One of our favorite perks of covering trade shows is exploring what’s happening around the exhibit floor throughout the year, tracking next-level innovation in translating business objectives to immersive storytelling and, frankly, just getting our minds blown. We rolled back the tape and came up with a list of things we loved this year and hope to see more of in 2025.
1. AI Everywhere
At Money20/20, humans could scan their badges and physically connect with each other and AI-powered Binary Exchange translated their connections into binary code on live, evolving digital artwork to an awe-inspiring effect. AI-powered photo activations drew crowds to Hisense and Google at CES 2024. HPE showed off its generative AI capabilities at Discover giving attendees a rare chance to have a chat with its ceo’s interactive avatar. At RedHat, a 16-foot interactive Art Wall turned attendees’ movements into a virtual paintbrush. Music and AI-generated imagery merged into an awe-inspiring performance at an Intel AWS exhibit. With AI being woven into the very fabric of our lives, we can’t wait to see how it continues to electrify brand experiences.
2. Multi-Dimensional Storytelling
A newcomer to CES in 2024, Walmart wowed with a pavilion that shared the company’s vision through interactive storylines and culminated with a 4D ride that “flew” attendees along the entire supply chain. Siemens’ exhibit, along with other cool elements, featured sound domes live-wired with customer stories. Sony took attendees on a tour of New York City that was interrupted by the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man (from “Ghosterbusters”) via a 360-degree, interactive, haptic and motion sensor-triggered experience that was next-level fun and immersive. At “SK Wonderland,” attendees could experience the net-zero world on a Magic Carpet ride complete with sharp curves and drops. Beyond CES, Dematic’s anamorphic 3D projection created the illusion of equipment materializing into the space right above the booth at MODEX, while Sherwin-Williams invited attendees to compose their own concept board with on-trend design elements, including cloth swatches and yarns, at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show.
3. Personalized Everything
Want to make a poster to cheer on your marathon runner? Purina’s got you. Splash your message on a massive screen? Talk to Citizens. Craving a sketch portrait? Get SketchBot, like Weave did Vision Expo. Hat band bars, embroidery and even a personal color analysis, like attendees could get at MAGIC. And we’re not even going into personalized drinks ordered form kiosks and ready in minutes. That matcha’s a given.
4. Measuring Better
Traditional lead-gen is, of course, forever, but in the age of AI, brands are stepping up their data game to maximize trade show ROI with increasing sophistication and speed. Data is collected at a multitude of touch points, from games to surveys to sentiment trackers, but converting it to actionable insights is still an uphill battle. New tools are emerging: FastSensor helps score and prioritize leads. Explori’s AI-powered text analysis distills unstructured survey responses into meaningful trends and insights into audience sentiment. For a deep dive, check out EM’s Event Measurement in the Age of AI report.
5. Sustainability, Big and Small
From reused to recycled to sustainably sourced, brands this year wove sustainability into the narrative. Coca-Cola made a splash at NACS going with reusable r.Cups instead of single-use cups. Panasonic at CES 2024 showcased kinari, the brand’s proprietary sustainable resin made from plant-based cellulose fiber, replaced hard walls with translucent draped fabric, and did away with carpet. And Boehringer Ingelheim made sustainability the foundation (literally and figuratively) of its booth at ASCO.
6. Translucent LEDs
As LED technology evolves, transparent LED screens are offering an exciting canvas, adding attention-grabbing real estate on the ground and in the air, without sacrificing lines of sight. Monster Energy wrapped its entire booth in a translucent LED header, with the content streaming on the inside to build excitement. Muxwave’s holographic invisible screen made massive, and very realistic images float at Infocomm, stopping even the attendees bombarded with video messaging.
7. Creative Photo Ops
Serious thought and design skills are going into creating captured moments. We’ve been seeing it everywhere—from Subaru’s exhibit at the New York Auto Show, where attendees could climb into a “mud-covered” vehicle to snap “all-terrain” photos, to an Oreos swing at NACS, to just about every exhibit at Licensing Expo. Something as simple as a backdrop with a favorite character and proper lighting (and sometimes a cape) can create an attendee magnet that over performs on the floor and on socials.
8. Meeting Space with a Vibe
No more four white walls with a door. We loved seeing conference rooms become part of the overall exhibit experience, elevated yet intimate, central to the exhibit’s architecture, with thoughtful lighting and furniture, on brand. We noticed it with Mastercard and Modern Treasury held meetings at Money20/20, neon-clad AWS at NAB, and Caterpillar at MINExpo, among others.
9. Merch Vending Machines
One of our favorite trending touchpoints, vending machines with branded merch are popping up around show floors, and attendees love them. Granted, most of the items are something people might actually want—cool, quirky, high-value, on-brand—making it easy for brands to collect leads as well as provide an additional touchpoint when strategically placed elsewhere around the show. At HIMSS, Slack from Salesforce vending machine gave random prize drops, perhaps a Slack-branded case of reusable utensils? At Money20/20, attendees could use “coins” earned around the floor for show-branded swag.
10. Art as Human Dimension
HLTH created an art gallery just off its trade show, featuring art related to healthcare and providing a museum-like setting to meet and have a conversation or have a moment to yourself. It was also an opportunity to tell stories about how the innovation happening through meetings and partnerships translates to saving lives.
