Trade Show Games

Newland spend a lot of time on trade-show floors, and they had a new product they wanted people to actually try: a barcode scanner you wear like a glove. A scanner in a glass cabinet does not do that job.

Trade stands are noisy, busy and full of competitors. If the demo is passive, people walk past. If it is awkward, they will not wait. Newland needed something that made a crowd, explained the product through use, and still felt like fun.

They also needed leads. A memorable stall that collects no names is a very expensive piece of theatre. The experience had to capture who visited so the sales team could follow up after the show.

The hardware is the point. Whatever we built had to put the glove scanner in people’s hands, not on a TV behind the desk. The game was a vehicle for the product, not a distraction from it.

We built a multiplayer game for up to eight people, modelled on a fairground rolling-ball stall. Players shoot barcodes and their horse moves along the screen. It is immediately understandable, competitive, and it only works if you use the scanner.

Engagement on the stall went up because people could sit down with friends and play. While they played, Newland could collect details from visitors and leave the show with a list of people to call, not a pile of unread brochures.

We also built a sweet-shop game: scan sweets and boxes as fast as you can, win a prize. It gave a second reason to pick up the hardware and suited a different kind of visitor who might not join an eight-player race.

The games did the commercial job a static demo cannot. They showed the glove scanner in action, held attention on a busy floor, and turned curiosity into contacts.