Trade Show Planning Case Study Series
Trade shows can be an excellent opportunity to generate awareness for your game. They provide a format to promote to potential fans, network with the press, build partnerships and more all under one roof. Trouble is, trade shows can just as easily become an expensive waste of time. Whether you’re exhibiting or attending, good trade show planning is a key to a successful event. And as we approach trade show season, what better way to learn good trade show planning tactics than with real-world examples!
In the coming weeks, I will be publishing a trade show series. Each post within the series will profile an indie developer and his or her recent trade show experience, providing concrete examples of what worked, what didn’t and important lessons learned. Each post is also intended to provide a different perspective: from the least expensive “walking the floor and promoting on foot” to the more expensive “securing and promoting from a booth.” Below are summaries of each upcoming case study so you know what to expect 🙂
Trade Show Planning Case Studies
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On Foot at E3
The first case study in the series profiles Diametric Games, an indie studio out of Canada. For Rob Stamper, the president and CEO of the studio, promoting GAS, the studio’s upcoming title, on foot at E3 was quite the adventure. Thankfully, as his second time at E3, he was able to put in place some proper trade show planning and garner excellent results. -
Table at PAX East
The second case study comes from Henchman & Goon, a studio in Bergen, Norway. This small studio successfully secured a table at PAX East and exhibited from across the Atlantic Ocean. Learning how to manage trade show planning, including hiring two people to staff its booth, from across the world, was an experience to say the least. -
20′ x 30′ Booth at GDC
While I may not may not have been an indie developer, I have exhibited in some large booths at GDC while I worked for Dassault Systemes marketing its game engine. For booths this size, loads of trade show planning is required, much of which is applicable no matter what scale you’re promoting at. I will share everything I learned in an upcoming post.
4 Comments
Isaac Nichols
about 10 years agoI'm looking forward to hearing about this article. I am eager to hear about Table at PAX East from Henchman & Goon considering traveling may not be an option.
ReplyDavid Erosa
about 10 years agoGreat! I'm heading to a "gamers" expo in late July for showing my game (http://www.soccertrongame.com). I'm going to be given a table with two chairs so I think the second article will be really handy :)
ReplyEmmy
about 10 years agoCongrats! Hopefully you'll find some good nuggets of info in the second case study. Good luck with your game at the show!
ReplyCecilia
about 10 years agoFrom experience, every trade show brings their own challenges. Looking forward to reading your posts. Cecilia
Reply