Inspire. Play. Convert.

How an interactive scratch-and-guess quiz turned trade show visitors into high-quality leads—and doubled conversion rates by making curiosity contagious.

How we solved problems

Trade show games felt like forms—visitors walked past without stopping

Problem: Mercedes-Benz had an existing iPad quiz for trade shows. It worked—but it was invisible. No spectacle. No curiosity. Hosts reported spending 15–20 minutes per visitor just convincing them to participate. Lead volume was low.

Investigation: Interviewed trade show hosts and observed live events. Hosts said: "I need attraction, not just an app." Observed visitor behavior—people gravitated toward booths with big screens, movement, or crowds. Individual iPad interactions were ignored.

Solution: Split-screen design—iPad for private gameplay, Apple TV output for public spectacle. The scratch-and-guess mechanic revealed the car image through touch, creating visible, shareable excitement. Passers-by saw others playing and asked: "What's that?" Curiosity became contagious.

Impact: Hosts reported 50% less time convincing visitors to play. Booth traffic increased. Lead volume doubled at major events. The public screen turned a solo game into a social magnet.

Punchline: Visibility breeds curiosity. Curiosity drives participation.

Registration-first flows killed excitement—users bounced before playing

Problem: The client initially required registration before gameplay—name, email, phone, consent checkboxes. 42% of users abandoned during form entry. Those who did play had already lost momentum.

Investigation: Ran low-fidelity prototype tests with real trade show visitors. Pattern was clear: "Let me try it first, then I'll give you my info." Users needed proof of value before commitment.

Solution: Flipped the flow—play first, register after. Users scratched images, guessed cars, saw instant feedback. Then we asked for contact info to enter the prize draw. Positioned registration as a reward gateway, not a barrier. Reduced form fields from 7 to 3 (name, email, consent).

Impact: Form abandonment dropped to 11%. Lead quality stayed high—users who registered had already engaged, so contact info was more reliable. Conversion rate nearly doubled. Hosts loved it: "People are actually excited to give us their details now."

Punchline: Earn trust before asking for it.

Legal compliance demanded 4 extra screens—but users needed speed

Problem: Legal required disclaimers, data retention notices, and GDPR-style consent. Initial design added 4 full screens to the flow. User tests showed 28-second delay just reading legal text—momentum died.

Investigation: Worked directly with legal team to map what was required vs. how it could be presented. Found that 80% of mandatory text didn't need dedicated screens—just visibility and acknowledgment.

Solution: Embedded compliance inline. Consent checkbox appeared on registration screen with "Learn more" link to modal. Data retention notice moved to footer. Legal approved because visibility and user acknowledgment were intact—just streamlined.

Impact: Removed 3 screens. Time-to-completion dropped 19 seconds. Legal stayed compliant. Users never noticed the change—it felt seamless.

Punchline: Compliance and UX are allies when you ask the right questions.

Key Learnings

Dual-screen design turned individual play into shared spectacle.

The iPad was private—users could scratch, guess, and register without prying eyes. The big screen was public—creating visible excitement that drew crowds. Separating private interaction from public display solved both privacy and attraction.

Curiosity is contagious—design for spectators, not just players.

Trade shows are social spaces. When passers-by saw others engaged, they wanted in. The scratch mechanic was inherently visual and intriguing—"What car is that?"—which made the game watchable, not just playable.

Play-first, register-later flipped the value exchange.

Asking for contact info before users saw value felt transactional. Letting them play first built goodwill—then registration became a natural next step. Trust drives conversion.

Why this still matters

Trade shows are expensive—booth space, travel, staffing. Lead generation is the ROI. Most booths rely on passive attraction: branding, swag, demos. This project proved that interactive, visible, curiosity-driven gameplay outperforms passive tactics.

The principles—public spectacle, play-first engagement, streamlined compliance—became the foundation for eyeQuiz, a white-label product now used by banks, insurers, and consumer brands across Europe.

Mercedes-Benz got leads. We built a product. The lesson? Inspiration converts better than persuasion.