IAAPA 2025 will be remembered for many things but for us, the defining moment was this:
Ventola® Projects and Performit Live were runners up in the IAAPA Brass Ring Award for Best Engagement at Show 2025.
And this year, the win carries even more meaning…
Because IAAPA 2025 was also the moment we officially joined the VaVR Alliance a global partnership pushing the boundaries of immersive display and interactive digital performance.
This blog is your full post-event breakdown of how this alliance helped shape an award-winning engagement experience.
A Brass Ring Win Powered by Collaboration
The Brass Ring Award recognises the most engaging, memorable experiences on the IAAPA show floor. Our booth stood out because of one thing:
The seamless integration of Ventola engineering, VaVR’s immersive display technology, and Performit Live’s real-time digital character performance.
Joining the VaVR Alliance wasn’t just a partnership announcement.
it was a practical demonstration of what the alliance can deliver when its strengths combine.
The VaVR Alliance: A New Era of Integrated Experience Technology
One of the foundations behind our Brass Ring win was the newly formed VaVR Alliance, which brings together:
- Ventola Projects — engineering & immersive lighting solutions
- VaVR — cutting-edge display technology & the global immersive ecosystem
- Performit Live — real-time digital characters powered by human and AI performers combined with innovative AI experiences.
Together, the alliance represents a shared mission:
To redefine how audiences interact with digital characters, physical environments, and immersive media.
IAAPA 2025 was the first major showcase of what this unified approach can achieve.
The result? A stand that didn’t just attract crowds, it engaged them at an emotional, human level.
Live Characters That Talk Back: A Major Driver of the Brass Ring Win
One of the strongest components of the Booth’s engagement score came from Performit Live’s powered digital characters, including the crowd favourite Jonny Goblin.
These characters created:
- Real, unscripted conversations
- Constant laughter and repeat visitors
- High dwell time and engagement — a key Brass Ring metric
- Surprise & delight moments throughout the show
Jonny Goblin Graciously Receives the IAAPA Brass Ring Runner Up Award for Best Engaged Booth at IAAPA Expo 2025.
The VaVR Alliance meant Stage didn’t operate in isolation, the digital performances lived within VAvR’s immersive visual world, creating a hybrid physical–digital character presence.
Alice in Wonderland AI Photo Experience
Another standout element — was the AI Wonderland Photo Experience.
This activation blended:
- A digital photo moment
- Instant Wonderland-themed AI transformation
- Beautiful, brand-safe outputs
- Share-ready images delivered in seconds
IAAPA Show 2025 Wonderland Guest AI Photos.
The VaVR Alliance amplified this experience by providing the large-scale visual environment needed for immersion enhancing the theatrical feel around each guest.
Why the IAAPA Judges Awarded Us the Brass Ring
Judges assess the depth of engagement, not just aesthetics. Our booth excelled because it delivered:
- Integrated technology working as one
- Human driven interactivity
- AI used for creativity, not replacement
- A booth that constantly felt alive
- A clear future vision
This wasn’t a booth. It was a proof point for the future of immersive engagement.
It means:
- Our real-time character technology now sits within a global ecosystem of immersive pioneers
- Our Stage platform will integrate deeper with VaVR environments
- We can deliver larger, more ambitious, more interactive installations worldwide
- Clients benefit from a unified, award-winning technology stack
The Brass Ring win wasn’t the end result. It was the beginning.
Thank You to Ventola Projects & VaVR
To Mick Ventola, the entire Ventola Projects team, and our partners across the VaVR Alliance:
This win is shared. It belongs to every engineer, performer, developer, designer, and creative who helped bring the booth to life.
Together, we proved what’s possible.
Want to Bring Brass Ring-Level Engagement to Your Brand?
If your next activation needs:
- Live performer or AI driven digital characters
- AI-driven creative moments
- Immersive VaVR visual environments
- The new VaVR Alliance integrated technology stack
…we’re ready to bring your world to life.
Let’s create your award-winning moment.
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