Cheese Weasel ConQuest 2010

It’s that time of year again!  Gen Con is on the horizon.  And with Gen Con comes the 2010 ConQuest from Cheese Weasel Logistics.  For those of you who have played in the past, things will be pretty much the same this year as last year with a few noted exceptions.  For those who haven’t participated in the past, now is your chance to drive hundreds of convention-goers to your booth at Gen Con.  Here’s how it works:

The program has three elements available for companies to participate in.  The Basic Game (where everyone starts) and two optional add-ons for increased and different kinds of exposure – the Daily Games and the Elite Quest.  Each one is outlined in detail below.

Back This Year:  Industry-Wide Advertising Opportunity
The Quest Cards that are used for the core of the game reach thousands of convention-goers and stay in their hands for a sustained period of time.  Starting last year, we turned one side of these cards into advertising space.  It worked well and there was enough interest that we will continue the change this year.  This opportunity is open to any company – ConQuest participant or not, Gen Con Exhibitor or not.  For full details see the paragraph on Advertising below.

The Basic Game
We at Cheese Weasel will create up to 5 full-color cards each representing a quest chain that the convention-goer is trying to complete.  Each card has the company name, logo, and booth number of a set of participating exhibitors.  The convention-goers will receive the cards from our starter booth and then visit the booths of the participating companies.  When they come to your booth, you may ask them to complete a task for you – that could be a game demo, hearing a product spiel, giving an opinion, or something more unique – whatever you feel gives them the best impression of you and your products.  Note, though, that you cannot require them to make a purchase.   Once the convention-goer has completed what you have asked of them, you will punch their quest card over the top of your company’s logo using a unique punch that we will provide you.     

Once the convention-goer has gotten the punches from all of the companies on a quest card, they will fill in the contact information on it and bring it back to our starter booth.  It’s now a raffle ticket and is dropped into a large box used in the prize drawing on Sunday.  Every card the convention-goer completes becomes another chance for them to win the prize.  The majority of our players complete all the quest cards. 

So what’s the prize?  Well, here’s where the huge incentive comes in.  We ask each participating exhibitor to donate some product.  It doesn’t have to be a huge amount, but anything that makes it more valuable is encouraged – rare/out-of-print product, signed products, special editions, etc.  With each company giving what they can, our prize pool for the last many years has totaled over $12,000!  This is what draws the traffic to the game and makes it a success – which in turn helps make your Gen Con sales and experience a success!    

The Daily Game
The Daily Games are an option for participating Basic Game exhibitors to get four more specific hits with convention-goers - one on each day of the convention.  At a separate kiosk in the convention center, there will be a new, simple game every day featuring the select group of companies (10 max) that have signed up.  The games are puzzles that use information about your company – matching companies with products, identifying logos, anagrams of company names, etc.  The convention-goers playing the Daily Games will work with the same 10 companies every day – a repetition that builds familiarity.  There is a separate drawing every afternoon for the Daily Games and the prize is a small pile of games (donated from another sponsor, not the participating companies) plus a badge for Gen Con 2011.  The Games also serve to drive more traffic to the Basic Game and increase exposure all the way around! 

Elite Quest
Two years ago we introduced the Elite Quest – a separate quest card that convention-goers could access only after completing the majority of the Basic Game.  The prize drawing was separate and exclusive to the Elite Quest players and the real draw was the prize itself – two free cruise tickets for a Gamer Cruise through Gamer Adventures.  The idea was to give Elite Quest companies a second visit from convention-goers and provide a greater incentive for more convention-goers to complete more quest cards.  It was immediately clear that this addition was an overwhelming success.  The players were excited about the prize and we had more completed quest cards than ever – to the point that we actually ran out of the Elite Quest cards we had printed and we know that the vast majority of those were also completed.  Only a small number of exhibitors can be involved in the Elite Quest.  There is an extra cost for participation, but, as past exhibitors can attest to, a second visit from convention goers (with some different interaction) was a profitable and worthwhile benefit.  In addition, all participating companies benefit from significantly increased traffic on the Basic Game.  We are on track to provide the same sort of prize this year.  Participating exhibitors will be on a first-come, first-serve basis with a limit of 6 companies.  Please don’t wait to contact us about this opportunity! 

Advertising
Last year we tried something new and incorporating advertising on our quest cards.  As part of the Basic Game we hand out 2000 cards for each of the 5 quest chains, so 10,000 cards in all.  Since we have 5 quest chains we can provide 5 different advertising spaces, one (1) for each card.  We anticipate that this form of advertising has some cost effective advantages.  The ads are more focused on convention-goers who will also visit your booth.  They stay in the hands of those convention-goers for several hours (if not days).  And we can offer it at a more than competitive price ($200/card for companies attending Gen Con and $250/card for companies that will not be attending Gen Con).  For more information or to sign up, please contact us at chiefweasel@cheeseweasel.net or call at 703-447-3095.

What’s In It For You:
Increased traffic to your booth! This program has consistently brought in thousands of players who will be paying specific attention to your booth and your products as they play the game. It’s not a passive program where they can just drift by and look.

Additional exposure for your company! The participating exhibitors, logos, and product highlights are displayed at the quest starter booth which is in a high-traffic, common area outside the exhibit hall. Products donated for prize support will have a prominent display within the exhibit hall as well. Participants in the Daily Game and the Elite Quest will have additional exposure that can highlight specific products, company logos, and taglines.

This high-profile, well-established program is fully endorsed and actively sponsored by Gen Con, who promotes the game in many ways including great marketing exposure, and support for our presence in high-traffic areas. We make it easy to play, providing everything you and the convention-goer will need.  It’s a low-maintenance, low-budget, and fun way to obtain all these benefits!

What We Need From You:
If you decide to participate in the ConQuest, we will need to get the following from you:

• A participation fee (see cost schedule below).
• A donation of product for prize support (a few pieces) along with the estimated retail value of the product. Signed, rare and limited prizes are always desirable and really increase the incentive for players.
• Digital version of company logo. (300dpi JPEG is best)
• A designated contact person from your company to be the point person for this program.

Where/When/How Much?
Where: Contact us at Chiefweasel@cheeseweasel.net or 703-447-3095 to sign up.
When: We are instituting a staggered deadline as way to better manage the response and encourage exhibitors to come on board a little earlier!
How Much: Not much…see below.