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Case study

Pax8 Beyond 2025: the movie lounge

Disclosure

I ran Breach Secure Now's trade show and channel event program from 2020 to 2025, first as VP of Sales & Marketing and then as Chief Channel Officer.

In June 2025, Pax8 Beyond came to my home state of Colorado, and we turned Booth 811 into a movie lounge.

The job the booth had to do

We had two jobs at that show. BSN was premiering its Generative AI Certification Program, which it billed as the first of its kind in the channel. And we were there for MSP partners and vendor friends, some of whom we had integration news to share with.

Here’s the truth: your booth is not a backdrop. It is a stage for your brand, and it sets up every conversation that happens in front of it. A launch needs a stage.

What we built

The theme was the movies: lights, cybersecurity, productivity and AI.

  • The invitation was in the welcome bag. Attendees found a BSN movie ticket and a popcorn container in their welcome bags, with a reason to bring them by: refills, treats, and a feature presentation.
  • The booth was a lounge. Hot popcorn, free candy, and seats that were actually comfortable. At a show where most people are on their feet all day, a place to sit is a reason to stay.
  • The feature was the product. Visitors watched BSN’s training in action, security awareness, productivity for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, and AI awareness, from the lounge seats.
  • The premiere was the launch. The Generative AI Certification was the headline, framed the way a movie premiere would be.

The story line we ran through all of it: humans have always been the stars of the show.

What to take from it

The ticket and the popcorn container did the work of a pre-show touch. They arrived before the visitor reached the floor, they told them what kind of experience was waiting, and they gave them a physical reason to come find the booth. The theme then had to pay that off. A movie lounge is only worth the build if the visitor gets to sit down and watch something that matters to them.

If you are planning a program like this, Events Authority offers trade show consulting that covers the theme, the booth and what happens after.

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