CES Treasure Hunt Experience

Create a booth journey that rewarded exploration with clear progress and a finish worth completing. Tie game moments back to product discovery without feeling like a bait-and-switch.

The hard parts were rarely just creative. They were floor reality, feasibility and the people who had to run it live.

• Competition for attention

  Neighboring booths ran loud demos and celebrity moments. Stages had to be short, readable, and rewarding within a few minutes.

• Staff bandwidth

  Greeters were overwhelmed at peak. The hunt had to run with minimal explanation — ideally started from a kiosk or QR without a lecture.

• Operational redemption

  Prizes and completion needed a workflow booth staff could execute while still talking to buyers and press.

I came in to design the hunt arc — stages, rewards, and how each stop connected to product story. I mapped the physical booth so digital progress matched real-world movement.

Kept stages small and celebratory, with obvious progress markers. Tested copy and icons with people unfamiliar with the brand to ensure the hunt read in seconds.

Visitors started the hunt, hit booth moments in sequence, and finished with a tangible reward. Along the way they encountered product stories framed as discoveries, not interruptions.

Brand experience agency, product marketing for stage content, and booth operations for prize logistics.

Walked the booth footprint with operations to place QR and kiosk triggers where lines would not block fire lanes. Adjusted brightness and sound-off cues for CES hall rules.

Gamification at CES only works when the game respects exhaustion. I loved seeing families finish the last stage grinning — and still able to name the product — that is the line between gimmick and brand story.