JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek · 2024
How Creator Fest Became the Third Largest Creator Event in the Country in Its First Year
Summary
Creator Fest set out to be the first true business event for the creator economy, up against an event owned by the largest creator in the world, with no sponsors willing to back year one. With partner Xtend Creators running talent and sales, Iconic ran the venue, production and speakers at the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek and won over backers like Snapchat and former VidCon CEO Jim Louderback. 1,031 people came, making it the third largest creator event in the country in its first year, and it returned in 2025 as CreatorHub Live.
The Problem
Creators had events built for fans, and the only creator event aimed at business owners belonged to the largest creator in the world: MrBeast's VidSummit. Creator Fest set out to be the first true business event for the creator economy, built on five pillars: product, distribution, management, monetization and growth.
Nobody wanted to back it at first. Sponsors wanted to see what the first three years looked like before they committed, and a brand new event had to earn its credibility with creators and the industry from scratch.
How It Was Built
How the event came together, from the first plan to the last guest out.
- 1Partnered from the start with Patrick Israel of Xtend Creators: Iconic ran the venue, production and speakers, and Xtend ran talent, sponsors and ticket sales.
- 2Built the program on five pillars of the creator business: product, distribution, management, monetization and growth.
- 3Got tactical with speakers and relational capital, until major players like Snapchat and former VidCon CEO Jim Louderback were behind the event.
- 4Closed general admission the Saturday before and sold only VIP from then on, to push upgrades.
- 5Turned a sponsor bought block of 100 tickets into giveaways, five per speaker, so every speaker brought part of their own audience.
- 6Reworked the founder's opening into a hero's journey talk with an intro video, to build trust from the first minute.
- 7Gave every attendee a lanyard by category: Creator, Industry, Production or Brand, so the right people found each other.
Challenges Overcome
What stood in the way, and how it was handled.
With no sponsors willing to bet on year one, the event had to win its backers one relationship at a time. It started slow and ramped up quickly, until Snapchat and the former CEO of VidCon were behind it. In the final weeks the speaker lineup kept shifting and sponsor management changed hands, and the program was reshaped around the speakers who were confirmed. The event ran its full four days.
Scope of Services
Everything the production covered.
How It Went
1,031 people came, making Creator Fest the third largest creator event in the country in its first year, and the first true business event for the creator economy. Breakout rooms ran anywhere from 45 minutes to three and a half hours, more than 70 podcasts were recorded on site, and about 7 TB of content was captured. Snapchat's representative and former VidCon CEO Jim Louderback both praised the event.
The lessons shaped what came next. The event was renamed CreatorHub, stayed at the JW Marriott, added virtual tickets and returned in 2025 as CreatorHub Live.
- Venue
- JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek
- Year
- 2024
- Attendees in year one
- 1,031
- Attendees in year one
- Largest creator event in the country
- #3
- Largest creator event in the country
- Podcasts recorded on site
- 70+
- Podcasts recorded on site
Right For
A first time event that needs industry credibility fast, with a partner who brings the talent and the sales.
Steal This
Open with the founder's story. A hero's journey film before the first talk builds trust before anyone takes the stage.
Sort the room with lanyards. Creator, Industry, Production and Brand lanyards told everyone who to talk to.
Let sponsors fund the seats. A sponsor bought block of tickets, given away by speakers, filled the room with each speaker's audience.
Questions, answered
Who produced Creator Fest 2024?+
Iconic Events, a Florida based event production and coordination company, produced Creator Fest, its own event with partner Xtend Creators, at the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida in August 2024 for 1,031 attendees, delivering the venue, production and speaker program for the first business event for the creator economy.
What did Iconic Events actually deliver for Creator Fest 2024?+
Venue: The JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa. Production: Production across four event days. Speakers: The speaker program, from Snapchat to former VidCon CEO Jim Louderback. Program: Five pillars: product, distribution, management, monetization and growth. Partner: Xtend Creators ran talent, sponsors and ticket sales.
How long did production take?+
4 days of on site production at JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando. Iconic Events advises a six to twelve month window as the strongest planning runway for an event of this type.
How many people attended Creator Fest 2024?+
1,031 attendees. The room was sized against the commercial objective rather than a headcount target.
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