An annual exhibition held in Shanghai, ChinaJoy is now the largest gaming and digital entertainment exhibition in Asia. The event is split into two exhibiting sections: B2C, attended by gamers and cosplay enthusiasts, and B2B, attended by games industry professionals, including studio heads, developers, sales and marketing, and some localization experts.
Although Alpha Games had attended the event many times, 2023 was the first time the team decided to exhibit. The need for a eye-catching booth was evident from the start, but attracting attention in a tech-saturated environment and on a budget was a challenge. The team turned to Alpha Creative for help in devising a booth design, brand placement strategy, and marketing campaign for ChinaJoy 2023.
The Alpha Creative team started off with market research, specifically studying the preliminary list of other companies due to exhibit at the event. Interestingly, the list did not include many Western-based localization experts. At the time, these companies still focused on attending events in Europe and the States.
Alpha Creative decided to focus on the difference Alpha Games could offer. By turning away from the flashy interactive tech experiences on display throughout the exhibition, the team could instead present the polar opposite: something that was analogue, tangible, and even a little retro.
As people, we’re all driven by a desire to play. It’s innate from birth. It’s this desire that underpins our interactions with the very digital experiences on offer at events such as ChinaJoy. But what if we rewound the clock to explore the very beginnings of our love of play? The team decided to invite attendees to touch base with their inner children and have a tactile experience bringing their imaginations to life through modelling clay.
Discussing the many elements of gaming and gameplay, the Alpha Creative team recognized the importance of strong characters and decided that Alpha Games should have its own mascot.
The team used generative AI to help workshop idea development, eventually settling on Carmello, a chameleon-alien hybrid. Much like a chameleon, the localization process takes games and helps them match their environments, while still retaining the core essence underneath. Then, working together, our artists and writers finalized his design and personality.
The team knew that just telling visitors that Alpha Games was a localization services provider wasn’t going to be a particularly memorable tactic; they wanted to give people an interactive experience with a difference, by bravely eschewing the technology and choosing an analogue solution.
After considering how best to incorporate Carmello and the tactile joy of making a figure from clay, the team hit upon the idea of underlining our shared love of play by getting visitors to come and play at the booth and making a friend for the new mascot. This further supported Alpha Games’ fundamental principles of building relationships across borders.
“We drew an enormous amount of attention from passers-by who were intrigued by the playdough and the activity surrounding it.” remembers Mette Tingey, Chief Commercial Officer at Alpha CRC. “A large soft toy version of Carmello sat at the front of our desk, and he attracted hordes of people who found him absolutely adorable. The constant buzz around our booth helped us fit in well and provided a great opportunity to promote our business. And, of course, the prospects we attracted were impressed by our engaging exhibit.”
Alpha Creative’s collaboration with Alpha Games for the ChinaJoy 2023 event was a great success, exceeding the hoped-for results on a modest budget. The innovative ideas and striking artwork developed by the Alpha Creative team not only attracted significant footfall to the booth but also elevated Alpha Games’ brand presence within the competitive Chinese game development industry.
The event generated a substantial number of business leads, ensuring the company’s ability to maintain a strong presence at future events. Looking ahead, the partnership between Alpha Games and Alpha Creative is set to continue, combining creative expertise and strategic vision to deliver high-quality copywriting, design, and conceptual services that drive impactful results for their clients.