blooloop is delighted to announce the launch of the fourth Innovation Awards. Once again, we are supported by our friends at AREA15.
We have been leading the way in reporting on the latest news, trends and developments within the visitor attractions industry since 2005. blooloop.com is now read by over 2 million attraction professionals from around the world each year.
AREA15 is the world’s first purpose-built experiential entertainment district located minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. The complex is designed to be an imagination box and a place of wonder, where creativity and content flourish through best-in-class experiential entertainment companies such as Meow Wolf, Lost Spirits Distillery, Wink World, and Illuminarium. It has plans to expand its district in Las Vegas by 20 acres.
What are the Innovation Awards?
The blooloop Innovation Awards celebrate the incredible dynamism, imagination and creativity that drives the attractions business.
Our judges are high-profile thought leaders and industry experts from some of the world’s leading visitor attractions. They will be looking for the most innovative products and projects shaping the future of the visitor experience.
The winners will be announced at our online Festival of Innovation event in January 2025.
Get your work seen by the people who matter most by entering the blooloop Innovation Awards 2024.
2024 judges
- Tom Acomb, chief creative officer, AOA
- Mike Aiello, senior director – entertainment creative development, Universal Destinations and Experiences
- Steve Alcorn, CEO, Alcorn McBride Inc.
- Guillaume Allaire, executive producer, Puy du Fou Films
- Xiao Bao, TEA Board of Directors
- Kimberly Beneville, co-founder, Beneville Studios
- Sam Bompas, director, Bompas & Parr
- Jenefer Brown, executive vice president and head of Lionsgate Global Products & Experiences
- John Burton, senior creative lead, Merlin Entertainments
- Anthony Chong, group managing director, Kingsmen Exhibits Pte Ltd and executive director of Kingsmen Creatives Ltd
- Dolf de Jong, president & CEO, Toronto Zoo
- Wouter Dekkers, CEO, Momentum Leisure
- Philipp Edelmann, director of production for live experience, Netflix
- Winston Fisher, CEO, AREA15
- Jeffrey Godsick, executive vice president, global partnerships and brand strategy and head of Location Based Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group
- Chris Grap, vice president of experiential entertainment, Mall of America
- Joe Graziano, director of sales, EMEA, entertainment division, Christie
- Joe Herrington, audio media designer, Walt Disney Imagineering
- Craig Inglis, chief marketing officer, Merlin Entertainments
- Jasmin Jodry, immersive creative director
- Dr Les Johnson, founder and chair, National Windrush Museum
- Vince Kadlubek, founder & director, Meow Wolf
- Asa Kalama, VP, executive – creative & interactive experiences, Walt Disney Imagineering
- Eddie Kemsley, CEO, Dreamland
- Margaret Kerrison, founder/owner, MCK Creative LLC
- June Ko, executive director, InfoComm Asia
- Michael Kreft von Byern, director, Rulantica
- Bart Kresa, founder, BARTKRESA design
- Nick Laister, director, Fairytale Farm
- Chris Lange, chief creative officer & owner, Creative Studio Berlin
- Damien Latham, chief attractions officer, SEVEN
- Tom Lionetti-Maguire, founder, Little Lion Entertainment and creator, The Games Arenas
- Mark Locker, founder & CEO, Attractions.io
- Håkon Lund, owner, Lund Gruppen
- Alan Mahony, chief operations officer – entertainment, Keystone Group
- Amanda Mayne, head of partnerships: International Touring Exhibitions, British Museum
- Erica McCay, executive creative director, Valtech
- Steven Mifsud, founder and director, Direct Access
- Tim Morrow, president and CEO, San Antonio Zoo
- Patrick O’Mahony, creative director and founder, NEWSUBSTANCE
- Tomoe Okiyama, creative director and producer, Katana Inc
- Judith Owens, chief executive, TBL International Ltd
- Jeff Parker, creative lead, R&D, Merlin Entertainments
- Meg Parker, chief marketing & communications officer, AREA15
- Pauline Ravry, project manager, Futuroscope
- Kees Rijnen, strategist, Efteling
- Linda Spurdle, museum consultant
- Jim Shumway, VP project delivery, TAIT
- Sarah Sutton, CEO, Environment & Culture Partners
- Frederica Swallow, regional manager EMEA for Live Events and Location Based Entertainment, Mattel
- Steve Tatham, executive creative director, Universal Creative
- Jon Tozer, VP of global delivery, Holovis
- Christine Wacker, head of experiences, Formula 1
- Megan Wastell, global creative director, Merlin Entertainments
- Ben Wilson, head of architecture & concept design, MSC Cruises
- Judith Zissman, executive creative director, Blue Telescope
- Eng. Al Yaqdhan Al Harthi, director general, Oman Across Ages Museum
2024 categories
Why enter the blooloop Innovation Awards? What are the benefits of entering the blooloop Innovation Awards?
- Join the incredible companies who have won previously and prove that you are an Innovator in the industry.
- Raise your profile and be seen by the people who matter – our expert judges.
- Celebrate your colleagues and show that you are proud of your work. Leverage your award entry for marketing and to boost team morale.
- Gain a competitive advantage to attract new business and new talent.
- Showcase your innovation and imagination to everyone in the industry with your own page in our Innovation Awards Gallery on blooloop.com – this gets 15,000 views a month.
- Your entry will be included in our Innovation Showcase at the Festival of Innovation in January.
Reinforce your reputation for excellence.
How to enter
Go to our award entry platform here. Log in or create an account, then submit your entry. Choose your entry category, and fill in all the required fields. You can save it and come back at any time to edit it. Entries must be paid for by the entry deadline to be included.
Entries close midnight BST 7th October.
Please note that our Deluxe entries are limited.
Learn more about the entry types, categories and what to enter here. We have also created a guide to entering the awards that gives you insight into what the judges will look for in each category.
What do previous winners say?
Eatrenalin, Best in Show 2023 and 1st Place Blue Sky 2023.We are delighted to have won the Blooloop Award in the ‘Blue Sky’ category at the Blooloop Innovation Awards 2023. Winning the ‘Blue Sky’ category reflects the collaborative efforts of our talented team in creating Eatrenalin – a unique, multi-sensory fine dining experience. The Blooloop Festival of Innovation was a fantastic gathering of highly creative and motivated individuals and we feel blessed to have been part of this inspiring event.
Electrosonic was delighted to be part of Blooloop’s Festival of Innovation 2022. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn, celebrate and recognize companies and projects that champion innovation within the attractions industry.
For the change-makers or those seeking inspiration, this event is a must!
Alex Westerh, Director of Marketing, Electrosonic, Best in Show 2022 and 1st Place Immersive Experience 2022
Sponsor the blooloop Innovation Awards
Champion the spirit of innovation with an individual category sponsorship. Sponsors will receive high-profile logo placements, links, a judging position, a blog AND will lead a panel discussion at the Festival of Innovation.
Laurence Beckers, creative director, Alterface, 2023 Experiential Technology sponsorThanks, Blooloop, for championing innovation and sparking inspiration within our industry. The Festival of Innovation provided not only invaluable networking opportunities but also a stage to showcase the advancements in experiential technologies and immersive experiences.
Find out more here and contact Alice at events@blooloop.com for more information.
Q&A
Something groundbreaking and original that contributes to the future of the industry.
We welcome entries from across the visitor attractions business worldwide.
Your entry can be a specific project, product, exhibit, design, campaign, new company and more. We call this your ‘Innovation’ in the entry process.
This should NOT be a concept, it should be fully realised.
You should not enter the same Innovation as previous years unless you can demonstrate it has significantly new content.
You cannot enter a concept.
There are no project timeframe restrictions, however as our judges are looking for the most innovative entries we recommend entering recent work.
Entries open: 7th June 2024
Early bird pricing closes: 2nd September 2024
Final date for a guaranteed speaking slot with a Deluxe entry: 9th September 2024
Entries close: 30th September 2024
Our judges are experts from around the world and from a variety of sectors. We will announce our 2024 judges soon.
See our 2023 judges here.
Yes, you can continue to edit your entry until the final entry deadline of 30th September 2024. After that, you cannot make any changes.
Full details on what to enter can be found here
Submit a pitch video! Whilst this is optional, our 2023 judges told us how helpful pitch videos are when judging.
Keep it simple and a maximum of 3 minutes. Don’t use pre-recorded marketing materials, speak directly to the judges! Explain why your entry is innovative and fits the category.
No, some information is just for the judges:
– The pitch video
– Maximum 300 words description of why your entry is innovative and fits the award category. This is the first thing the judges will see so make it snappy and stand out.
– Information on the scope of work your partners provided, if you worked with partners.
– Details on the budget scope, timeline and opening date.
More information can be found here.
Make sure you tell the judges HOW your entry is new, exciting and innovative. How are you pushing the boundaries? Make it clear to them how your entry fits into your chosen category. We have provided some questions in our Guide to Entering the Awards to think about in your award entry.
We have included the rubric the judges will use to mark the entries in our Guide to Entering the Awards. Each entry will be judged on innovation and one other quality, dependant on the category.