How A Redefined Attendee Journey and Experience Scored an A+

Software brand Autodesk wanted to provide a more immersive and impactful experience for attendees at its annual event, Autodesk University. 

To help Autodesk achieve this goal, Freeman laid the groundwork for an engineering-focused audience to experience a comprehensive look at the latest advancements in software through high-quality content, hands-on learning, and professional networking.

Rock Star Presence Across Multiple Shows

Hard Rock needed to make a dramatic entrance at IMEX, the global events community’s premier show where event venues and service providers connect with planners, agencies, and incentive travel buyers.

The challenge went beyond creating a single stunning booth at this key event— this hospitality leader needed an innovative exhibit system that could flex from an impressive 20×50 footprint down to 10×30 and 10×20 configurations for different shows, all while maintaining its signature Hard Rock aesthetic.

Harmonizing Design with Flexibility
 

To orchestrate this complex performance, we collaborated closely with Hard Rock’s design team to create a booth that sang. Taking inspiration from the newest additions to the Hard Rock portfolio, we composed an adaptable design that balanced form and function.

The end result? A stunning, modifiable 20×50 booth that captured Hard Rock vibes through:


• Custom sound wave-patterned carpet and large-scale graphics
• Elegant Plexiglass windows that echo the contemporary architecture
• Immersive activations including mirrored Hard Rock magazine covers for rock star photo opps 
• A “Sound of Your State” listening wall with QR codes for song selections
• Live performances by Hard Rock partner Song Division, an organization that employs 
musicians as teachers
• A natural greenery wall with custom neon signage

Enhancing Attendee Navigation at RE+ 2024

Picture this: more than 40,000 clean energy enthusiasts descending on the Anaheim Convention Center for RE+ 2024, North America’s biggest renewable energy conference. With a venue sprawling across multiple buildings and adjacent hotels, navigating the experience could have been challenging for attendees. That’s where Freeman stepped in to help create a clever mix of digital wizardry and old-school navigation to keep everyone 
on track.

The centerpiece of this digital strategy was the RE+ Connect Mobile App, powered by Swapcard. As a personal event sidekick, it provided attendees with schedules, interactive maps, and real-time updates, while also integrating with blue dot technology for precise location tracking throughout the venue. That meant attendees saw their exact positions on the interactive floorplan, significantly enhancing their ability to navigate efficiently.

As 5,000+ decision-makers in grocery retail, consumer packaged goods, and retail technology gathered at Groceryshop 2024 in Las Vegas, they entered the definitive global conference to find it had once again revolutionized its onsite experience.

“We were fortunate to already have an established brand and visual concept that Freeman then took and ran with,” said Usha Banfield, VP of Operations for Shoptalk/Groceryshop. “We wanted a more multi-dimensional experience with several screens rather than one LED. This vision perfectly matched the vibrancy of our brand and the show itself.”

By using advanced projection mapping technology the team answered the call with a dynamic vibe. Round screens replaced one large LED wall, with content broadcast across suspended circles acting as striking focal points that hovered above.

The seamless blend of Groceryshop’s distinctive circular logo with the event’s established design concept properly represented retail’s digital revolution. But the creative process came with its own unique challenges. 

Content is typically created for traditional LED screens using standard specs and aspect ratios, but this particular content needed to fit custom screens. Multiple strategic planning sessions led up to the event to solve key questions such as:

• How would this design complement other visual elements of the show?
• What would the setup look like beyond the renderings, in the actual venue space?
• What environmental variables might affect the execution of this specific AV technique?

Environmental variables included:

• Optimizing projection surfaces based on size and shape
• Strategic placement of lights and projectors to maintain image clarity
• Integrating sound and music to enhance the overall atmosphere

We carefully reviewed and refined all these considerations and more in a collaborative creative partnership. The result was more than innovative stage design—it was a convergence of form and function elevating the attendee experience, and reinforcing Groceryshop’s role as a driving force in industry transformation.

For its 2024 annual conference in Washington, D.C., the American Institute of Architects (AIA) aspired to create a visually compelling and personalized in-person experience that would expand its core audiences beyond architects and interior designers, to include builders, contractors, and engineers.

Each morning kicked off with a keynote that featured high-profile, inspirational speakers. Calming environmental elements welcomed attendees as ambient images were projection mapped across the 350-ft. long screen spanning the length of the entire stage. Sessions were curated for VIPs, and were an invigorating way to begin the experience.

• AI Solutions
• Attendee Journey
• AV Production
• Event Management
• Keynote Production

New Pathways and Destinations

From a design standpoint, we worked with AIA to create a blueprint intentionally using the venue’s environment to enhance the attendee journey. Signage throughout the entrance provided exploratory navigation as visitors moved through the expo hall, and an eye-popping wall encouraged everyone to “Change Your Thinking.”

The expo floor was laid out like a wheel with spokes. At the center of the hub, the AIA booth acted as the expo floor’s North Star. The focal point – a vibrant, overhead 3-meter LED sphere – was a visual stunner and invited attendees to explore new territories.

In The Zone

Once inside, attendees could choose from five zones personalized by interest – Inspire, Innovate, Design, Build, and Prosper. AIA’s content and education teams wanted to foster networking opportunities right smack dab on the show floor, so they integrated tailored offerings across all formats in each zone.

• Inspire … featured presentations at a continuing education theater, learning lounges, and activations centered around sustainability and social change.
• Innovate … showcased design software and systems, AI/generative simulations, AR/VR, and more tools used to work smarter.
• Design … brought interior designers, engineers, and architects together to share ideas around trends, spaces, and materials.
• Build … emphasized new capabilities such as robotics and automation with hands-on demos and a “Make your own building” activation where each visitor could add pieces to a sculpture that grew throughout the event.
• Prosper … provided career enhancement and development with an interactive, digital personality profiler experience where attendees could take a quiz and connect with others to share ideas.

For the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) event, rental car giant Avis needed a cost-effective way to draw attendees to its 30×50 booth, highlight the brand in a fun, positive way, and change the way attendees think about renting a car.

Avis tapped the Freeman design and production teams to take an on-paper concept and make it a trade show reality that also created an unforgettable attendee experience.

Cashing in on an iconic game show

Inspired by the hit TV show “Cash Cab,” the Avis team pitched a concept featuring its host, Ben Bailey that would recreate the iconic game show inside the booth.

The goal? Engage attendees and demonstrate that renting a car with Avis is more than just a transaction — it’s an experience.

Working closely with the Avis team, we transformed the booth into a fully interactive game show set complete with custom-built rental structures (cost savings!), lighting effects, and the famous “Cash Cab” lights.

How can you transition between back-to-back events in the same space with little time and no fuss?

For Arizent’s Digital Banking and Insurance Summits at The Boca Raton resort in Florida, Freeman helped the brand strategically align to deliver both events on time and budget over the course of a week.

One event centered on digital banking, while the other focused on insurance. By planning ahead, and working closely with Arizent, we repurposed multiple resources – reusing assets/builds but changing the layout and branding – resulting in significant cost savings. While the environments were independent, the branding moments across each experience were seamless and complementary.

To make both events stand out individually, teams utilized cutting edge tech assets to build simultaneous, LED-fueled environments and personalized branding for presentations. Back-to-back demonstrations in a theater-in-the-round setting provided an immersive environment that captivated audiences.

These efforts delivered two successful events and elevated the Arizent brand for digital financial service executives.

NATO (National Atlantic Treaty Organization) commemorated its 75th anniversary of the Alliance in Washington, D.C. where the North Atlantic Treaty — NATO’s founding document — was originally signed in 1949. Its annual summit is paramount for bringing together nations, leaders, and ideas to help ensure security, defense, and democracy across the world.

Historically our team has provided AV and broadcast services, but this year Freeman stepped in to elevate the NATO Summit with design direction, engineering expertise, and concept execution that involved design and collaboration across four different facilities in four different cities.

“The NATO summit was as near perfection as one can get with these types of events.”
– government official who partnered with Freeman team

Bringing this incredible event from concept to reality included:

• A Memorable first impression: Large feature walls and interactive touch screens in the entry/lobby displayed 75 years of NATO history
• Fully custom structures that looked like permanent installations including a 75-foot table fit for the President and all attending global leaders
• An engineered and designed council room with digitally interactive features and lighting effects
• More than 150 cameras broadcasting the spectacular event across the globe

See how it all came together when NATO reached its summit.

ServiceNow, a cloud-based workflow automation platform, wanted a new approach and an elevated experience to reach audiences at Knowledge 2024, its annual global user conference in Las Vegas.

Collaborating with Freeman across logistics, production, and AV, with creative design led by Sparks, the team worked to create a more intuitive attendee journey. By reimagining the expo as a portal to information and excitement, the environment symbolized how ServiceNow is an easy-to-navigate, cohesive platform.

Laid out in a hub-and-spoke design, the expo featured an intricate centerpiece where ServiceNow experts showcased solutions connecting to each area of the layout. With interactive way-finding, attendees moved between focal points based on interests that included immersive learning with digital kiosks, topical networking, and hands-on consultations with partners. The AV approach — which included modular, reusable build structures — made designing for multiple sponsorship levels (both turnkey and custom) more efficient and effective.

Technology Meets Human Experience

For the 2024 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, the goal was to create a never-before-seen dynamic experience leaving an extraordinary imprint with the 30,000+ professionals coming from all over the world.

Our Graphics, Design, A/V, and Events & Exhibit Services teams realized a narrative that vibrantly rooted the event at the intersection of healthcare and tech. Freeman’s creative professionals listened intently to concepts articulated by the HIMSS planners and executed on them in bespoke fashion designing, creating, and producing visuals to make a holistic campaign across the entire venue.

“We introduced more digital signage around the convention center because we are a technology show, we wanted it to feel like a technology show, which allowed us to be very flexible with our messaging and decrease our carbon footprint.”
– Elli Riley, CEM, Vice President, HIMSS at Informa Markets