Shake Up Your Event Design: Takeaways From GDC19

April 1, 2019

Attending events other than your own can spark innovative thinking, helping you transform or heighten the key elements of your own events. Registration options and processes, education, traffic flow, exhibition layout, entertainment, and food and beverage are just a few of the areas to consider shaking up.

The annual Game Developers Conference is organized by UBM, which in June 2018 combined with Informa PLC to become the largest B2B events organizer in the world. UBM’s portfolio includes trade shows and conferences across industries including fashion, life sciences, biopharma, manufacturing and technology — which gives its event designers and planners a wide variety of cross-industry event exposure.

This year, 29,000 attendees descended upon San Francisco’s Moscone Center for GDC 2019, held Mar. 18-22. The week-long event took over all three of the Moscone Center buildings, plus the adjacent Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater.

It’s not uncommon for events to grow or shrink from year to year, based on market fluctuations. GDC has consistently grown by adding sessions and activities (such as the co-located Indie Games Summit and Virtual Reality Developers Conference) designed to appeal to various audience segments.

GDC 2019 featured educational sessions, film screenings, award ceremonies, demos and an exhibition hall with more than 550 exhibitors showcasing the latest games, development tools and services. But just because GDC is a large event doesn’t mean you can’t take away ideas for smaller events — or even for larger ones. Here are a few areas to consider.

Registration

GDC

GDC attendees could choose from eight different badge types, many of which were combinations (such as GDC Conference + GDC Summits) or special pricing offers like a Student Expo pass. The Summits took place on Monday and Tuesday, while the Expo was only open Wednesday through Friday.

Takeaway: Can you (or should you) break up your audience by content type, demographics or days, or offer tiered pricing based on registration deadline dates? If revenue is a goal, it’s possible that you could make more money by offering a lower-cost option such as an expo only pass, or a group discount where if five people from one organization register at the same time, each person gets $100 off the regular price.

Staggering Sessions

Not all the sessions at GDC were timed to start and end together. There was a mix of 30-minute sessions, 60-minute sessions and film screenings. There were also demos, community spaces with special activities scheduled at certain times, and an expo hall that was open for the majority of show hours.

There weren’t overflow rooms at GDC, either. Instead, attendees were told in advance that sessions would be first-come, first served. Possibly due to the large number of options, I never had a problem getting into my first choice sessions even when they were popular.

Takeaway: If your event attracts a large number of people who are primarily there to walk your showfloor, it makes sense to have longer hours. If, on the other hand, sessions are the main interest, you may end up with happier exhibitors if you schedule dedicated expo hall time and have some breaks where they can attend sessions or get some work done themselves.

Session Content Types

GDC offered more than 780 lectures, panels, tutorials and roundtable discussions. The wide variety of formats gave attendees different ways to learn, based on their preferences.

One thing that stood out to me was the lack of true keynote presentations at GDC. There were “main stage” presentations, but even those were not scheduled as standalones. While this may not work for all events, it’s certainly something to consider.

Takeaway: Many conferences are moving away from having a full roster of traditional lecture-style presentations in favor of more interactive or participatory session styles, and changing up the seating from theater style to a mixture of seating types.

GDC

Exhibit Hall Layout

At many events, you’ll see a few rows of 10 x 10 booths around the perimeter of the halls, with the larger booths in more prominent, central locations. Often this is because the companies in those larger booths are major sponsors, paying premium prices for their spots.

While there was some of this at GDC, they also had some interesting layouts. And the halls were broken up by community spaces or areas dedicated to certain types of games, making it fun to walk every aisle just to see what you might come across.

Takeaway: Think about mixing up exhibitor booth types. Maybe the largest booths can be scattered throughout. Or you could offer a special pavilion just for one type of exhibitor, or turnkey pedestals for start-ups. Make your hall more interesting by including surprises, such as a candy station, game stop or even a cozy nook with books in it. The possibilities are endless.

Health and Wellness

GDC

Attending events can be exhausting. Giving your delegates opportunities and places to relax and recharge, and also to play, helps them get through the long days a little more easily.

This year, GDC added outdoor areas to relax, games to play — board games as well as video games — musical performances and for extra fun, a Pokemon Go Pokestop hosted by Niantic. Many of the exhibitors also had games and activities within their booth (not surprising, given that this was a gaming-focused event).

Takeaway: It’s not essential to have games at your event. But lounge areas with power strips and seating, quiet or meditation spaces, yoga classes, fun runs and other ways for your attendees to take a break from sessions are always appreciated – and help your event become more memorable.

Gaming as Education

Let’s not forget that games can also make education more fun. At GDC, I came across several exhibitors who offer ways to do just that. Here are two of the standouts:

Wonder Painter is an app that turns drawings into 3D images. At the very least, it would be a fun activity to offer — or, if you have developers at your organization who want to play with it, think of how you could turn your company logo or product story into something interactive during a keynote. The Wonder Painter team is based in China but is already working with companies all over the world.

GDC

The Adoraboos is a new game from Silicon Valley-based MyDream Interactive, which teaches the concepts of blockchain through a series of mini games (word scrambles, match-3, word finds, bubble popping, etc.) — and earns players real cryptocurrency. But there are even more applications within the corporate world.

The MyDream team can create technical and training games for any vertical industry or corporation. All they need is a file with the education curriculum, and they can work with you to tailor the training according to your requirements.

Takeaway: Why not look at new ways to train your conference attendees, employees, partners or staff? You could even create a game that could be used as a hall crawl activity, where attendees earn points by stopping by exhibitors’ booths and answering questions within the game. Or offer fun, interactive ways that attendees can get hands-on with your brand in new and innovative ways.

Hopefully, my experience at GDC has inspired you with some fresh, new ideas. Regardless, I recommend you attend a few trade shows, conferences, festivals, user group meetings or fairs — events that have different configurations and audiences than your own — to get your creativity flowing!



Don’t miss any event-related news: Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter HERE and engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram!

Add new comment

Partner Voices
Overview: The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality. In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way. “We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.” Amenities: The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.  The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need. Gold Key Members The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events. OCCC Events: This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.  The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:  AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023 200,000 Attendees $257 Million in Economic Impact MEGACON 2023 160,000 Attendees $205 Million in Economic Impact Open Championship Series 2023 69,500 Attendees $89 Million in Economic Impact Sunshine Classic 2023 42,000 Attendees $54 Million in Economic Impact Premiere Orlando 2023 42,000 Attendees $108 Million in Economic Impact