VisitPITTSBURGH AI Trading Card activation at IMEX America, Las Vegas 2025
Client: VisitPITTSBURGH
Event: IMEX America 2025
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Date: October 2025
The challenge: standing out on a crowded show floor
IMEX America is one of the largest trade shows for the meetings and events industry, and its Las Vegas floor is packed with hundreds of destination booths competing for attention. VisitPITTSBURGH wanted an activation that would stop people and stand apart from the rest: something interactive and proudly local that celebrated Pittsburgh's story and gave visitors a personal takeaway worth keeping.
The activation needed to:
- Reflect the city's creative, forward-thinking character.
- Carry VisitPITTSBURGH's campaign messaging and the stats that matter to event planners.
- Deliver shareable branded content on the spot.
- Link back to the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, 23–25 April 2026.
With IMEX close, everything had to work from day one.
The solution: AI Trading Cards by Primatix
We built a custom AI Trading Card activation for VisitPITTSBURGH's booth. Each guest stepped up, had their photo taken, and received a collectible card carrying their AI-generated portrait styled in the VisitPITTSBURGH brand look. Every card featured a personalised AI image created on the spot and a custom template with campaign messaging aimed at event planners and conference organisers, printed on-site so guests walked away with a physical card within minutes. The setup had a small footprint, and our local Las Vegas crew ran it on the ground. We worked directly with VisitPITTSBURGH to tune the design and tie the theme to the city's sponsorship of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The results
The activation became one of the most talked-about experiences on the IMEX floor. Attendees queued to make their own cards and shared them with colleagues and on social media.
- Hundreds of trading cards created and shared during the event.
- Steady booth traffic across the show.
- Strong engagement online, extending reach beyond IMEX.
- High-value cards that sit on desks and mantelpieces for months afterwards.
Why it worked
Every card was unique, so no two guests left with the same thing. The design tied directly to what Pittsburgh offers event planners, the story of the 'city of bridges', and the city's link to the NFL Draft. Setup was quick and generation was fast, which kept the queue moving, and guests left with a keepsake they were happy to show off.
Conclusion
The VisitPITTSBURGH AI Trading Card activation paired personalisation with the city's key messages and the information event planners care about, turning trade-show traffic into genuine engagement and sending every attendee home with a card that keeps the message alive.
