FedEx
The Opportunity
NRF 2026 was a strategic inflection point. FedEx came to Retail’s Big Show with a clear mission: help retail leaders see the broader supply chain technology platform that had grown behind one of the world’s most familiar brands.
This year, FedEx secured space within NRF’s Mix & Mingle Lounge—a location that came with unusual freedoms and a specific opportunity to create something more experiential than a standard inline exhibit.
The Challenge
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Reintroduce a legacy brand as a digital solutions company.
FedEx's brand recognition is both an asset and a liability at a show like NRF. The design had to signal something genuinely new—not just a fresh coat of paint on a familiar name, but a physical environment that made visitors experience FedEx's digital transformation firsthand. -
Maximize an unconventional footprint.
A 10×20 inline typically comes with strict sight line restrictions: neighboring booths mean conservative height limits, enclosed backs, and no elements extending toward the aisle.The lounge setting changed the rules entirely—and failing to take advantage of that would have been a missed opportunity.
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Dial back the sales pressure without losing engagement.
FedEx's NRF booth the year prior had been too forward—sales-heavy in a way that made some visitors hesitant to approach. This year's design needed to invite exploration rather than initiate a pitch, creating natural on-ramps into the brand story before any conversation with a rep.
Our Approach
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An arch that turned a 10×20 into an entry point.
The lounge placement eliminated neighboring booth sight lines entirely, and we used every inch of that freedom.A dramatic dual-tower arch structure — rising to 12 feet with orange accent rails connecting overhead—transformed a standard inline footprint into something that felt more like an immersive brand portal than a booth.
The open-back configuration meant the exhibit was visible and inviting from both the aisle and the lounge, pulling foot traffic from two directions simultaneously.
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An interactive activation built around self-directed discovery.
Rather than a sales-led demo, the experience centered on a quiz that let visitors engage with FedEx's digital solutions on their own terms—selecting from three supply chain use cases, with each choice triggering a corresponding lighting shift and audio response from the integrated speaker overhead. -
Exterior monitors as a strategic entry sequence.
Two screens were positioned at the aisle edge, creating a low-stakes first interaction before a visitor committed to entering the booth. A third interior monitor supported deeper demos and one-on-one conversations for visitors ready to go further. -
Lighting that made fabric look like something more.
The design called for walls that appeared to glow from within—a fully backlit interior. Rather than an expensive custom lighting build, we achieved that effect using fabric SEG wall graphics paired with inset lighting concealed beneath the orange edge covers. On the show floor, the result reads as immersive and architectural, not fabric.
The Result
The exhibit delivered what it was designed to do: turn a complex brand evolution into an experience visitors could explore on their own terms. The exterior monitors created a natural stopping point for passersby, while the open lounge footprint gave the space visibility and approachability from multiple directions.
The concept resonated strongly enough that it directly informed Triple20’s subsequent build for FedEx at ShopTalk—where the brand again chose a lounge-adjacent footprint, this time expanding the idea into a new environment.
