The inaugural SXSW took place in London at the start of June, and creative events agency Metro Production Group (MPG) was tasked by game developer Supercell to create “The Art of Supercell” — a fully immersive fan space filled with artwork inspired by the Supercell Collection.
The initial brief was simple: Supercell wanted to create an art gallery to showcase artwork created by artists around the world, commissioned to mark the company’s 15th birthday.
From this starting point, Metro Production Group used its experience at events like SXSW to deliver something far beyond a traditional art gallery. To bring the activation to life, MPG began by focusing on creating a gallery space that could stand out on its own. Once the team was confident the gallery was impactful and engaging, it turned its attention to designing an experience for guests, adding interactive elements to elevate the activation.
The main audience of Supercell is gamers, so MPG wanted to move away from purely digital environments and give them something more analogue. The giant magnet wall became one of the primary ways the agency achieved this, along with claw machines and other interactive games.
Enrique Bazan head of studio says: “The main driving force was taking what the client wanted and then moving on and really focusing on the guest experience. We wanted the guests to participate in creating art, to get them to maybe play around and maybe leaving something behind. So it was about stepping back, stepping away from the obvious and doing something slightly different.”
The magnet wall was inspired by similar concepts like whiteboards, chalkboards and sticker walls, but MPG designed it to be both interactive and a key visual feature. Measuring six metres wide and four metres tall, the wall’s top half was too high for anyone to interact with, so MPG created a magnet wall that was half interactive and half decorative. The agency printed copies of ten forty individual characters (over 600 magnets in total) and allowed guests to pick their favourite and create scenes featuring the characters in different activities. Letters were also available so guests could leave messages.
Alex Raines, event manager says: “The fans of Supercell were what made this activation unique, they came into the space and they loved it.”
Adriana Cudo, creative atrategist says: “You have to make everything a little bit interactive these days if you want people to really engage and a lot of people go down the digital route but you can do something a bit more traditional.”
Alongside the magnet wall, two games were available — a claw machine and a vending machine — each themed around different Supercell games. At the claw machine, guests could win keychains or in-game prizes, while the vending machine challenged players to beat a high score.
Raines says: “When it’s the first time for something there’s always going to be natural teething issues. We got this project maybe six weeks before and I think everyone was wary, that because this was the first time we all had to work a little bit more closely together to push everything over the edge. Everyone was new to the project, not just us in terms of working with the client, but everyone on SXSW.”
Bazan adds: “You didn’t know what kind of numbers you would expect, how well areas would work. There was a lot of unknowns that we were dealing with when we were planning the project but because of that, everyone ended up being a lot more closely knitted in terms of how we work together.”
Despite these challenges, the team quickly found ways to adapt and build strong working relationships. The collaborative spirit became a crucial factor in maintaining momentum as they navigated an event of such scale and complexity for the first time in London. The uncertainty around everything from crowd sizes to logistics forced everyone involved to think creatively and stay agile.
Bazan says: “We were all aware of SXSW as an event, we know the big impact it has over in Austin and we knew that it coming to London for the first time was quite a big deal for the events industry and for the city. We wanted to create something that was special, and that we were going above and beyond to make sure that whatever we did for this project was fit for the occasion.”
This ambition drove the team to pay close attention to every detail, ensuring that each element reflected the innovation and creativity synonymous with SXSW. From the space’s design to the programming of experiences, there was a shared determination to deliver something memorable.
Bazan says: “I think in order to really connect you need to create environments where people can come and experience that brand. You can do that in many ways but the bit that has the most impact is always going to be a live setting. I think this is the future and we hope to be doing a lot more of it.”
For MPG, the event was not just a showcase of logistics and planning but a testament to the power of live experiences. As audiences increasingly seek meaningful, in-person connections, immersive events like “The Art of Supercell” continue to shape how brands engage with people in memorable and impactful ways.
