February 23, 2022
This year’s Gamescom takes place from Wednesday 24 August, 2022 to Sunday 28 August, 2022.
The organisers hope that this year’s event will be hosted live again in Cologne, after the 2021 event was hosted virtually due to constraints caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
There’s real optimism that that can happen thanks to large global vaccine uptake and the emergence of the milder Omicron variant.
For many, it will be a chance to kickstart their brand and advertise their new IPs to brand new audiences after a really tough couple of years.
As we’ve recently written, if you are exhibiting this year, then it makes a lot of sense to wow potential new audiences with an interactive experiential approach.
However, there’s another way to capture the imagination of footfall when Gamescom comes around this year, and you might not even have to be at the convention centre to make it happen.
Pre-pandemic, we helped provide the branding for the Legion Café – a World of Warcraft-themed café close to the convention centre in Cologne where fans could go to eat, drink and have fun with like-minded WOW fans.
The café was also home to a number of interactive booths and events, such as competitions and the chance for attendees to play with Blizzard staff who had set up shop at Legion.
It wasn’t just a smash-hit with WOW fans. It attracted new audiences and demographics who wanted to get in on the action, and generated many column inches at a time when press cut-through is key at the height of an event like Gamescom.
The benefits of satellite events for gaming studios
The entirety of Cologne becomes a hive of gaming activity during Gamescom, and the signs are positive that it’ll be back to normal this year.
Now is the time for gaming studios to plan ahead and think about how they’re going to attract new audiences to their booths and nurture them to become brand ambassadors.
Our suggestion is this: Gamescom can often be a brand battleground with exhibiting space at the convention centre often charged at a premium.
Why not take a leaf from the Legion Café and create a satellite event close to the convention centre for the duration instead?
There are a number of benefits for studios who choose this option. For approximately the same amount of budget they’d spend for a small space on the convention floor, they can instead operate from a much larger unit with their own pop-up shop.
Sadly, due to the pandemic, there are a lot of empty retail units in Cologne. Hiring one out as a pop-up would be a great way to help the local area economically and make creative use of space to breathe new life to an empty unit.
More space means greater vision to create a truly themed space around your new and existing IPs. Want to show off your dark, moody new adventure title? Why not do so from an experiential themed bar that’s designed like a scary area from your game?
Creative signage and banners close to the convention centre, alongside clever digital ads and OOH signposting, will help to drive crowds to your new space – crowds who will want to experience a fresh new flavour after being cooped up in a busy convention centre all day.
Your pop-up doesn’t just have to host marketing materials and game zones, either. With some research, you could partner with popular influencers to host competitions and events at your pop-up, as well as invite press participants to explore your amazing creation.
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