, better themselves and mingle, shop and engage with the brand on a deeper level. It was also, quite frankly, a beautiful place to be.

Nike transformed 30,000-square-feet of the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto into the Nike Women’s Pavilion with a series of structures for registration, shopping, exercise and entertainment. The shining jewel of it of it all was the Crystal Coliseum structure.

This custom-built floating studio on a 6,000-square-foot barge in the harbor offered clean lines, natural wood and sophisticated Nike Women branding. The coliseum was large enough to hold locker rooms, a group exercise area with classes led by master trainers, a reception area and a product demo area. Forget stark lighting and white walls; this structure, like a floating greenhouse, had glass walls that let in sunshine and views of the waterfront. Three thousand women took Nike’s open invitation to come in and work out and be #betterforit, as the campaign surrounding the race promised.

Within the pavilion village, there was a dj booth, race day information and a Nike+ Run Analysis station. Nike running experts analyzed runners’ strides with the help of cameras to recommend shoes complimenting their individual style. Retail space inside allowed runners to gear up with the right shoes up to moments before the big event.

Though the Nike 15K run took place on an offshore island, the positioning of the Crystal Coliseum bridged that gap, giving full and impressive views to inspire runners during a morning workout. At night, looking from the harbor in, the venue glowed and black paneling featuring an illuminated Nike swoosh sign made a subtle, yet impactful, statement against the backdrop of the city. Location is everything. In this case, Nike came in first place.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Allied Experiential
Client: Zappos
Project: The Zappos Escape

Zappos offered wellness-driven Wanderlust Festival attendees a tranquil setting with Prana and Sanuk displays (brands featured on its e-commerce site), hair braiding, an apothecary bar and flash tattooing. The focal point of the 40-foot by 40-foot wood-decked space was a 30-foot-wide yurt with an open ceiling. Also in the footprint, the Utkatasana (“chair pose”) Lounge featuring Evolution Fresh juices, a verdant living wall and hammocks. The warm, crafted appeal of the environment trumped other tented activations on-site. Namaste.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: Sitelines
Client: Wizards of the Coast
Project: Battle for Zendikar

The “Magic: The Gathering” card game came to life at PAX 2015 through installations illustrating the game’s Zendikar world at the Washington State Convention Center. Outside, a 25-foot Eldrazi monster (sculpted foam on steel armature) “burst” from the glass façade, its tentacles stretching across the sidewalk “crushing” a police car. That lured attendees inside to the dual-level 18,000-square-foot booth where Hedrons burst from the floor, landscapes covered the walls and a world championship game was broadcast live.

BEST POP-UP STORE

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: SET
Client: Nike
Project: All-Star 2015

In experiential terms, we often think of a pop-up as a single event in an empty space. Nike redefined that during All-Star Week by popping-up all over New York City, the birthplace of modern basketball.

The brand activated 26 pop-up events across the four boroughs. Promoting Nike Basketball, the strategy offered a mix of pop-up styles—some were created from the ground-up, while others took over existing landmarks. The size of each pop-up varied in size and scope—some were small (a sneaker box installation) while others were huge (the House of Hoops installation within Madison Square Garden).

One such pop-up served as an exclusive SNKR store, bringing to life the brand’s SNKRS app, which lets enthusiasts explore, buy and share Nike sneakers. This structure in the heart of Manhattan looked like a gigantic, sneaker box with a fully lit exterior. This glowing shrine to Nike, so to speak, could animate and change throughout the day and night. Inside, interactive touchscreens introduced consumers to the new Nike SNKRS app. Avid Nike collectors could register to be among several hundred fans able to purchase very hard-to-get sneakers during All-Star Week at the pop-up. Otherwise, attendees needed to download the Nike+ app to check in and gain entry.

On top of these larger activations, Nike enlisted first- and third-party stores, installing customization activations that let consumers personalize a variety of Nike products from the Air Force 1 sneaker to Tech Fleece, t-shirts and hats. In all, the style of the activations, with their slick and secret vault-style themes, elevated the brand, showcased the premium side of Nike products and celebrated the spirit and history of basketball, its most elite athletes—and how Nike Basketball sneakers have left impressions on the sport.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Mosaic
Client: Coca-Cola Co.
Project: Diet Coke Get a Taste: Style Bar

Diet Coke, the No. 1 soft drink in the world, re-established its role as a leading low-calorie treat with a 5,500-square-foot pop-up in Toronto’s trendy downtown. The space offered five installations representing the qualities of the liquid, like the sparkly Luxe room featuring 600 “bubbles” that emerged from a bottle, and the Refreshing room with mirrors lining the walls that offered altered illusions and photo ops. In this sophisticated “gallery” for Diet Coke, consumers browsed, sipped and shared.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: Engine Shop
Client: Motorola
Project: Moto Shop Chicago

Motorola opened a custom mobile experience boutique in the heart of Chicago featuring brick walls and concrete floors and high-touch, one-to-one learning environments to promote its customizable devices. These included a “maker” table with inspiration boards and décor, and customizable trays; and a swatch wall with materials representing the device backings the brand offers, from leather to wood. The brand swapped out tech specs for premium style in a design play against the traditional stark, neutral colors of a typical mobile store.

BEST MOBILE MARKETING VEHICLE

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Manifold
Client: LinkedIn
Project: Picture Opportunity Tour

LinkedIn is known for digital networking, but to put a face to the business-minded social media site and connect users, it launched the Picture Opportunity Tour. For it, the brand and partner Manifold built a fully customized 24-foot box truck from the ground up, allowing the team to tailor each detail to the needs of the experience. The truck, wrapped in the blue-hued images of actual LinkedIn members, contained a photo studio, six profile consultation stations and a full-wall maple wood bookcase that told the LinkedIn story.

The vehicle build involved 19-foot glass folding panels along the passenger side of the truck, so the experience inside would be as accessible as possible. In pleasant weather, the doors opened to flow the experience out and help the interior and exterior elements flow together. When members walked up the eight-food-wide maple and steel staircase and through the truck’s double glass doors, they found a portable modern office outfitted with a selection of relevant influencer books, infographics displaying the benefits of LinkedIn and other design touches like wall sconces and a 50-inch monitor. (Wi-Fi Cradlepoint and an antennae system ensured the truck’s connectivity.)

LinkedIn members with a profile photo receive around 14-times more profile views, so to help members become more visible, the brand took professional photographers along to each stop. Due to demand, the brand added photographers at all tour stops and created outdoor or backup photo stations at each location. The brand also offered short but candid profile advice to visitors to help optimize their online presence. Four tour staffers were trained to give professional consultations to members who worked alongside volunteers from LinkedIn.

The tour traveled from Philadelphia to San Francisco over the course of four weeks, making 20 stops and engaging diverse groups ranging from students to mid-career professionals, entrepreneurs and more. From this high-touch environment, LinkedIn recorded 6,139 member interactions, nearly 1.5 million physical impressions and a turnout rate that was three-times projection. Link, made.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Manifold
Client: Intel
Project: InsideOut

Intel’s InsideOut Experience global tour was housed in a 40-foot futuristic container that offered hands-on engagement with tablets, wearables, Oculus Rift and RealSense hands-free tech. Digital screens wrapped the interior offering product information (like 3D-rendered sequences). The design concept was built around a spaceship theme evoking mystery and intrigue. This included blue lighting, hydraulics to unfurl the deck and no truck or crane present on-site after transport to make it look as though the structure dropped from the future.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: JT Mega
Client: Hormel
Project: The Art of Di Lusso

In the high-stakes New York metropolitan area deli market, Hormel’s Di Lusso wanted to prove its salami is a work of art. Its 22-foot truck hit 34 locations in one month and invited consumers to create artwork on a 100-foot community canvas welded to the side that, using crankshafts, could be scrolled to reveal a fresh surface at each stop. The glass-walled truck had a gallery of commissioned work by nine local artists, from fashion illustrators to abstract painters.

BEST OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT

EXPERIENCE DESIGN WINNER
Partner: iDEKO Productions
Client: Epson
Project: Swimming in Ink

What’s it like to swim in ink? That was the eye-catching concept Epson leveraged to support the launch of its new inkjet printer, Epson EcoTank. And true to the product’s name, the brand activated a 17,000-gallon seamless acrylic swim tank in Times Square Plaza in New York City that played host to the U.S. National Synchronized Swim Team dressed in branded uniforms. The tank also reinforced product messaging since the printers come loaded and ready with up to two years of ink stored in “eco tanks.”

The tank itself featured cyan, magenta, black and yellow “ink” and every hour the team members performed never-before-seen routines arranged by choreographer Stephan Miermont that were also broadcast live on a large digital billboard above Times Square.

On top of the performances, attendees could take part in an interactive photo experience that let them print their photo on any number of Epson EcoTank printers. Each of the captured images was also projected onto the Times Square billboard in between the swim routines. In conjunction with the event, Staples hosted “Print All You Want” days on Epson EcoTank printers in 16 stores across the New York metropolitan area over the course of two days surrounding the September event.

This custom-made tank was 25 feet long, seven feet deep and 15 feet in diameter and weighed 170,000 pounds, requiring extensive engineering teams to ensure the tank was safe to place on the plaza. The water temperature was monitored overnight until it reached 80 degrees, the required temperature for the team to perform its routines.

The event went, ahem, swimmingly, and in addition to the on-ground-activation in the high-traffic area, the campaign garnered an additional 25 million impressions with the use of the billboards. The content captured was broadcast to the brand’s social media channels via #swimminginink and the live stream content was shared to Epson’s email database of more than one million contacts. Cannonball!

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Pop2Life
Client: HGTV
Project: Super Lodge

HGTV’s Super Lodge in Glendale, AZ, during Super Bowl XLIX offered Millennial influencers a playground of intimate experiences with music and network stars. The wood and steel structure had pendant lighting and elongated Edison bulbs for an industrial feel, a mix of rustic woods and modern accents. Multi-level, the structure had bridge decks connecting side buildings, a VIP area, bar and an outdoor stage. With 30-foot ceilings and over 4,000-square-feet of space, it inspired troves of organic content.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: GMR Marketing
Client: Infiniti
Project: Concours d’Elegance 2015

Infiniti’s Hospitality Lounge during the annual Pebble Beach, CA, event celebrating the automobile offered a 360-degree experience with ocean views, test drives on the beach and a showcase of Infiniti luxury vehicles. The temporary structure felt permanent atop its 100-foot by 100-foot footprint, and featured a custom glass wall, pergola-covered seating areas, a hidden HVAC system, custom steel cable railings and a fabric ceiling. The space easily morphed into a VIP environment one night for a performance for 250 guests by rhythm and blues band Vintage Trouble.

BEST ENTRANCE

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: George P. Johnson
Client: American Honda Motor Co.
Project: Acura Sound Experience Entrance

It didn’t take long for the attendees at Acura’s first multinational dealer meeting, which took place last October at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, to get the message about the company’s new “One Global Brand, One Dealer Body” marketing platform. They experienced both first-hand as they stepped through a colorful, pulsating tunnel at the meeting’s entrance.

Inspired by Acura’s ELS Studio Premium Audio System, which was developed by GRAMMY award winner Elliot Scheiner and is one of the best premium audio systems offered in today’s luxury automotive market, the entrance took the dealers on an interactive sound and light journey while it metaphorically represented the bright future of Acura itself.

Drums located throughout the tunnel encouraged attendees to tap and listen, which caused layers of light and music to erupt all around them. Sounds ranged from simple rhythms to full orchestra; the lights, from simple color splashes to complex geometrical constructs. Throughout the tunnel the sound and light compounded with each interaction, creating even more layers of sound and light. Inspired by the mathematical perfection that is found in nature, music and art, the result was so engaging attendees revisited the tunnel multiple times, using their phones to record and photograph the experience.

The structure consisted of three 12-foot units arrayed two feet apart for a combined length of 40 feet. The units were 10-feet tall and nearly seven feet, five-inches wide, for a total of 295 square feet. The flexible LED mesh video display offered the perfect combination of design flexibility and speed of deployment. Tap sensors and software customized for the experience compounded separate inputs into a layered execution. But, beyond those elements, the balance of the technology was fairly simple and universally available.

The entrance utilized the universal languages of music and art to strengthen Acura’s Precision Crafted Performance brand message and marketing direction, driving home the idea that every contact with Acura engages and intrigues, and that Acura vehicles awaken the senses and elevate every journey.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: LEO Events
Client: Hilton
Project: You Can Count on Us

Hilton Garden Inn’s brand conference offered the HGI “blue-carpet” treatment, beginning with a curb-to registration runner and “Welcome to the Garden” greetings from brand ambassadors. After registration, attendees could inscribe a pledge on the “You Can Count on Us” Commitment Wall, or place their faces in the cutout holes of three figures representing HGI’s core values—Hospitality, Leadership and Integrity. Also on hand, a life-sized virtual Adrian Kurre, the company’s global head, for a “personal” welcome.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: FreemanXP
Client: Microsoft
Project: The Commons at WPC 2015

The Commons expo area at Microsoft’s 2015 Worldwide Partner Conference featured two “front” doors: one leading into the space from the main concourse of the Orange County Convention Center and one feeding in from the keynote. Each entrance created a thoughtfully branded threshold into and out of The Commons’ core. Colorful hanging elements in blue, white and purple hues reminiscent of Microsoft’s logo framed and lowered the ceiling at each entrance and combined wood and glass for a retail feel, while inside, The Commons buzzed all day with energy.

BEST B-TO-B STAGE EXPERIENCE

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Zed Ink
Client: Microsoft
Project: Xbox 2015 E3 Briefing

The Xbox Media Briefing at 2015 E3 was as big and bold as Xbox itself, a constantly changing combination of projection, lighting and digital media where surfaces and reflections converged and immersed the 4,000 attendees at USC’s Galen Center arena and millions of remote viewers into the world of Xbox.

Scenic elements, reflective staging and media surfaces all branched off each other at specific angles, and the center screen was optimized for reflections from various audience seating areas and camera angles. Jam-packed with dazzling and unexpected reveals of new titles, thrilling demos of games in progress and tantalizing videos of work to come, the two-hour live presentation told Xbox’s mammoth game lineup story via broadcast partners Xbox Live, Xbox.com and various streaming media partners.

Not one, but five stages played host to demo areas and multiplayer scenarios that allowed players to own their individual space and character, while a “shoutcaster” guided attendees through the experience from center stage. During a four-player demo of Halo 5, a backing screen behind the participants featured their player cards, introducing the new characters as they battled through a never-seen-before map of the game. The HoloLens demo took place on a “hidden” stage located directly upstage of what initially felt like center stage.

After an announcement by the presenter, a large Xbox scenic logo created a dramatic entrance for members of the Minecraft team and revealed the HoloLens augmented-reality demo. And, for the racing and car enthusiasts, a Ford GT 2017, one of only two in the world and essentially irreplaceable and priceless, was lowered from the ceiling as part of an announcement of a new partnership between the auto maker and the Xbox Forza game. The moment the animated car appeared on the center screen, the real car aligned with it perfectly in a space 50-feet off the ground. What a way to celebrate one of the biggest lineups in Xbox history.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: BI Worldwide
Client: Country Financial
Project: Financial Sales Congress

Country Financial’s 2015 Financial Sales Congress may have been in Las Vegas, but a cast of Broadway actors and directors helped it instill in its sales reps the idea that they are more than just insurance and financial planning providers. Led by BT McNichol (of “Billy Elliot” fame), compelling acting, powerful vocal performances, animated backdrops and special effects immersed attendees in a moving, empowering theater show that wove executive keynote presentations between scenes. Bravo!

SILVER WINNER
Partner: Drury Design
Client: IBM
Project: InterConnect 2015

The InterConnect 2015 stage experience worked not just in one venue, but in a second one across town as well as for a remote audience of more than 15,000. A 24-monitor touchscreen in both locations provided a powerful storytelling tool. Live bands, original imagery and an opening moment that seemingly jumped off the screen and into the audience as more than 18,000 LED wristbands simultaneously lit up made attendees everywhere feel connected.

BEST TRADE SHOW EXHIBIT (50' X 50' AND UP)

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: The Taylor Group
Client: Intel
Project: CES 2015

In 2015 Intel shifted the focus of its booth at CES to highlight live storytelling and experiences. The Spotlight stage, surrounded by comfortable, tiered seating, a massive LED screen and three drop-down support screens, provided the focal point of the space and served as a “clearing,” where a constant rotation of artists and entrepreneurs who use technology with Intel inside shared campfire-like stories.

From digital artist Joshua Davis taking 3D photos of his hand and incorporating them into his art in real time to Intel ceo Brian Krzanich appearing in three consecutive fireside chats (panel discussions), to a musical trio performing and producing live on Intel-enabled software and devices, real-life stories engaged guests and created an emotional connection to the technology.

Eighteen-foot tall LED “trees” weighing 4,000 pounds and measuring 16-feet in outer diameter featured demo stations at their base where attendees could experience the technology first-hand. In the RealSense Experience, RealSense cameras captured attendees on 3D video and, as they moved through the tunnel, transformed their images into sand, snow and asteroid scenarios.

A lightweight aluminum frame clad with dark blue-black melamine formed the exhibit structure, which was lit by LED and mirrored strips that, like fireflies, added to the ambiance of an Enchanted Forest. An LED thread of light, like Tinkerbell’s pixie dust, defined the top perimeter. Adding to the energy, the entire exhibit changed color, synching screens and tree canopies with key messages and performances in the theater. Large-format screens surrounding the Spotlight Theater raised and lowered as required, synchronizing messaging and colors specific to the event or presentation in the theater.

The cohesively integrated messages, hands-on demonstration, architecture, experience and social sharing helped Intel achieve its goals. It not only captured 84 percent of total show attendees but 82 percent of those who experienced a Spotlight presentation found the content to be Extremely/Very valuable.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Czarnowski
Client: General Motors
Project: Cadillac at 2015 New York International Auto Show

Cadillac’s 2015 NYIAS exhibit exemplified the brand’s new “Dare Greatly” theme in every way possible, from its grand, regal exterior “Iris,” a massive semi-circular structure rising above the show floor and encased with 500 14-foot long independent tubular steel spires tipped with two acrylic LEDs, to the curved LED screen wrapping the interior. A glass Element Wall embraced the Iris and created a backdrop for the entire space, which was installed in only four days.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: Impact XM
Client: Canada Goose
Project: ISPO 2015

Canada Goose is a high-tech outdoor apparel brand whose ISPO 2015 exhibit took on the aspects of an artic base camp along with a luxury, retail environment that told an immersive brand story. The highlight was a walk-in freezer dubbed the Thermal Experience Simulator where at a temperature of minus 35 degrees attendees could test the outerwear and experience its craftsmanship first-hand. Handcrafted display tables, product showcases and LED-lit hospitality counters enhanced the experience.

BEST TRADE SHOW EXHIBIT (UNDER 50' X 50')

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Pinnacle Exhibits
Client: Nature’s Path
Project: Natural Products Expo West 2015

What better symbol for a natural food company than a tree? That was the thinking behind the Nature’s Path exhibit at Natural Products Expo West 2015, where the company, which was celebrating its 30th anniversary, also wanted to reflect its deep organic roots and the organic foods it produces. Besides all that, the exhibit had to be sustainable as well.

The result was a layered tree and canopy that appeared to float, yet stood without rigging or columns. It occupied virtually the entire 600-square-feet of booth space, serving as a beacon that attracted attendees to the exhibit, and using its foliage to provide a comfortable place for meetings above the fray of the show floor.

The company’s heritage, relationship to the earth and commitment to sustainable foods provided the inspiration for the booth design. Materials were selected according to recycled content, end-of-life recyclability and their environmental impact in manufacturing. The tree and exhibit counters were made from a low-emission, recyclable urea-formaldehyde-free material. Water-based adhesives and finishes were applied on FSC-certified woods. Raw steel was used for structural support framing, new and recyclable carpet squares (the tiles can be sent back to the manufacturer for recycling) were laid on the floor and the upper canopy of the tree was created from sustainably sourced, SFI-certified panels. Counters featured upcycled Nature’s Path cereal boxes, and all lighting fixtures in the space were LED to minimize energy consumption. Sampling stations were positioned at the corners of the booth, along with reception and a casual bar for attendees to sample products and converse with Nature’s Path executives.

The ambitious design of the booth, along with the beauty and physical presence of the tree etched a positive memory in the minds of attendees, and met with 100 percent approval from the Nature’s Path team in pursuit of its goals.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Mirror Show Management
Client: Capital One
Project: The Future of Banking

Capital One’s Future of Banking installation was as warm and friendly as a neighborhood coffee bar. While fresh-brewed coffee and a community table attracted the digital natives, film and music buffs and cultural leaders who attend SXSW, glass shelving, wood-grain louvers and Mondrian-like grid structures that housed monitors and graphics completed its picture of a bank of the future—one where people would want to linger and perhaps even socialize.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: Access TCA
Client: Boston Biomedical
Project: ASCO 2015

Boston Biomedical’s 900-square-foot space at ASCO 2015 created a comfortable, defined space on the show floor that showcased its corporate identity and educated oncologists about current research in genomic cancer therapies. Two towers displayed panels of information and backlit graphics along the back of the exhibit showed the company’s pipeline. Informal seating, counters and a series of hanging fabric signs completed the effect of a room that was inviting and educational—just what the doctor ordered.

BEST TECHNOLOGY INTERACTIVE

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Momentum Worldwide
Client: American Express
Project: You vs. Sharapova

Few tennis fans ever get the opportunity to battle it out on court against Russian superstar Maria Sharapova, but that’s exactly what the virtual reality activation at the U.S. Open American Express Fan Experience served up. With the help of Sharapova herself, the experience brought this vision to life and, in true American Express fashion, offered fans and cardmembers an opportunity unlike anything they had experienced before.

To pull it off, Sharapova spent a day in a Los Angeles studio outfitted in a motion-capture suit and before a green screen where she played, talked, walked and smiled to generate a digital clone for the virtual experience. On-site at the U.S. Open, You vs. Sharapova participants received a pair of goggles, headphones and a controller, then came face-to-face on the tennis court with images of Sharapova and her coach. Participants took a few practice strokes, swinging their racquet at the exact time and with the same motion as a hand-held controller. They even heard the “swoosh” of the swing as the racquet moved. As Sharapova hit groundstrokes, lobs and volleys, they moved left, right, front or back to get closer to the ball as it approached. Sharapova responded with “Great timing, keep it up!” “C’mon, don’t take your eye off the ball,” or other commentary depending on whether fans hit or missed. Then Sharapova dished up her blazing serve before the VR experience came to an end. Afterwards, fans received a video of the engagement to share through social networks.

Housed in American Express’s 20,000-square-foot activation space on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., You vs. Sharapova was part of a larger, 360-degree “VS” campaign designed to bring out the fans’ competitive spirit during the U.S. Open, and judging by the line of attendees waiting to participate, it was a smash hit.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Sparks
Client: Google
Project: YouTube 360 Theater

The YouTube 360 Theater leveraged its prime spot in the Sandbox demo area of Google’s Zeitgeist conference to re-create the viewing experience of a YouTube 360 video. The large-scale installation showcased video footage using a 360-degree projection that immersed attendees as they entered the space. Attendees also could experience 360 content in the YouTube app on mobile devices, and walked away with the understanding that this content, available on their devices now, promises exciting features for brands, storytellers and content creators alike.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: Opus Agency
Client: 21st Century Fox
Project: Virtual Reality Demo

This VR presentation immersed 125 21st Century Fox senior executives in the largest synchronized VR demo ever attempted. Wearing Samsung headsets loaded with Oculus VR software, the execs viewed content created by filmmaker and VR evangelist Chris Milk that demonstrated VR’s artistic possibilities and a short film on the Syrian crisis with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. Each attendee viewed the same content at the same time, which required flawless internet connectivity and a new app to support the simultaneous launch of the content via a timer-based system.

BEST COLLECTION OF TECHNOLOGY INTERACTIVES

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Mosaic
Client: Microsoft
Project: Worldwide Partner Conference 2015

Mixing business and pleasure is no longer out of bounds for b-to-b conference marketers. Case in point: Microsoft’s 2015 Worldwide Partner Conference, where the brand employed tech-driven experiences that fostered networking and fueled collaboration within the Microsoft US Partner community to create a professional yet fun conference environment.

The show spanned three locations. The US Regional Lounge was located on the trade show floor and functioned as a central hub for attendees to access information and to network. The space brought the conference location, Orlando, FL, to life with décor that included live plants, terrariums and vases of oranges.

The People for Innovation Reception was held at Highball & Harvest restaurant. The event showcased partners’ corporate social responsibility initiatives inside a modern, cyber-inspired space. The site included custom neon signage, a 12-foot wide LED dj booth façade and a “light painting” photo booth with instant and digital print-outs of their custom images.

Finally, Microsoft executed a complete takeover of Disney World’s Epcot theme park for the US Partner Celebration. The affair recognized Microsoft partners for their hard work and featured a projection of the Windows 10 logo on the site’s famous Spaceship Earth ball.

To create a seamless experience amid the conference’s three central locations, Microsoft employed several forms of technology. Partners received LED light-up wristbands before the show, which they used to gain entry to exclusive functions and access product information. The RFID wristbands also enabled attendees to actively participate in the grand finale Epcot fireworks show during the Partner Celebration.

The conference’s Social Command Center served as a digital headquarters and meet-up area for partners. The space included a screen that aggregated all social content mentioning WPC.

In addition, Microsoft strategically incorporated Audio Spotlight speakers into the design of the Lounge and Innovation events. The product aims sound downward to a single viewer, which allowed the brand to showcase partner-focused video content without background noise.

All the connectivity paid off. The conference tracked over 8,000 engagements and more than 4,000 check-ins and photo activities.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Barkley Kalpak Agency
Client: AOL
Project: Future Front

To command attention on the first day of Ad Week, AOL executed an event aimed at showcasing how the brand is uniquely positioned to mobilize data and content for the future. The premise: Go big or go home. Highlights included an Immersion Tunnel that enveloped attendees in 60-seconds of video content and messaging; the launch of the go90 app; a three-story dj tower; and a massive presentation space featuring a projection screen lit by 12 20K projectors.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: Simmetrico
Client: Azerbaijan
Project: EXPO 2015

To highlight its heritage and biodiversity, the country of Azerbaijan activated a pavilion at Expo Milano. Its three-story footprint included images of the country’s cultural legacy displayed through time-lapse videos and stop-motion animation, and an installation of screens called Portraits of Azerbaijan representing a cross section of society. An interactive journey through the country’s capital, augmented reality stations and interactive flowerbeds rounded out the cultural history lesson. Of the 3.25 million people who experienced the exhibit, 50,000 registered to receive more information.

BEST OVERALL USE OF MEDIA A/V

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Momentum Worldwide
Client: American Express
Project: Rally on the River

American Express has been a sponsor of the U.S. Open for more than 20 years, and with a reputation for incorporating cutting edge technology into every activation, the brand had a lot to live up to at this year’s tournament—and it delivered. In an effort to push the boundaries of technology and bring its cardmembers closer to the game than ever before, Amex served up the first-ever hydro-interactive tennis experience at Pier 97 on the Hudson River in New York City.

The foundation of the spectacle was a visual experience projected onto a massive 40-foot-tall by 60-foot-wide wall of water pumped in from the Hudson. Hydro-interactive effects brought the wall to life as tennis pros Maria Sharapova, John Isner and Mónica Puig, and comedian Kevin James, showed off their skills on a tennis court erected for the activation. The celebrities used interactive tennis racquets that translated their every smash, swing and lob onto the wall of water in the form of 3D graphics, animations and video projections—all in real time—thanks to custom tracking software.

A few lucky cardmembers in the audience were also chosen to participate in the action. Using tennis balls distributed to audience members at the beginning of the event, the participants stepped onto the tennis court to throw their tennis balls at the giant water wall to collectively combat a large projected meteor.

Other highlights of the interactive experience included laser light mapping across the tennis court and interactive sound design that responded to the players’ movements.

The event was an all around smash hit for Amex. The experience garnered 980,000 Facebook views via Maria Sharapova’s Facebook page, 4.1 million social engagements and a whopping 456 million p.r. impressions—a figure four times higher than what the brand had projected. Love.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Second Story
Client: Vornado Realty Trust
Project: Times Square 4K Screen Launch

Vornado Realty Trust hoped to attract advertisers when it brought its colossal 4K screen to Times Square. Transforming the screen into an interactive artistic platform, Vornado invited media buyers to participate in the co-creation of content by using tablets to combine a series of visual and audio elements into their own personal film. The brand merged the content to create an exhibition full of color, sound and movement that was used to launch the world’s largest screen.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: VIVA Creative
Client: Avaya
Project: Champions Excellence Summit

At its invitation-only sales leader summit, Avaya aimed to create an immersive space that provided all attendees with a clear line of sight to its visual display of large-format video and graphics. The result was a multi-faceted visual canvas with a custom curved widescreen projection field, along with two outboard projection screens with 21-foot LED columns. To create a more intimate environment, Avaya also displayed a header LED ribbon with over 121 feet of reach. Emotive sound design added the final touch in creating a compelling and memorable experience for attendees.

BEST PERMANENT CORPORATE OR RETAIL INSTALLATION

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Clickspring Design
Client: Brown-Forman
Project: Jack Daniel’s White Rabbit Bottle Shop

As the world’s best-selling whiskey brand, Jack Daniels knows a thing or two about marketing, evidenced by the recent boom in popularity of its Tennessee distillery. Nevertheless, time spent by consumers inside the site’s visitor center before or after a tour was in need of improvement. Enter: the White Rabbit Bottle Shop.

In order to immerse visitors in the authenticity of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, provide deeper insight into the brand’s history and recognize its global following, the brand created a new way of thinking about the composition of a bottle shop. The result is a hybrid space that marries the functions of sales, brand education, customization and packaging.

The design of the shop spotlights various expressions of Jack Daniel’s bottles unique to the distillery with shelving and displays made of natural timbers and accented by stripes of charred wood. Integrated into the shelves are audiovisual installations that display consumer campaigns related to the brand’s various expressions.

Nearby, the Jack Daniel’s Brand Gallery features a pair of parallel walls capable of supporting curated digital and analog content. The display works in tandem with interactive installations presenting both brand-created and consumer-created content. Modest, informal seating areas surrounding the perimeter of the gallery add an element of comfort.

In response to increasing requests for personalization, the area to the south of the brand gallery offers visitors the opportunity to create mementos of their visit. The Personalization Counter features CNC lasers that allow consumers to etch custom messaging and graphics into the glass of their whiskey bottle. In addition, customers have the opportunity to choose from a variety of gift-wrapping options that are only available by visiting the distillery.

Since the opening of the White Rabbit Bottle Shop, bottle sales have increased by over 15 percent. And, thanks to the extra space, the shop is able to offer more SKUs, exposing visitors to Jack Daniel’s expanded portfolio. We’ll cheers to that.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: George P. Johnson
Client: Anheuser-Busch
Project: Bud Light Patio

Inside the San Francisco 49ers new home at Levi’s Stadium, Bud Light erected a patio that amplifies the fan experience without taking away from the game. Built for social sharing, the patio features a digital wall collage of 10 screens displaying social media feeds. At the heart of the space, the Party Pit offers exclusive views of the field, a bar and a stage where local bands and djs perform. Local graffiti art adds a finishing touch to the patio’s urban design.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: JGA
Client: Hershey’s
Project: Hershey’s Chocolate World Las Vegas

The two-story Hershey’s Chocolate World experience envelopes consumers in the brand’s 800-plus candy offerings, including entering the store through a six-story Hershey Bar. Inside, visitors can create customized candy mixes, star in their own Reese’s ad and view an 800-pound chocolate replica of the Statue of Liberty. An array of LED-illuminated 15-foot tall Hershey’s Kisses suspended above consumers, as well as a photo op in which images are printed on a Hershey’s candy wrapper, further immerse consumers in the brand’s portfolio.

BEST MUSEUM ENVIRONMENT

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Partner: Ralph Appelbaum Associates
Client/Project: Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Visitors to the 47,000-square-foot Canadian Museum for Human Rights travel through multiple galleries via a series of ramps that connect the exhibits into one seamless narrative. The exhibition was designed to transform the abstract concept of human rights into a tangible educational experience.

Visitors first encounter the What Are Human Rights? gallery, an introduction to human rights concepts derived from various religions and cultures expressed through a multisensory experience featuring an 80-foot long theater and a 71-foot long human rights timeline. The adjacent Indigenous Perspectives gallery explores Aboriginal concepts of humanity and social responsibility through commissioned art and a 360-degree film inside a circular, two-story-high “basket” of wood slats.

Next, the Canadian Journeys gallery immerses visitors in a mosaic of Canadian human rights history with 18 interactive exhibits and a 103-foot digital screen. A circular space at the center of the gallery offers an interactive social floor game that promotes inclusivity. The subsequent Protecting Rights in Canada gallery offers an interactive debate table where visitors can explore and vote on pivotal Canadian Supreme Court cases.

The Examining the Holocaust gallery offers personal testimony, evidentiary artifacts and photographs that explore the event through a human rights lens. At the center of the space, a theater composed of glass shards examines Canada’s own experiences with anti-Semitism. The adjacent Turning Points for Humanity gallery focuses on the international community’s response to the Holocaust. Engagements include motion-activated interactives that explore the expansion of grassroots activism.

The Rights Today gallery brings visitors face-to-face with contemporary issues through an interactive media program that compares global human rights data. The exhibition concludes in the Inspiring Change gallery where interactive listening stations allow visitors to hear the soundtrack of human rights over time. From there, visitors can ascend the 23-foot, illuminated Tower of Hope.

Ultimately, four out of five visitors rated the exhibition an inspiration, while over nine in 10 visitors felt it should be seen by as many people as possible.

GOLD WINNER
Partner: Kubik
Client/Project: Canadian Museum Of Immigration at Pier 21

Visitors are immediately immersed into Canada’s immigration story through a visual motif that starts as a monochromatic palette then becomes a vibrant mosaic pattern by the end. Highlights include a tree recreation with an 18-foot canopy of foliage and a colonist train car that visitors sit in while listening to oral histories of real immigrants. The last exhibit shows a series of concentric rings emanating from a central point, creating a ripple pattern illustrating the effect of immigration on Canada.

SILVER WINNER
Partner: BaAM Productions
Client: Discovery Science Center
Project: LA Kings Science of Hockey at DCLA

Young fans are the future of every successful sports franchise and this Discovery Center makes the science of sports cool (literally). Its central feature, located on a custom ice-textured floor, is a replica of a Zamboni with a monitor inset that plays time-lapse video of the ice making process. Interactive games allow visitors to take shots and block CGI versions of real Kings players, and a full-wall display showcases all of the hardware worn as part of the NHL uniform.

Gallery: Winners of the 2015 Experience Design Awards

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