How the SEMA Show fueled excitement and made connections
The SEMA Show, organized by the Specialty Equipment Market Association, is the premier event for the automotive aftermarket and performance industry.
One of the largest shows in the US with 1,900+ exhibitors and more than 132,000 attendees, SEMA Show brings in:
• Small business owners (parts and accessories, repair, performance, and more)
• Manufacturers
• Automotive buyers
"The vision was to create a central hub of the SEMA Show where our global community could gather and connect with our association. It was important that
all aspects were authentic to the industry. So, we worked closely with our partners
at Freeman to create an experience with an industrial look and grit that were
a subtle nod to the culture of the Show."
- Tom Gattuso, VP of Events, SEMA
Getting from production
concept to show reality
Challenge
Working hand in hand with SEMA, our experiential and AV team designed SEMA Central, a centralized, multisensory space that immediately grabbed attention as attendees entered the Las Vegas Convention Center.
SEMA Central provided an immersive space with the high-energy feeling and experiences that defined the show while also feeling like a welcoming town square — where attendees could meet SEMA Staff and connect with the association on a more personal level.
Our team’s 20-plus-year partnership with SEMA played a key role in understanding how
to make SEMA Central so successful, from industrial elements to a full-blown experiential design.
Paving the way to bring audiences and staff together
SEMA Show always provides revved up thrills, but at the end of the event all of the design and logistics objectives were accomplished while still keeping the budget contained.
SEMA Central helped attendees feel more connected to the association — and part of a community. There was a constant buzz of people connecting, smiling, and engaging with products and content, and sharing their experience with customers and enthusiasts across the world — generating the success metrics SEMA envisioned.
Producing high-performance results
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Results
Case study
Solution
Case study
“To play-off the industrial look, we incorporated custom fabricated cargo containers, which isn’t the easiest thing
to do, but our teams were up to the challenge.
This included making sure the containers were functional, safe, and within budget.”
Paul Cunniffe
SVP Business Development | Freeman
Pulsating music blasted from containers that had been converted into hi-def speakers for an immersive sound experience
Courtnee LeClaire, CMO @ OwnBackup
Courtnee McClaire, CMO @ Ownbackup
Emmanuel Gotsis, VP of Global Experiential @ OwnBackup
Emmanuel Gotsis, VP of Global Experiential @ OwnBackup
Turning cargo containers into
functional design pieces
Videos raced across screens that were built
onto elevated containers for easy viewing from
any perspective
Celebrity icon and industry expert interviews took place on a stage that was housed by the cargo containers for staging and acoustics
“With SEMA Central, we don't track data in terms of how many people go through or what our dwell time is. It's really this feeling that we want to impart. And success for us is how we made people feel when they walked away.”
Tom Gattuso
VP of Events | SEMA
“Working with cargo containers has multiple challenges. You have to make sure they’re able to stack and be placed safely, they’re costly,
and it takes a lot of work to make them functional within the design.”
Tom Gattuso
VP of Events | SEMA
Branding SEMA Central the place to be
A red and black 3D SEMA logo mixed with enhanced light features created a space
for attendees to create their own
Instagram-able moments
Bright, colorful antique cars stood out on black platforms showcasing how design and performance come together
Containers were painted black which helped create the industrial look while also bringing out SEMA branding
Branding SEMA Central
the place to be
Celebrity icon and industry expert interviews took place on a stage that was housed by the cargo containers for staging and acoustics
Drifting videos raced across screens that were built onto elevated containers for easy viewing from any perspective
Pulsating music blasted from containers that had
been converted into hi-def speakers for an immersive sound experience
How the SEMA Show fueled excitement and made connections