A launch gimmick earns its place when it shows off the product and gives people something to take home. The ones below all ran at real Malaysian product launches and store openings. For each, we note what it was, why it worked for that launch, and the result.
1. Put guests inside the product story with AI
At the Great Retirement Pride launch at Menara Great Eastern, our AI photo booth turned each guest into a future version of themselves, retired in a tropical beach, luxury escape or hot air balloon scene. For a retirement product, the photo showed the promise instead of explaining it.
Result: 165 AI portraits in one day. See the Great Retirement Pride project. For a series launch, Disney+ used the same idea for Perfect Crown: guests became K-drama characters and took home peel-and-stick sticker cards, with 870 prints across 4 locations (see the Disney+ project).
2. Make the product the camera
For Samsung's Galaxy Z pop-up, we built a custom photo booth that used three folded Galaxy Z Fold phones as the cameras, each one capturing a different angle, so every guest photo doubled as a product demo.
Result: 2,292 prints over 25 days across 6 malls. See the Samsung Galaxy Z project.
3. Put guests in the product
For the Leapmotor C10 launch roadshow, guests sat inside the car while it stood over an LED floor. They picked an animated journey scene, a highway or a city, and a top-down camera captured them "driving" through it.
Result: 1,091 prints, and 96% of guests downloaded their photo. See the Leapmotor C10 project.
4. Turn the product into a game
A game works when the product is the controller. For its VSX activewear launch at Suria KLCC, Victoria's Secret ran a pickleball game played with a sensor paddle, so the launch was something shoppers played, not only watched. Tiger took the same approach for a new flavoured lager with an AR fruit-slicing game controlled by body movement, and Puma opened a flagship store with a sprint game on an L-shaped LED wall, backed by a live leaderboard.
Result: 1,951 people played the VSX game over 7 days, and 1,424 took on the Puma sprint over 24 days. See the Victoria's Secret VSX, Tiger and Puma projects, or our custom interactive games.
5. Build in an unveil moment
For its refrigerator launch roadshow at Pavilion Bukit Jalil, Coway used our Unveil Glass Booth. Shoppers drew on an illuminated glass panel while a camera recorded them, and each clip was ready to share by QR code. A glass booth also works as the ceremony itself: the guest of honour signs the glass first, and that clip becomes the opening video.
Result: 407 videos over 4 days. See the Coway project.
6. Print the launch as a headline
Newspaper-style prints make a launch feel like news. At its Malaysian launch, Charlotte Tilbury used our enclosed Instabooth 2.0 with A3 newspaper-style prints and animated launch stickers. Montigo and Mokky's Pizza took it retro for their 90s Hangout, where guests picked up to three poses, added digital stickers and walked away with an A3 front page.
Result: 173 prints in 3 hours for Charlotte Tilbury, and 212 prints in 5 hours for Montigo and Mokky's. See the Charlotte Tilbury and Montigo x Mokky's projects, or our newspaper photo booth.
7. Match the store's world for a beauty opening
3CE opened its Pink Space store with our Mirror 2.0 AI photo booth, which turned each shopper into a space-themed portrait in 3CE's pink palette. The photo looked like the store, so every share advertised it.
Result: 916 prints, and 92% of guests downloaded their photo. See the 3CE project.
8. Bring the ambassador into every photo
When a brand has a famous face, an idol photo booth lets every guest pose beside them. At Shiseido's ULTIMUNE pop-up at Sunway Pyramid, guests chose poses to stand alongside Lisa. For Bonia's flagship opening at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, our AI booth placed guests next to a Korean idol in two preset poses.
Result: 501 prints over 7 days for Shiseido, and 353 prints over 3 days for Bonia. See the Shiseido and Bonia projects.
9. Show the clothes from two angles at a fashion opening
For the Marithé et François Girbaud store opening at Suria KLCC, a dual angle photo booth captured each guest from two angles at once, so the outfit showed as well as the face.
Result: 107 prints from 61 sessions in a single day. See the Marithé et François Girbaud project.
Opening ceremony ideas that double as content
- Replace the ribbon with a signature. The guest of honour signs a glass booth, and the recording plays on screen as the official opening.
- Give the first print to the VIP. Open the photo booth with the launch guests, then let the public queue form behind them.
- Keep the big screen busy. A live slideshow of guest photos or videos keeps the screen busy after the speeches end.
- Make the queue part of the show. A game with a live leaderboard, like the Puma sprint, turns waiting shoppers into an audience.
How to choose a launch gimmick
- Start from the product. The strongest ideas above use the product as the camera, the controller or the backdrop.
- Decide the output. A print travels home, a video travels online, and a game gives you a leaderboard and a count of players.
- Fit the space. A mall atrium suits a game or a large booth. A boutique opening suits one compact booth near the entrance.
- Measure it. Prints, downloads and players are easy to count. 3CE saw 92% of guests download their photo, and Leapmotor 96%.
What a launch activation costs
Our enclosed Instabooth 2.0 starts from RM 5,800 per day. Custom builds, such as an AI booth, a product-as-camera rig or a launch game, are quoted per brief, based on the build, the branding and the number of days. See our custom AI photo booth and brand activation options.
Frequently asked questions
What is a launch gimmick?
A launch gimmick is an eye-catching activity at a product launch or store opening that draws a crowd and gets people talking, usually something they can try and take home, such as a branded photo booth, an AI portrait, a game or an unveiling moment.
What are good opening ceremony ideas for a store?
Pair the formal moment with something guests can join: a VIP signing on a glass booth, the first photo booth print for the guest of honour, or a live slideshow of guest photos on the store's screen. Then keep the activity running for shoppers after the ceremony.
How do you measure a launch activation?
Count what the activation produces: prints, video clips, QR downloads and players. At the launches above, results ranged from 107 prints at a one-day store opening to 2,292 prints across a 25-day, 6-mall tour.
How far ahead should we plan a launch activation?
A ready-to-deploy photo booth needs less lead time than a custom build such as an AI booth or a product game. Share your launch date and venue as early as you can, and we will tell you what is realistic.
Planning a launch or opening? Tell us the product, the venue and the date, and we will suggest the gimmick that fits. Contact Instamedia.
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