NACA Live rotates cities each year, bringing together student programmers and campus decision-makers who are mapping out the biggest moments on their calendars — welcome week, homecoming, spring fest, tailgates, and large-scale student programming that needs to hold attention at volume.
In Columbus, we exhibited with a 20×20 footprint and sponsored the Welcome Lounge, giving us the space to show how interactive experiences operate in real time. Not as one-off novelties, but as structured crowd anchors designed for throughput, competition, and repeat engagement.
Pickle Play led the booth and introduced something new to the floor. Built off the same interactive backbone as our Multiball technology, this version delivers continuous pickleball gameplay. Balls fire from the base of the unit in steady rotation, and players return them at a digital screen that tracks scoring instantly. There’s no downtime between rounds, which makes it ideal for high-traffic campus environments.
We programmed two custom game modes into the experience:
1. Moving Target Challenge
Players aim at digital targets that shift positions after each successful hit. Every time a target is struck, it relocates to a new spot on the screen, forcing players to adjust quickly. Consecutive hits trigger score multipliers, rewarding accuracy and consistency rather than random swings. The structure keeps participants focused and encourages repeat attempts to improve streaks.
2. Head-to-Head Dartboard Mode
This format introduces direct competition. Two players alternate shots, aiming for different zones on a digital dartboard layout, each worth a designated point value. Strategy comes into play as participants decide whether to aim for higher-risk, higher-reward sections or lock in steady points. The alternating rhythm builds anticipation, and the live leaderboard keeps standings visible, pulling competitors back for rematches.
The creative direction tied everything together. “Dink Responsibly” anchored the branding across the exterior wrap and within the gameplay graphics, layered in our signature purple. The experience felt current and intentional — not just a trending sport reference, but a scalable campus-ready activation.
Our Prize Crane remains a NACA staple because it consistently generates visible engagement. In Columbus, it carried the pickle theme forward with a full “Every Win Is a Big Dill” wrap that made the connection immediate.
Inside were hundreds of themed items — stress pickles, pickle socks, glow-in-the-dark pens, stickers, pins, bookmarks, and curated pickle packs designed for student appeal. The crane naturally created lines, and the lines created energy. Spectators gathered to watch attempts, celebrate wins, and react to near misses.
For campuses planning large programming weeks, this kind of structured prize mechanic does more than distribute swag. It builds anticipation, supports crowd flow, and keeps participation active rather than passive.
Reaction Attraction added a different dynamic to the booth. The concept is straightforward: catch all 10 falling batons before they hit the ground. The execution is far less forgiving.
Participants quickly realize that timing and coordination matter more than confidence. The unit resets fast, allowing for steady turnover, while the visible countdown and scoring make it highly watchable. Wrapped in purple with “Work Hard, Play Harder,” the experience aligned naturally with student culture — competitive, fast-paced, and slightly humbling.
For tailgates, homecoming festivals, and large-scale student events, that combination of quick cycles and visible competition keeps energy levels high without slowing down traffic.
Alongside the physical activations, we ran our annual Soundtrack Sweepstakes, inviting attendees to engage with us on Instagram for a chance to win a JBL Bluetooth speaker. It added a digital extension to the booth and reinforced how campus programming today lives both on-site and online.
NACA Live may change locations, but the objective for campuses remains the same: create programming that feels current, handles volume, and sustains engagement. In Columbus, our footprint showed how interactive experiences can do exactly that — not as add-ons, but as the centerpiece of a campus event strategy.
NACA Live is a national conference where student programmers and campus activities professionals gather to discover ideas, vendors, and experiences that shape programming across higher education. Rotating host cities each year, the event serves as a marketplace for inspiration — from large-scale attractions and performers to interactive activations designed to anchor welcome week, homecoming, spring festivals, and other signature campus moments. For schools, it’s an opportunity to explore what’s new, what’s trending, and what can elevate student engagement across the academic year.
