With more than 17,000 visitors through the doors over three days, rAge 2007, which took place at the end of September, proved to be an ideal platform for retailers looking for a weekend of exceptional sales, marketers looking to introduce new products to gamers, and tech junkies and product managers looking to build brand awareness. Even tertiary institutions jumped aboard, using rAge as a platform to reach the Gauteng youth.
rAge 2007 featured over 25% more floor space than in 2006 and more custom-built stands than ever before, highlighting the fact that this expo is fast becoming an important marketing tool for brands and products aimed at gamers, technology enthusiasts, the youth and tech-conscious families.
"Intel's level of involvement in rAge has grown tremendously over the years due to the growth in the consumer and gaming segments in South Africa, as well as the introduction of Intel's dual and quad core extreme processors, aimed specifically at performance hungry gamers and multimedia enthusiasts," said Gary Burgess of Intel. "rAge 2007 was definitely the most successful yet and we were extremely satisfied with the number of attendees, the quality of exhibits and the response we got from our many activities at the show."
Megarom Interactive, one of the leading interactive video game importers and distributors in South Africa, used rAge as a platform to showcase not-yet-released titles with a view to boosting Christmas sales.
Jason Borea, marketing director of Megarom Interactive, said, "We decided not to show titles that have already been released as the hardcore gamers that visit rAge want to see titles that have not been released. We achieved this by showing pre-release code for the titles Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty 4, Haze, Naruto and Guitar Hero III."
Retailers at rAge 2007 also experienced enormous success. According to Grant Webster, merchandise manager of Look & Listen, "rAge as usual was more successful than previous years with both the offering from the various publishers and the addition of new platforms to the industry contributing to the improvement in the results. Our participation in the event is well worth the investment."
For more information about rAge, visit www.rageexpo.co.za
