Tech-savvy, socially conscious Gen Z is redefining the live event landscape and VidCon’s annual convention in Anaheim answers this emerging audience’s call by leveling up the live experience.

Our team dove headfirst into this digital content extravaganza to discover what’s new.

Here are three things that stood out:

Presentations with a Twist

Keynotes offered more interactivity.

• Layered layout: Four main stages coexisted with the expo floor allowing attendees to choose their own adventure between presentations, booths, and upstairs breakout rooms for deeper dive sessions.
• Content continuity: Continuing the adventure without missing a presentation beat, attendees could watch programming on overhead monitors while waiting for sponsored activations.
• On-stage engagement: Live polling, social media Q&A sessions, and real-time feedback loops kept audiences engaged. Moderators also encouraged more dynamic panelists to divert from scripted remarks and share personal anecdotes that spoke directly to audience preferences.

Bottom Line: Designing a personalized, engaging, and easy-to-navigate (and visually interesting) environment delivers an energetic atmosphere people enjoy and remember.

“Out of the Box” Promo

VidCon adapted the “unboxing” trend, typically associated with product launches, to create buzz.

• Freeman designed and constructed a giant box on the exhibit floor with an overhead countdown clock. When the clock hit zero — following a raucous countdown of the surrounding crowd — once each day, the box dramatically opened revealing popular influencers who unboxed gifts curated by select event sponsors.
• This in-person reveal was the culmination of a pre-event social media campaign where influencers had simultaneously unboxed similar gifts each day the week leading up to VidCon.

Bottom Line: Creating pre-event buzz builds anticipation. You’ll get more bang by carrying the idea through the experience and infusing it into the agenda to create new sponsorship opportunities that attendees value.

Creative Convergence in Exhibitor Spaces

Multi-concept spaces — where attendees happily waited for more than an hour — beefed up brand presence.

• Totally enclosed booths, such as YouTube’s Minecraft and Disney’s “The Descendants,” created captivating fantasy worlds based on the media for attendees to explore.
• TikTok created its own retro, 1960s, TWA-inspired airport lounge, while Meta partnered with RayBan to offer augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) encounters at its cafe-inspired networking space.
• The “Trash Arcade,” an open lounge space with furniture and cushions fabricated out of recycled banners, offered a chill respite from the fray with a mashup of sustainability and relaxation.

Bottom Line: Designing immersive environments deepens bonds with younger attendees who value participation and hands-on moments versus observing from behind a velvet rope.