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Marisa Uluski When thinking of event spaces, I’m sure the first things that come to mind are hotels, convention centers, even outdoor tents. But what about an old retail building, an old train station or an abandoned mall?
One event that we’ve worked on for many years used all three of the latter unconventional spaces (and more). The organizers of the ONUG AI Networking Summit found ways to transform these unconventional spaces into fully functional event spaces. By using an old JCPenny as a breakout session space or transforming a historic landmark into a conference show floor, they think outside the box to give their attendees a unique experience. Attendees from the last conference at the empty mall left buzzing about how cool the space was.
As mentioned above, ONUG’s latest fall conference was held in an empty mall in Midtown Manhattan. When we arrived for set up, we could tell where old store signage was and where the dressing rooms used to be. But after the event was set up, these spaces transformed into breakout session spaces, a vendor hall, and a mainstage room. And this conference is not the only one doing this.
Before ONUG took over the space, Advertising Week New York used the space for their event. Watching the content on their website from the event, you can barely tell that the space used to be a mall.
ONUG also hosted their conference at Union Station in Dallas a handful of times. By hosting an event at a historic landmark like this train station, the conference gave their audience a unique experience. This is more memorable than sitting in a generic ballroom to listen to a keynote presentation! It is a beautiful space that attendees are excited to be in. As mentioned earlier, it can make your event stand out against the rest.
Again, ONUG is not the only one to have used this space. It is also used as a corporate event space or wedding venue.
ONUG also hosted their conference in old retail spaces in New York City, an open warehouse in New Jersey, and more typical spaces like hotel ballrooms. They constantly find ways to create new experiences for their attendees that will keep them talking and attending year over year. To check out other ways ONUG creates unique event experiences, check out our webinar with the event organizer, Bill Sell.
Hosting events in spaces like these can come with some interesting challenges, however.
Since the space isn’t built with events in mind, sometimes you’re required to come up with some creative solutions. For example, in the main stage room in the mall, there were mirrored pillars in the middle of the room. They obstructed the view of the stage and the mirrors created issues when it came to lighting. Therefore, we needed to get creative to work around the pillars to ensure that the cameras still got a full view of the stage and lights weren’t pointed at mirrors.
At many of these venues, there aren’t separate rooms to use as breakout rooms. So, the organizers of ONUG decided to do all of their breakout sessions using technology that works similarly to a silent disco. This allows attendees to hear the speakers via headphones. The sound is not projected into the space itself. This means that all of the breakout sessions can be closer together and not separated by walls.
Reliable internet is difficult to come by even in traditional event spaces, but even more so when it comes to these unconventional spaces. Same goes for power. If you’re holding your event outdoors in a tent, there likely isn’t the same amount of access to power as in a ballroom. Making sure you’re aware of this and finding & testing solutions ahead of time is key.
Load-in at some of these spaces can get a little clunky. It’s not always easy at a more traditional event space either, but some spaces are more difficult to get into than others. For people like the A/V team, sponsors, or catering staff, having accessible and large elevators is important. A/V teams need to get their equipment inside, sponsors need to roll in tables or boxes of promotional material for their booths, and the catering staff needs to be able to move through the space easily to make sure all of your attendees are fed. This might not be a detail that will make or break your decision to have your event in an unconventional space, but it’s something to think about.
So, yes, there are some challenges when hosting an event in an unconventional space. But it gives you the opportunity as an event organizer to get creative. And let’s face it, there are challenges to hosting an event no matter where you do it. So why not think outside of the box and put on an unforgettable event!