Case Study: AI Trading Cards for ShareGate – A High-Impact Brand Activation
Client: ShareGate
Partner: Primatix
Events:
- ESPC24 – Sweden, December 2024
- Microsoft 365 Community Conference – Las Vegas, May 2025
- European Collaboration Summit – Düsseldorf, May 2025
The Challenge
In a world flooded with generic swag and forgettable freebies, ShareGate wanted to cut through the noise at a series of major tech conferences with something truly different — something fun, personal and unforgettable.
The Big Idea
In collaboration with Primatix, ShareGate launched the AI Trading Card activation — a custom-built experience that turned conference attendees into fully-fledged ShareGate Heroes.
Visitors could choose their role — Partner, Cloud Architect, or Consultant — and within a minute, their face was transformed into a branded, fully customised ShareGate Trading Card, complete with:
- Profession-specific stats like “Complaints about slow Wi-Fi: 127” and “Ticket response rate: 99%”
- Industry and job role specific relatable catchphrases like “Try turning it off and on again” or “My default setting is: Secure”
- Printed, high-quality takeaway encased in a hard-shell sleeve — designed to look and feel like a collectible, high-value item
The Engagement
This was more than an AI photo booth. It was a hyper-personalised collectible that tapped into the shared culture of the Microsoft 365 community — and it blew up at every event.
- Crowds lined up daily, with over 300 participants a day at each show
- Cards were printed on the spot and handed out in sleek hard-shell cases
- The activation was visually magnetic, drawing in delegates and keeping the ShareGate booth buzzing for hours
“We thought the AI photo booth was engaging — this was on another level.”
The Secret Weapon: Longevity
The real brilliance of this activation was its lifespan beyond the booth.
These cards didn’t just get shared online — they got displayed proudly on desks, mantlepieces and monitors across offices.
Unlike most event swag, the form factor meant these cards stuck around, becoming daily reminders of the ShareGate brand and conversation starters with colleagues for weeks, even months.
Execution at Scale
To serve multiple international events seamlessly, Primatix deployed its team from London HQ and Las Vegas, ensuring consistent delivery and support across time zones and venues. Our workflow was tailored to handle:
- Real-time card generation
- Onsite production at scale
- High-speed printing and packaging
- Humour, accuracy and professional tone — dialled in for each audience
Results
- Significant social amplification and organic buzz — leading to higher volume each day as word spread across the conference
- Increased booth dwell time and engagement with ShareGate staff
- Long-term brand visibility through high-retention physical assets
Why It Worked
- Personalisation: Attendees felt seen and celebrated
- Relevance: Roles and stats spoke their language
- Humour: The tongue-in-cheek tone created real delight
- Tangibility: A collectible that doesn’t get thrown in a drawer or lost on social media
What’s Next
The ShareGate AI Trading Card campaign proves that physical, humorous and hyper-personalised experiences create unmatched engagement. With strong ROI and lasting impact — this is an activation that’s hard to beat.
The key to this whole activation’s success was the vision of the client to create something amazing — and cut through to attendees who’ve seen it all before.
The ShareGate marketing team take their job seriously — through live streamed interviews on the booth to LinkedIn, social engagement and creating unique, one-of-a-kind brand activation giveaways — we’ve enjoyed working with this visionary client to create a brand activation that’s delivering results across continents.
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