Beautiful
Booth Awards 2026

Alice built a Wonderland in the form of an Alice in Wonderland tea party, with upside-down furniture on the ceiling above the tea bar, teacup chairs and dice tables, a six-foot cutout of Sir Gavin (their white rabbit mascot), a find-Sir-Gavin selfie challenge, real tea served in custom branded ceramic cups, and a beautiful display shelf of ceramic mugs and playing cards as swag. The booth was designed in the round, which created the rare effect of having no "bad angle." Our judges noted that it was so unique, with eye-catching visuals and a theme that was very consistent throughout, and they heard a ton of buzz about this brand from other attendees (possibly thanks to the upside-down furniture on the ceiling!). The product message, "Security, safety, and trust for the AI era," connected cleanly to the theme: just as Alice's Wonderland is full of magic and risk, so is the AI world their customers are navigating.

SandboxAQ brought the old West to the RSAC show floor. Our judges loved the well-executed western theme, which was pulled off really nicely with colors, textures, and Most Wanted posters all working together. Details included swinging saloon doors at the entrance, real wood finishes throughout, barrel demo stations, leather saddlebags holding collateral, and hanging lassos (not available as swag!). And, of course, the most cowboy detail of all: cold brew on tap at a central bar. The central game, "Night Watch," put attendees in the role of threat hunter, actively identifying cryptographic dangers on a map, serving as both a hands-on demo driver and a natural conversation starter without forcing a pitch. The tagline "Outlaws hate visibility" raised a question, named the enemy, and made the product's purpose immediately legible, all in three words. Yeehaw!

Here's a booth that made an abstract threat feel visceral before anyone said a word. imper.ai built their entire 20×20 around a single, extremely well-executed metaphor: wolves in sheep's clothing. Our judges highlighted that the fluffy texture (simulating sheep's wool) throughout the booth really stood out, and that the booth layout was excellent. Giant fluffy sheep-silhouette framed the backlit LED screens inside, a ceiling ring of wolf/sheep silhouettes prowled overhead, and fluffy white ottomans composed the theatre seating. A live mentalist performed continuously on the show floor; his entire act was tied explicitly to the product message: if a skilled illusionist can make you believe something false is real, imagine what a sophisticated insider threat or North Korean IT worker can do inside your organization.

Broadcom's "Legends Never Die" tour returned for its second year, this time with a main stage announcement: the launch of Symantec CBX, a unified cloud-based XDR platform merging the R&D lineages of Symantec and Carbon Black for the first time. Our judges called it a fantastic concept with great swag, and the photo booth activation tied in perfectly with the theme. The booth was built around one story only, which prevented product portfolio sprawl and competing CTAs. Details included a custom oversized amp at the center, an AI-powered photo booth that let attendees create personalized album covers themed around CBX (the judges' favorite: "All the Single Agents," Beyoncé edition), and industry analyst and author Allie Mellen signed copies of her new book Code War at the booth, drawing significant crowds. The specific, resonant hero of the messaging: the under-resourced security team, named explicitly and spoken to directly. Result: 32% increase in booth traffic over 2025, plus many, many demos!

MIND flew attendees business class. Literally, architecturally, in a full airplane fuselage structure with windows, rivets, overhead bins, and a lavatory door, staffed by "MINDAir flight crew" brand ambassadors who issued boarding passes, offered beverages from galley carts, and personally invited visitors to their business-class seats for a demo. Our judges noted that every single touch-point was well thought-out and fit into the theme, that the humorous moments throughout were a highlight, and that it was amazing what they accomplished within the allotted space. A split-flap display personalized content with visitor names in real time. The "swaggage claim" conveyor belt drew visitors deeper into the space with branded swag including "Mind your juice" battery backups, Tide pens, aviator sunglasses, and flight wings pins. Personalized laser-etched luggage tags were one of the takeaways. The product message, "Stress-Free DLP," landed with zero turbulence.

Vanta's "Calm-pliance" campaign was already running on billboards, SFO placements, city buses, and social media before anyone set foot in Moscone. Our judges appreciated that the messaging wasn't crowded, you could instantly tell what their company does, and the swag and colors were very cute and inviting. The booth delivered on the campaign promise physically: ASMR-inspired activations including a bubble pop wall, a paper shredder for dramatically disposing of faux compliance paperwork, and an interactive harp. Signage like "Show your audit who's CISO" and "Make audits your beach" met people emotionally before anyone launched into a demo. The Calm-pliance concept, built in-house, was one of the most fully integrated booth-to-campaign executions we saw this year.

Side note: The Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast interviewed Scott Holden about the campaign ahead of RSAC: Listen on Spotify.

Vega made people feel the weight of the old world before showing them the path to the new one. Our judges noted that every aspect was branded and consistent, with a cute, fun theme featuring unique colors and characters… overall a really engaging booth! Visitors entered an interactive game simulating the legacy SecOps experience: mounting pressure, cascading alerts, fragmented data. Then they won. And the booth opened into something else entirely: white and gold, open space, daisies, four dedicated demo stations, a live harpist at the entrance. A branded Volkswagen van had been making its way through downtown San Francisco each morning handing flowers to attendees. Custom mini Lego kits of SAM, Vega's mascot, went home with attendees and kept showing up in photos days after the conference. In an industry that runs on fear, showing up with daisies and a harpist is itself a statement!

BeyondTrust's retro-futurism aesthetic was immediately recognizable: a dynamic orange-to-white gradient, curved architectural elements, and a 98" screen with motion-driven content. Our judges noted that the art was very cool and the colors really stood out: it was eye-catching, exactly how a booth should be! Inside, "Mission Control" demo stations offered both high-level and technical conversations, and a five-question Identity Security Persona Quiz invited attendees to discover their role (Mission Leader, Expedition Advocate, Signal Decoder, Atmosphere Guardian), a personalization mechanic that generated peer-to-peer engagement while people compared results. Swag: Owala water bottles, astronaut rubber ducks, holographic stickers, and "rocket fuel" energy drinks. "Secure Every Identity, Everywhere (and beyond)" delivered the message in six words.