Ever since I was a kid it was that way for me. I could be tired or angry or sad and then I’d see the ocean and calmness just took over. So when I landed in LA earlier this week, I dropped my bags and ran to Venice Beach to smell the salt water, watch the sunset, and just walk (an unintentional but solid 2 miles). It put me in the right headspace for the rest of the week.

“Is that The Forum?” I asked the Uber driver. I saw a building that any basketball (or original Space Jam) fan would recognize. It was inspired by the Roman Forum and it was the home of the Lakers during the Showtime years—Kareem, Magic, Worthy. So many amazing moments in that building!

Anyway, The Forum shares land with SoFi Stadium which is where Canva Create was held this year. As soon as you passed it, this beautiful structure comes into sight and it’s something to behold (TV truly doesn’t do it justice). As we drove past the newly renamed Kia Forum through the Hyundai parking lot to the Youtube Theater to gain access to SoFI stadium I couldn’t help but laugh at all the naming rights. But I get it, if I had budget I’d want my brand associated with that stadium too.

SoFi Stadium looks sooo good

Before I get into the details around the event I wanna share all of my cynical initial thoughts before getting to the event.

1. Big events suck

2. Renting a 70k person stadium for 4k people is such a flex

3. User conferences are boring

Spoiler alert: I was wrong on all 3 counts…

Hater Dmitry (was) in the building

Big events suck

I’ve worked on a lot of events in my career, some extremely big ones—like 30k+ attendees in-person big— and while the first time it’s fun if you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all.

That’s why I’ve loved how post-COVID we’ve seen smaller events like Drive and Spryng pop up, alongside more intimate ABM dinners. They all identified the issues with big events (too many people, too much to do, hard to network, too much ground to cover, constantly being sold to) and took care of that with exclusive venues, curated guest lists, and dedicated time to everything but boring marketing nonsense. These are hard things to pull off at a big event.

Renting a 70k person stadium for 4k people is such a flex

Let’s get this out of the way, it absolutely was BUUUUT it actually made a lot of sense for Canva.

1. the stadium itself wasn’t open which I didn’t realize beforehand. The keynotes were held in a 4k person auditorium so the event was large but still intimate

2. doing it at a stadium allowed for a beautiful outdoor event that didn’t make you feel claustrophobic which included a ton of nice space to sit and network

3. without a ton of conference rooms and major room buildouts, I imagine the price actually came close to what a smaller venue with a ton of setup would’ve cost

The point is they could definitely flex an NFL stadium without the price tag

User conferences are boring

They’re all about the product. Every session is about the product. Every speaker builds, sells, or sponsors the product. Product. Product. Product. I don’t know about you but as much as I might love a product that’s not all I want. Which is then a good reminder that the event should be for me—the attendee—not the brand. Too many events forget that. Create did a great job of checking the product box then moving on. It was fun too.

There was a pianist, a singer, a rapper, the LA Gospel Choir, a marching band, a lady known as the typography fairy, 45 simultaneous product announcements, and that was just the last 5 minutes. Jon Batiste opened the show, the products they launched were actually really cool, and it was all kept to an hour. The rest of the event while obviously focused on Canva wasn’t obnoxious about it and that was greatly appreciated.

So let’s go on with it

What I loved about the event was that they did just get on with it. Instead of trying to make a whole thing about the product keynote and “saving the best for last” and all that, they opened with it. You went through registration, got your badge, and sat down in the theater.

Walking into the keynote

No missing other sessions because of overlapping sessions or running away from good conversations to get a seat, it was just done and it set the tone for the day which was wonderful because once you got outside there was a lot happening.

Canva Suite Shop

This was probably my favorite activation at the event. It was a color themed, old school candy shop where each color represented a Canva feature through persona (snap and share for photo editing, sweet sheets for spreadsheets, brainstorm bar for whiteboarding, etc.). You took a quick online quiz, got your result (I’m #chocolate) and then you got a candy bar.

Canva Suite Shop

No pitches, no product names even, just a fun way to feel seen and then you got a chocolate bar.

The Print Shop

I didn’t get a picture of this one but it was an activation that featured Star Wars designs that you could print on mugs, shirts, and totes. The line wasn’t super long but I didn’t feel like waiting. What I liked about this was while it was all based on Canva designs it was about the excitement the audience had for Star Wars. The best brands know that sometimes you just need to facilitate and get out of the way.

Linkedin Content Studio

There was a whole sponsor section but some had their own activations (nothing novel so far). I liked Linkedin’s because it had a clear goal of getting more of their members to use video. They provided multiple recording setups and single card prompts to get people started. The cards are helpful for days when you don’t know what to post about with prompts like “share a career story” or challenges like “do a walk and talk” so I had to get a deck of my own.

The Linkedin Pick. Play. Create. Deck

The goal here is clear in terms of looking for more users to use the platform but it was done in a helpful way that showed how easy it could be.

Sub-brands got to shine

In the last year or so, Canva acquired two companies: Affinity and Leonardo.ai. Both had booths which is unsurprising but what was surprising is you’d have no idea they were affiliated. I don’t know what those acquisition agreements look like—I do know what it means to integrate an acquired brand—but both Affinity and Leonardo got to do their own thing with their own brands, personality, and talk tracks. They weren’t forced on your like most acquisition.

The Affinity brand still alive and well

It’s in the details

A lot of what was cool about the event was less the spectacle and more the small details. For instance, there was a ball pit. I think we did that at INBOUND in like 2018 but while most events will set up a pit, dump balls in and move on. Canva called it their “Data Deep Dive,” made it look like a pool, and stationed a lifeguard there. It’s the kind of silly touch that put a smile on everyone’s face. Thankfully he didn’t need to save anyone!

Maybe the lifeguard did have to go save someone after all

Another thing that stood out was in the main keynote. Not sure if you use Canva for decks but there are a bunch of easter eggs like if you press “C” when presenting it’ll do a confetti effect or “D” will do a drumroll. These easter eggs were all over the keynote to the point where I actually think they used their own product to build the keynote deck. I wonder if Google and Microsoft do the same.

The last one is just a product of the environment because I’m guessing Canva didn’t grow palm trees for this event but going to conference is an undertaking. It’s expensive, you’re leaving your family behind, you’re doing less work. Where I’m going here is that after all of that, the last thing you wanna do after sitting on an airplane is go sit in a windowless and soulless convention center so being able to attend an event and sit under palm trees felt like a perfect way to embrace the environment and make it a part of the event.

Final ramblings as I get off the plane

I think what made this event so great is that while there was a ton of fun, new stuff on the ground, the Canva team didn’t force wild new ideas across the board. They took tried and true event activations (sponsor booths, ball pits, merch, etc.) and instead of just checking the box, they took the time on making them better and on brand for them.

The best brands aren’t always the sexiest ones, but they are the most consistent. They’re thoughtful, they show up, and they deliver every time. So as I think about my event strategy for the next year or so, I can’t say I’m planning on going to other big conferences but I can say for sure that I’ll be at Canva Create next year because this is only the 2nd time they’ve done one like this and I want to see how they learn from this to make it even better.

We officially launched OhSnap! on Monday and one of the things I’m most excited about is that we’re official Canva agency partners (that said nothing you just read is sponsored, paid for, endorsed, or anything else, just my own 100% honest personal opinions).

My Canva Create badge

With OhSnap! we’re being incredibly intentional about brand systems and the software we use to build them. We believe that Canva is going to become one of the most important pieces of software for every B2B that creates content (aka every B2B).

If…

1. your team isn’t using Canva yet,

2. you don’t get what all the fuss is about,

3. you think Canva will destroy your brand

Please hit me up because it’s an absolute gamechanger. We’ve seen it at HubSpot where we built Canva into a well oiled machine for over 2,000 teammates and we’ve seen it with small marketing teams punching way above their weight because they can move quickly.