EXPO: What are the biggest marketing challenges you face for the launch of E for All? And how do you plan to overcome them?

Gupta: E for All was conceived as a way to bring customers, publishers, developers, innovators and retailers together. Each segment needs to be approached differently. Consumers want a show with all the lights, sounds and announcements of the old E3, particularly because so many of them felt left out of the event in years past. Developers, retailers and publishers need to split their focus between reaching customers and conducting business. Finally, the press wants to see the games and be the first to break the story when something unexpected becomes a hit with consumers.

We launched an advanced ticketing program to help build awareness and buzz among the consumer community. We sent VIP invitations to a select group of consumers who had registered on our consumer Web site. The invitations give special access to certain events at the show and allow them to invite two friends. The program has allowed us to track which of our alumni will be coming. The system we created is amazingly robust in that every single attendee is profiled, and we’re able to one-to-one market on a mass scale. Our advanced ticketing program is more than a way to sell tickets. It’s a way to build the show. We aren’t prepared to discuss the response rate just now, but I can say that we’re very pleased with the response, especially given that this is a new show.

EXPO: I understand you’ve sold a license to broadcast from the event. Who will be broadcasting, and what will they be doing?

Gupta: During the last few years of the E3 show, we had sponsorship deals with various networks, such as G4 and MTVN. For the E3 Media and Business Summit (a separate trade-only event), we signed an Official Broadcast Sponsor deal with G4, which will have a large studio presence on site. We’re really excited that they’re planning to go live from the event; because we’ll be able to efficiently bring the latest breaking news to the masses. Events such as the NFL Draft cater to a specific audience but still manage to attract a great deal of attention. We expect the same to be true for the E3 Media and Business Summit, and we hope that G4’s coverage will break its ratings record.

EXPO: I understand you’re building an in-house social networking service for the E for All Show. How will that work, and why did IDG decide to go that route rather than using an existing service?
Gupta: For this show, we’re really looking for very passionate users. We want them to have a sense of ownership. We want to create a community around our show; however, when we looked at the social networking options out there, we just didn’t find one that met all of our needs. So, we decided to build our own, with some help from an outside company, Cramer Interactive Design, who worked on the E3Insider site.