The IBM Z mainframe is the hardware backbone of Fortune 500 companies in healthcare, finance, and other critical industries. For the launch of its 15th generation, IBM planned six invitation-only events across four continents. Each event would feature a keynote, hardware demos, and breakout conversations centered around large-format interactive tables.

They would focus on their core customers and condense the sales cycle; Awareness, promotion, social proof, demos, sales, all in one afternoon. It was crucial for the health of the product line and business that they came out of these events with significant sales velocity.

This was a unique opportunity to redefine the role that interactive experiences played in IBM campaigns. Historically, our agency had provided basic interactive services (email capture, asset hosting) as support for larger video and motion graphics engagements. The work was low-margin and not valued by either side. This project would demonstrate that interactive could be the centerpiece of a campaign and deliver results exceeding other media.

We would create three gamified touch-table experiences to anchor the events, each scripted to demonstrate key selling points of the Z mainframe. Small groups of attendees would be invited to solve real-world IT infrastructure problems presented as simple, archetypical games, such as whack-a-mole and memory match. When they inevitably fell behind, they'd be provided with a relevant "Z power" to save the day.

Each game would be facilitated by an extensively trained SME, who would use the game to drive and guide conversation among the group. Questions and concerns would be raised and addressed immediately in a pressure-free setting. Customer cross-talk would be encouraged: Responding to other customers' question or even challenging the SME would create a more trustworthy, less "salesy" environment; Shared experiences would act as real-time social proof.

The sessions would include off-ramps for individual group members to be moved to 1:1 settings for deeper dives into their specific use cases. The transition would be seamless, the 1:1 sales team having been observing the table conversations and ready to continue each customer's journey.

After defining broad game concepts, we worked closely with SMEs to build final gameplay and assets around "talk tracks": Scripted demo and flexible bullets that would drive conversation.  

As we intended to produce similar experiences in the future, it was important that we came out of this with a repeatable production process. We started with our standard production process, used what worked, adjusted what didn't, and filled in the gaps.

To achieve this, we worked hand-in-hand with the SMEs to develop the tracks and experiences in tandem. The core concepts were defined early in the process, but everything else remained flexible. Weekly and informal practice sessions were used to fully craft the talk tracks, and dial in gameplay, timing, and on-screen messaging.

Designing for a group users at a large screen was a challenge. At a baseline, we had to account for things like viewing angles, content size, and lighting conditions. More importantly, we needed to accommodate a variety of heights, reach distances, and physical ability. We tested prototypes with users of various heights and ages, as well as seated users. Finally, any attendees who were unable to physically interact with the table could still participate in the conversation.