Exhibiting challenge
As a young, fast-growing company, Blues faced a pivotal moment at CES 2025—its only U.S. trade show and a critical venue for securing new deals. In previous years, Blues had relied on off-the-shelf rented meeting rooms, which limited brand visibility and customer engagement. For CES 2025, the company wanted more: a larger footprint, better flow, and a fully branded space that supported high-quality, intimate conversations.
The goal was ambitious: expand the booth to 2,050 square feet, build an integrated conference room with accessibility features, and create casual-yet-buzzing zones for product exploration and spontaneous discussions. Blues needed a trusted partner to bring the vision to life.
Vision for a custom exhibit
Blues aimed to deliver a customer-centric, immersive experience—inviting visitors to engage with its IoT technology in a thoughtful and relaxed environment. Key objectives included:
- Constructing a sound-dampened, fully branded meeting room with privacy and clear communication in mind
- Designing for accessibility, including accommodations for participants with hearing impairment.
- Creating fluid booth zones to support both casual drop-ins and scheduled sales conversations
- Emphasizing connection and clarity over flash and noise
STAR exhibits solution
To meet these goals, STAR Exhibits delivered an end-to-end solution combining strategy, creative planning, and precision execution:
Custom Meeting Room Design: STAR constructed an acoustically considerate, enclosed space within the booth—featuring a large display for presentations, branded graphics, and thoughtfully chosen materials to support clear, productive conversations. Accessibility accommodations were also incorporated, ensuring comfort for all participants.
Integrated Flow & Engagement Zones: The meeting room was seamlessly connected to a high-traffic coffee bar area, with intuitive flow into the product demo zone. Cafe seating and open layouts encouraged organic interaction and kept the space consistently active.
Interactive Experience Elements: Pull-out drawers and iPad stations invited hands-on exploration of Blues’ technology. While one hiccup occurred with an unintended iPad interaction, the overall booth experience drove valuable engagement throughout the event.
Scalable Booth Expansion: By increasing the footprint from 2,040 to 2,050 square feet, STAR ensured every inch was optimized to support Blues’ mission: making complex technology feel simple, human, and conversation-ready.
Impact of custom exhibit design
CES 2025 proved to be a milestone for Blues—and STAR’s partnership was instrumental in that success. Key highlights:
High Visitor Engagement: More than 2,500 cups of coffee were served during the event, drawing traffic and sparking spontaneous conversations. A foam-printer that created logos in each espresso cup became a standout moment, leaving a lasting impression on visitors.
Elevated Conversations: The quiet, accessible meeting space allowed Blues’ team to have more focused and productive dialogues, with leadership noting a significant improvement in interaction quality.
Operational Ease: With STAR handling logistics and execution, Blues could remain focused on its customers and storytelling—rather than being bogged down by setup or booth management.
Strong Collaboration: Blues praised STAR, describing them as “really, really amazing”—a testament to the hands-on service and trusted collaboration that underpinned the project.
Conclusion
For Blues, CES 2025 wasn’t just about presence—it was about impact. By partnering with STAR Exhibits, the company turned its booth into a welcoming, immersive brand environment—designed for meaningful connections, clear communication, and unforgettable moments. Together, Blues and STAR showed what’s possible when smart strategy meets human-centered design—one conversation, and one cup of coffee, at a time.
