BREAKTHRU
EXPERIENCES
Sponsor Guidelines — everything you need to host a standout Breakthru Experience at RetailClub AI Festival.
Breakthru Support
The Program
Host Unforgettable Experiences
The Breakthru Experiences Program allows your company to host Experiences including Dinners, Receptions, Activities and Activations for RetailClub AI Festival attendees.
Breakthru Experiences increases your company's ROI and reduces the costs and admin needed by enabling you to:
Reach all RetailClub AI Festival attendees, or a specific segment
Efficiently manage invites, requests, prioritization, calendar invites, attendance tracking and feedbackOnce attendee interest and sponsor prioritizations are collected, we run a scheduling algorithm to optimize attendance across all Breakthru Experiences — balancing sponsor preferences with attendee choices to achieve the best possible fit for everyone.
Program Timeline
What You Need to Do & When
As an Activity Admin for your company, here is what you need to do, and when.
donotreply.retailclub26@eventpt.com.Questions? Contact breakthru@retailclub.com.
* If applicable for your Experience.
Your Tasks
Step-by-Step Guide
- You'll be asked to provide your Experience title, description, preferred time slot(s), category, and any key logistical details.
- If you have purchased multiple time slots for the same Experience, you can add them all in one form — attendees will see a single listing with the option to select their preferred time and won't get scheduled more than once for your Experience.
- If you have purchased more than one Experience, please complete a separate form for each.
- RetailClub may edit your Experience title and description to maximize impact and attendee experience.
- For advice on what kind of Experience best suits your company, please speak to your account manager directly, or email breakthru@retailclub.com.
Starting Tuesday, September 8 — complete by Friday, September 11. Review attendees who have selected your Breakthru Experience to achieve the best possible scale and attendee mix. Your prioritizations feed directly into our scheduling algorithm, which runs after the deadline to optimize attendance across all Breakthru Experiences.
The prioritization options available depend on your Experience configuration and whether the attendee has selected other Experiences at the same time slot:
* Accept is only available for attendees who are "Exclusive" to your Experience — i.e. they haven't selected any other Experience at the same time slot.
- Note that your Experience's configured attendance limit may be higher than the venue limit to include a buffer in case of cancellations.
- If an attendee has not selected any other Experiences at the same time slot, they'll be flagged as "Exclusive" — you can Accept them directly and they will be scheduled (subject to any capacity restrictions).
- Scheduled attendees for your Experience will receive a calendar invite on Friday, September 18, and can also view all details in the RetailClub AI Festival platform (desktop and mobile app).
- You will be able to view attendees scheduled for your Experience in the platform starting Monday, September 14.
At the Festival
Host Your Breakthru Experience
September 22–24 · Desktop & RetailClub AI Festival Mobile App
- If your Experience has fewer scheduled attendees than capacity, you can Add Participants via the platform (desktop only). Click Manage → Add Participant to invite any RetailClub AI Festival attendee who is available at the time of your Experience.
- To remove an attendee (e.g. they can no longer attend), you can do so until the start of your Experience. Removed attendees will receive a calendar invite cancellation.
- Adding Colleagues: To invite individuals from your company who haven't been scheduled through your listing, use the Invite Colleague functionality in the platform.
- Walk-Ins: Starting 30 minutes before your Experience, you can add unscheduled individuals who arrive by scanning their badge. Walk-Ins do not count towards your attendance limit — take care with any venue capacity limits.
- Access & Dietary Requirements: If any scheduled attendees have noted dietary or access needs, you can view this via the platform (desktop and mobile app) and plan accordingly.
Activity Admins can track attendance at your Breakthru Experience using the Mobile App (recommended) or desktop. To mark someone as "Checked In":
You are responsible for managing your dinner onsite — including greeting attendees, managing logistics, and controlling entry.
- Greet everyone and ensure they're on the guest list (or add as Walk-Ins). Designate a "Greeter" and a separate check-in person — both should wear company-branded apparel so attendees can easily identify them.
- RetailClub AI Festival will provide entrance signage. Make sure restaurant hosts know where to guide attendees in the venue.
- Allow 15–30 minutes of welcome drinks before sitting down to facilitate attendee networking and manage any late arrivals.
- You can do a short welcome to kick off the dinner.
- Do not be 'salesy' during dinner. Use this opportunity to make personal connections and have a high-level dialogue with dinner guests.
- The RetailClub team will have shared any attendee dietary or access requirements with the restaurant beforehand.
Fine Print
Our participant list is confidential, and shouldn't be (1) shared with anyone else, (2) downloaded or (3) used other than as described by us. Based on information you receive as part of Breakthru Experiences, you can't solicit participants (including individuals who either selected your co-located event or activity, you handpicked for your co-located event or activity or were scheduled for your co-located event or activity) outside of the event other than as we permit. If you breach this provision, you may be eliminated from further participation and barred from future programs. Do not assume that any of the aforementioned actions indicate any interest in meeting with you outside of Breakthru Experiences.
Updated May 4, 2026 & subject to change.