There are some activities that stand the test of time, but are often reimagined and emerge in unexpected spaces. And if there’s one experience most audiences can relate to, at any age, and in any space, it’s the claw machine. This year, brands are thinking outside the (glass) box to incorporate this arcade staple into events with a twist.
Nowhere has this trend been more apparent than Coachella last month. The festival’s official hard seltzer, White Claw (come on, it’s in the name) brought the Shore Club back to Indio, CA, for a second year to deliver an intimate music experience but also a “CLAW” machine that yielded prizes and upgrades. Anker, Coachella’s official charging partner, kept attendees’ devices juiced up at the Supercharging Hub. Among the space’s interactive experiences was a custom claw machine filled with Anker power banks and exclusive merchandise.
Last year, Rakuten activated The R-cade at Governors Ball in New York, where festivalgoers tried their hand at a claw machine for branded bandanas, plushies and snacks. And speaking of plushies, they were all the rage at VidCon 2024’s MeeMeows carnival booth, which had attendees waiting hours for a chance to win cat-themed stuffed animals from YouTuber Aphmau at claw machines and boardwalk-style games.
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Exhibitors are also embracing the claw machine, which is taking gamification—a key engagement tactic at many trade shows and conferences—to a new level. We saw nostalgia draw attendees in with the thrill of a challenge to win branded toys and collectibles at the Licensing Expo’s Funko Funcade, Petco dog toy prizes at VMX 2025, and beach balls, water bottles and gift cards at HIMSS24’s TruBridge exhibit. Neutrogena also featured a claw machine filled with its best-selling products at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting last month.
But topping all of these experiences was the BÉIS human claw machine, set up as a one-day-only event in March at Westfield Century City in L.A. Diehard fans of the luggage brand flocked to the mall—lining up at 5 a.m.—for the (slim, as it turned out) chance to get strapped in and suspended over an oversized ball pit, where they reached, grabbed and clung onto their prizes, ranging from full-size suitcases to tote bags. On a smaller scale, BÉIS then popped up at Bloomingdale’s locations in New York, Miami, L.A. and Chicago for two days with traditional claw machines that contained branded hats, crossbodies and belt bags. Go big or go home.
