Clash of the Titans: the E3 Trade Show Wrapup
E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is among the largest and most expensive exposition shows in the world, showcasing hundreds of expo displays and attracting media attention from around the world. However, you wouldn’t know it this year because it seemed like most of the exhibitors at the show became part of a sideshow to the Triple Threat Match going on center stage, between Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.
In a way, the disposability of the surrounding booths says a lot about what trade show booth design and trade show display ideas mean (or don’t mean) in this market. For this particular niche, the convention displays are strictly in the background for the companies and their marketing. In virtually all the footage and pictures I saw, there was very little going on, design-wise.
The buildings were large and cavernous, with the different exhibit displays mostly using single-color lighting to try to differentiate themselves from their neighbors, creating a floor bathed in blues, greens, and reds. The top 3 exhibitors used their trade show booths almost entirely just as a space to house as much AV equipment as possible, to allow as much hands-on time with their products and games as possible.
For a casual journalist, it must have been hard telling one booth from another when the place has the atmosphere of a neverending 80s video arcade.
At least there weren’t any kids.
However, in the big three players, suddenly there is differentiation. In fact, you’d hardly think they were in the same industry at all. Rather than a head-on confrontation, there seemed to be a mad scramble away from each other as they continued to target totally different groups.
So, having managed to find enough coverage of the exhibit displays themselves to get an idea of their looks and layouts, let’s talk about how the major players were positioning themselves via their exhibit design efforts.
What We Can Learn From The Giants’ e3 Positioning
Round I – Sony
First, full props to ScrewAttack for being literally the only video game outlet I could find withactual e3 floor video coverage that wasn’t either shots of TV screens, canned footage, or booth babes. (Or lack thereof.) Their videos helped tie together the scattered pictures.
Sony’s trade show booth was two-tone, bathed in blue and purple, heavy on the blue, throughout their massive area. The centerpiece were huge installations of the four Sony shapes (X, O, etc) with internal screens on all interior surfaces (including the full interior of the O’s tunnel) running game footage and light displays.
The booth design was nearly regimental, with columns after columns with Sony brands sandwiching endless rows of gaming stations. Important sub-brands like Blizzard got their own little niches themed, once again, with a strong colored light. Various suited characters wandered about, interacting with guests.
The expo booth’s message here is: We are the future. We are making awesome games. This is a no-brainer for e3, right? No, not really. Sony’s in their own corner here.
Round II – Nintendo
Nintendo managed to stand out simply by being themselves. In a show filled with moody shadows and lighting straight out of the X-Files, having a trade show booth design which was simply white, well-lit, and colorful was enough to make Nintendo seem different.
Their approach – besides showcasing, almost exclusively, their own first-party titles – was to put in more or less life-sized statues of all their characters throughout, promoting their own games. Grown men were taking videos of themselves popping in and out of green pipes or with the Donkey Kong family.
And when you consider that the Nintendo Generation is now suburban Generation X, the message of their tradeshow booth setup is obvious: They aim to be the Disney of gaming. And it appears to be working. Nintendo wants parents playing their child’s first Mario game with him, just like they did in the 80s. The booth was an homage to good memories.
In a convention (and an industry) filled with virtually nothing but sound and fury, it seems almost odd to see a company which has managed to maintain an emotional connection with their customers.
Round III – Microsoft
Which brings us to Microsoft. Their press going into the show was not positive, on the heels of a weak unveiling of their new console. (What’s with that always-online requirement?!) While their e3 appearance has its defenders, the general consensus is they underwhelmed in virtually all respects.
To begin with, their trade show booth is green. Oppressively green, everywhere. And…it was a very large, tastefully furnished living room.
Yes, they had rows of booths and a very smart two-tier exhibit design that maximized traffic flow, but the thing no one could miss was the living room. And it was loud confirmation of what many had suspected: Microsoft is also targeting the family, but the modern family.
Virtually all of their coverage was of features and products primarily of interest to soccer moms and single dads. The naming of the XBox One becomes a lot more clear: The One. This is the realization of their vision of the XBox as the the one and only box a family needs in its living room.
What this produced, unfortunately, was a watered-down trade show booth. It was the tame, sensible booth in a wide jungle of EX-TREEEEM.
And, well, it did make them stand out. Managing to be so high-profile and yet so milquetoast is almost an achievement in itself, but it’s almost certainly intentional. They wanted to seem grounded and stable. Lacking Nintendo’s level of fond nostalgia among their customers, they instead want to become quietly ubiquitous.
Unfortunately, their method for doing this could be politely described as “throwing their traditional audience under the bus,” but the wisdom of that move is a subject for other blogs.
Lessons To Be Learned For Trade Show Booth Design
Perhaps the most potent lesson is that even at the A-class levels, most of the players were afraid to significantly stick their necks out. It was nothing but towering 20-foot posters and unmissable logos everywhere. The display stands were the shelves to package the games, and the emphasis was only on the hands-on element.
Could they have done more to try to differentiate themselves? Almost certainly. Few even took the time for social media integration beyond the usual self-promotion. Most took the safe route and simply showcased their wares. The only difference was that they used banner stands you could drive a bus under.
The top three, however, really illustrate how trade show booth design can be used to really make your corporate personality known, to sub-target within a market. After all, a middle-income thirtysomething today has quite probably owned products from all three companies, yet here those three companies are, presenting three radically different visions of who their market is.
Look for those same subdivisions in your own trade show booth design plans. Learn more about your customers. Don’t be afraid to openly target one group more than another.
Use every element of your exhibit design – from the trade show display itself, down to the banners, kiosks and even furniture – to paint a clear picture of who your company is, and how your offering will help or please your clients. You need to clearly show that your offering either moves clients towards a specific goal, helps them avoid risk, or solves a specific problem. If your trade show booth doesn’t help to convey one of those messages – clearly – your exhibit design needs to be revised!