"You must be bold, brave, and courageous – and find a way ... to get in the way." Especially poignant at this particular point in U.S. history, this edict from civil-rights leader John Lewis ultimately urges us to stare fear straight in the eye and forge ahead to effect change. While his imperative directive was meant to urge civil-liberty reforms, it also rings true in corporate event marketing, perhaps now more than ever.

In order to "get in the way," i.e., to generate awareness with customers and prospects amid everything else going on, marketers must be daring enough to bypass barriers, break new trails, and rewrite their own playbooks. The winners of EXHIBITOR Magazine's 17th Annual Corporate Event Awards are a plucky set of "event activists" that not only paved new roads and gave their fear some serious side eye but also scored the admiration of our judges, who lauded them as everything from "extremely impressive" and "seriously ambitious" to "stunning," "unique," and "beautifully tailored to their audiences."

Take Chevron Lubricants (a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc.). By completely overhauling its mobile marketing tour and employing high-tech tools and interactive strategies, Chevron set a new course and scored roughly $510,000 in sales along with impressions valued at $130,000. Or consider Sleep Number Corp. Stepping onto an entirely new playing field, the company hosted an interactive Super Bowl event featuring everything from a multiuser virtual-reality experience to a smart-bed encounter housed within a 12-foot-tall fabric helmet. But rather than touchdowns, Sleep Number scored massive press in media mainstays such as USA Today and Sports Illustrated, racking up more than 157 million impressions.

According to the 2020 jury of seven event-marketing experts from a variety of fields, this year's winners also paved the way for other courageous marketers via their ideas, best practices, and inspiration. After a two-round judging process involving scored evaluations and group discussion, the jury selected five winners profiled in the following pages. While these award-winning programs concluded before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19, murder hornets, or Joe Exotic, they remain prime examples of events that were bold, brave, and got in the way.

THE WINNERS Slumber Bowl Champs Sleep Number Corp. Gulfstream's Big Reveal Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. Chevron Keeps on Truckin' Chevron Lubricants Ripple Effect Ripple Labs Inc. Amway's Personal Approach Amway Corp. 2020 JUDGES Stephanie Arone, president and general manager, Activity Planners Inc., Las Vegas Marcia Deem, CTSM, events marketing manager, Relias Inc., Morrisville, NC Michelle Hernandez, global event strategist, Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose, CA Marla Laughlin, CEM, CMP, director of event design, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Las Vegas Annette McClure, CTSM, CSEP, account manager, trade shows and events, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH Jessica Simon, CTSM, assistant manager, marketing support and events, S&C Electric Co., Chicago Rob Stout, vice president of production, Encore Event Technologies, Las Vegas