Four Years of Fighting for More
Some partnerships grow deeper with time. Our relationship with the American Cancer Society is one of them.
On Friday, May 1, 2025, the Milestone team returned to The Palace at Somerset in Somerset, New Jersey for the 40th Annual Night of Wine and Roses Gala, marking our fourth consecutive year providing activations for this prestigious fundraising event. The evening brought together approximately 500 guests for a night of dinner, program, and celebration in support of one of the most important missions in medicine.
We provided two activations: our AI Sketch Robots, which ran throughout the full event, and our Roamer Pro roaming activation, which operated exclusively during cocktail hour. Together, they brought a layer of energy and engagement to the evening that guests were not expecting.
The Event
The 40th Annual Night of Wine and Roses is one of the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising galas in New Jersey. It is a formal, elegant affair, and the setting at The Palace at Somerset matched that standard. Cocktail hour began at 5:30 PM, with the main event running from 6:30 to 10:30 PM.
This year’s event carried the theme “A Legacy Written in the Stars, A Future Fueled by Innovation,” a fitting tribute for a 40th anniversary milestone. The design language reflected that vision: a deep starry night sky rendered in blue and purple, layered with a strand of DNA, and anchored by a special 40th Annual Night of Wine and Roses logo alongside the ACS logo in white. The result was a visual identity that felt both commemorative and forward-looking, honoring four decades of progress while pointing toward what comes next.
The Roamer Pro was deployed during cocktail hour, moving through the crowd and capturing guests as they mingled, laughed, and settled into the evening. When the doors opened and the program began, the AI Sketch Robots took center stage as the primary activation for the remainder of the night.
What made this event unique was the rhythm of it. Corporate galas with long programs create natural pockets of downtime, and our team knows how to work within that structure. Guests filtered in and out of the activation area between program segments, and in the final hour of the event, when the program wrapped and the room opened up, things took off.
Nearly 100 of the 112 total sketches created that night happened in that last hour alone.
The AI Sketch Robots
Guests at formal galas are not always easy to engage. They are dressed up, mid-conversation, focused on the program. Getting someone to step away from their table and try something new requires the activation to earn it.
The AI Sketch Robots earn it every time.
Watching a robot arm move across a page and produce a detailed portrait in real time is the kind of thing that stops people mid-step. It is genuinely surprising, even for guests who have seen a lot. And once one person steps up, others follow.
That dynamic played out clearly at the Night of Wine and Roses. For much of the evening, the program held the room’s attention. But when it ended, guests came to the robots. In the final hour, the team created nearly 100 sketches. Each guest also received their sketch as an animated digital file sent directly to their phone via text message, giving them a keepsake they could share instantly.
Every sketch was printed and branded, giving each guest something to take home that tied back to the event and the cause.
AI Sketch Styles Available at the Event
Guests could choose from a range of AI-generated themes designed specifically around the evening’s starry night aesthetic, including:
The Roamer Pro
Cocktail hour at a gala is a different kind of energy. Guests are loose, social, and in the mood to have a good time before the formality of the program sets in. That is exactly when the Roamer Pro does its best work.
Our Roamer Pro is a handheld roaming activation built around a professional DSLR camera. It moves through a crowd, meets guests where they are, and captures the kind of candid, high-quality images that a stationary booth cannot. Guests receive their branded photos via text message seconds after the shot is taken.
During the one-hour cocktail hour, the Roamer Pro captured 54 photos that went on to generate 24,700 impressions, 7,300 in reach, and 103 shares, numbers that extended the event’s presence far beyond the walls of The Palace at Somerset.
Roamer Pro Results from the Wine and Roses Gala
54
Photos Taken
103
Total Shares
301
Total Views
83
SMS Sent
Wine and Roses Gala 2026: Full Event Performance Metrics
When the night was over, the numbers told the story.
112
Printed AI Sketches
54
Roaming Photos Captured
103
Total Shares
301
Total Views
83
Text Messages Sent
7,300
Total Reach
24,700
Total Impressions
3
Post-Event Inquiries
For Milestone, this was our fourth consecutive year partnering with the American Cancer Society for the Night of Wine and Roses Gala. Each year we return, we bring something new. Each year, the results speak for themselves.
H1 What Our Team Had to Say
"Seeing guests receive their animated sketch on their phone and immediately show the person next to them, that moment never gets old. You can see the exact second it clicks for them. That is what this is all about."
A Note on Activation Placement
One of the most important lessons in experiential marketing is one that is easy to overlook until you have lived it: placement matters.
At this year’s gala, our activation area was not in the highest-traffic zone of the venue. With 500 guests and a full evening program, a meaningful number of attendees never made their way over. It is not a reflection of interest. In our experience, when guests discover the robots, they engage. The challenge is simply getting them there.
For anyone planning a corporate gala or large-format event, we always recommend working with your venue and activation partner early to identify the right placement. A well-positioned activation in a natural flow zone, near the bar, along a main walkway, or adjacent to the dining entrance, can double or triple engagement without changing anything about the activation itself.
Even with a placement that limited visibility, the team created 112 sketches and generated nearly 25,000 impressions. The potential when placement is optimized is significantly higher.
Results That Reach Beyond the Event
Experiential marketing earns its value in the room. But the numbers that come after tell the fuller story.
In a single evening, the Roamer Pro alone generated 24,700 impressions and reached 7,300 people across 103 shares. Add 112 branded AI sketches distributed directly into guests’ hands and phones, and the event’s footprint extended well beyond the gala itself.
For the American Cancer Society, that kind of reach means the night does not end when guests go home. It travels with them.
Bring This Experience to Your Next Event
Ready to bring this kind of activation to your next corporate gala or fundraising event?
Milestone provides AI Sketch Robots, roaming DSLR activations, and fully branded experiential marketing for corporate events, galas, and nonprofit fundraisers nationwide. We handle everything from creative direction to on-site execution.
Visit www.MilestonePhotoBooths.com to learn more or request a quote.
Let's Create Something Unforgettable Together
Contact us today to learn more about our experiential marketing activations.
