THE LEGO GROUP

BRICKBUSTER VIDEO

PROJECT SUMMARY

To create the LEGO Group’s booth at San Diego Comic Con 2023 we looked to the past, to a time when you could find your favorite movies, video games, and TV shows all under one magical blue and yellow roof. Drawing upon both nostalgia and a recent brand resurgence we recreated a Blockbuster store at Comic-Con – with a LEGO Twist.

We asked fans to make it a Brickbuster night and tapped into the sense of discovery found from wandering the aisles of your local video store in anticipation of finding your new favorite movie or game by building a full-size video store on the floor of the convention hall.

The store was brought to life with iconic signage, combo VHS & LEGO product displays, a membership services counter featuring a “BrickDrop” return slot, a “buildable” new release wall, life-size LEGO brick-built photo-ops, details and easter eggs like an “employee picks” section, and even that distinctive popcorn smell. Fans could walk away with exclusive swag including Brickbuster membership cards, pins, and a custom “Be Kind Rewind” LEGO Minifigure.

The booth became an instant fan-favorite at the convention – bringing over 47,000 fans back to the 90’s with an immersive experience that pulled on all the right heart strings and kept people coming back day after day for more.

Agency:
XD Agency

Creative Team:
R. Kyle Everett - Creative Director, Concept Development, Experience Flow, Layout, Scenic & Environmental Design, 3D Modeling & Renders

Hannah Snell - Graphic Design

Awards:
Event Marketer Experience Design & Technology Awards - Best Overall Trade Show Exhibit

BizBash Event Experience Awards - Best Tradeshow Booth

The DRUM Awards - Bronze, Experience

OVERVIEW VIDEO

PROCESS

The initial concept started as a short scribble in a sketchbook, inspired by the idea of taking the LEGO booth in a new direction, focused on immersive placemaking, to create a space where all of the LEGO themes could live together. From there I built out a comprehensive plan and mood boards for how to recreate an accurate vintage Blockbuster store experience.

Research included a trip to the last remaining Blockbuster in Bend Oregon to capture photos of the space, signage, and fixtures.

The layout was heavily influenced by classic Blockbuster store designs with a "brick" retail structure that featured a branded awning, large openings that mimicked picture windows while allowing guests to easily enter and exit the space, a "membership services" desk at the front, aisles of displays filling out the center with additional displays lining the walls, posters and screens to promote content, photo-ops anchoring the corners, and even a snack rack. A small LEGO Store next door helped to anchor the mini stripmall. Through multiple iterations the layout developed with an expanded build area, two tiered product displays, simplified wall displays, and a more open floorplan for better traffic flow.