The Agenda Festival isn’t your average trade show. Check your notions of a bland, corporate event setting at the door. This show is full of the world’s most vibrant, stylish, and forward-thinking apparel companies setting up creative booths that perfectly encapsulate their brand and invite people in to learn more.
Apart from learning a ton about what’s coming up next in the t-shirt and apparel industry, Agenda also offers some amazing inspiration on event booth setups, and how to create a display that will make your brand stand out at your next trade show or conference.
Based on the time we’ve spent at conferences, there are a few common variables we’ve seen among popular event booths:
- Does the booth fit with your brand aesthetically?
- Does the booth draw people in?
- Does the booth offer a valuable experience?
With these qualifiers in mind, here are 11 great event booths we saw at the Agenda Festival in Long Beach.
1. Shopify
It may seem bizarre to kick this list off with a brand that’s not even an apparel company, but hey, a great booth is a great booth, and Shopify’s display was top notch. Shopify’s business is anchored around the idea of being a platform that helps you sell your big idea, whatever it is. This was on full display at their booth, where they gave attendees a blank canvas and invited them to draw whatever they felt inspired to draw. (As you can see in the photo above, we kept ours pretty simple.)
This setup was a great way to invite people in and give them a fun, inspiring experience.
2. Patagonia
In true Patagonia style, their booth’s main draw was this electric, eco-friendly, and actually functional little camper car. The vehicle was designed by artist Jay Nelson, who has really cornered the market for clean, funky, eco-friendly wood projects like this one.
The car was definitely one of the most photographed objects from the whole Agenda Festival, and did an excellent job of drawing people in to the Patagonia booth to check out their t-shirts and sweaters, and learn more about what the brand is doing to preserve our planet.
3. Shaper Studios
If you’ve never watched a surfboard being shaped — which I assume is most people — you should make it a priority. In a world where so much is done digitally now, it’s incredibly refreshing and somewhat mesmerizing to watch something physical be made.
This booth from Shaper Studios took full advantage of that, hauling in their mobile board shop and shaping boards so attendees could look on and admire. This was a great way to get people stay a while, chat together, and check out their t-shirt/apparel line.
4. Hershel Supply Co.
The Herschel Supply booth had a similar approach to the Patagonia booth written about above. Their red bug was one of the most photographed objects at the show. (It helped that it was staring you in the face right when you walked in)
The vintage VW added a nice, eye-catching aesthetic to their setup, and served as a great way to get you to the entrance of their event booth, where the Herschel crew had an impeccable display of their gear.
5. Pura Youth
If you haven’t caught on yet, refurbished vehicles were a major theme here at the Agenda Festival. This renovated wagon with the tent on top set the perfect stage for Pura Youth, an apparel brand centered around the sentiments of youth and adventure.
Their campsite/pop-up shop did a great job of supplementing the friendly, adventurous designs of their t-shirts, and really helped them show what their brand is all about.
6. Shiner Gold
Simply having a presence at a trade show is fine, but it’s not going to set you apart. One of the best things you can do as a trade show exhibitor is offer an experience that goes along with your booth, and the guys at Shiner Gold did just that.
To bring people in, they brought a local barber with them to serve up fresh haircuts during the day. This was a clever move that supplements their brand well and gives attendees a great experience. Their t-shirt and hair product displays fit in great as well.
7. Richer Poorer
Speaking of experiences, Richer Poorer offered the most engaging — and most popular — experience at Agenda with their mobile ball pit. Attendees got to sign up, then one at a time jump off the diving board right into the Richer Poorer pit.
The stunt was a huge hit with attendees. We tried to get a picture of the entire ball pit but we couldn’t because there were too many people in line and in the way. If we’re giving out grades, Richer Poorer gets a A+ for experience, engagement, and cleverness.
8. Toms
Toms did a great job of drawing in the crowd with their renovated airstream camper turned café/shop. The café tables underneath the awning helped set a really homey and inviting atmosphere, and definitely left you wanting to stick around and hang out for a while.
Plus, if you hung out long enough like we did, their staff might invite you to their secret speakeasy (aka cooler hiding behind their camper) for a drink. Memorable experience if you ask us ;)
9. Rip N’ Dip
Rip N’ Dip had a peculiar booth at the Agenda Festival, but they’re not exactly known for doing things normally, so that’s pretty on brand for them. They didn’t display or sell any of their merchandise while at Agenda. All they did was have two reps hand out flower balloons and tote bags. But their line was massive.
Their booth definitely offered a look and feel different from anyone else’s at the show, so it was hard not to be drawn in by that. And hey, at the end of the day, tons of attendees were walking home with Rip N’ Dip gear, which I think they’d call a win.
10. FlexFit
Flex Fit takes home the award for Most Creative Floor Use, hands down. Their mural of hats falling into a canyon fit their brand well, looked great, and was very enticing — calling you to come in and walk all over it. The mural was a great spot to do the classic looks like you’re on the edge of a canyon photo, and people took advantage of it.
11. SlushCult
Fully equipped with a working snow cone machine, ice cream freezer, and inflatable floppy guy, SlushCult brought a ton of Summer fun to the Agenda Festival. Their beach-themed setup was really lively, and their snow cone machine earned them one of the longest lines at the show.
For more great content on getting the most out of conferences and trade shows, check out this post on using t-shirts to boost your conference reach, and keep an eye out on our blog for more content to come.
And of course, if you’re looking to gear up on t-shirts for your next event, let us know. We can’t wait to help.
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