Unless you have lived under a rock for the past decade or have no friends with nerdish
\ntastes, you have heard about the annual San Diego Comic-Con, a four-day convention which
\ndescends on the pop culture psyche every July.<\/p>\n
Is that the image that pops into your head when you hear the phrase,
\n“Comic-Con?” If so, you’re probably not alone, but you also couldn’t be more
\nwrong. While the first few comic conventions back in the early 1970s might have been
\nsimilar to the above scenario, things had already started to change by the mid-70s. The
\nfirst three-day convention in San Diego in 1970 brought in 300 fans to see the official
\nguests of Forrest J. Ackerman (a science-fiction fan and promoter) and Mike Royer (a
\ncomic book artist and inker who later worked with the now famous Jack Kirby at DC
\nComics). A mere six years later, the convention brought in over 3,000 fans and had become
\nbig enough that a marketing genius named Charley Lippincott brought a little film called
\n“Star Wars” to share with fans a year prior to its theatrical release.<\/p>\n
Flash forward to today – the 2010 Comic-Con brought in over 130,000+ attendees, this year
\n2015, saw 165,000 attendees. Now all attendees must register in advance, there is no more
\non-site registration allowed. All this for a comic book convention? These days, it’s
\nsignificantly more than that It is a pop cultural necessity and a key cog in the
\nHollywood PR machine. In the Scifi world you either make a ripple at Comic-con or your
\ntoast.<\/p>\n
2015 saw the marketing launch for movies like Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
\nDeadpool Star Wars:The Force Awakens Suicide Squad X-Men Apocalypse and of course the
\nlast installation of The Hunger Games <\/p>\n
In television fans were captivated with tastes of the following;<\/p>\n
Ash vs Evil Dead
\nThe 100
\nHeroes Reborn
\nThe Flash
\nArrow
\nGotham
\nThe Walking Dead \/ Fear The Walking Dead <\/p>\n
That’s what Comic-Con has turned into – a marketer’s dream for showcasing products, as
\nfilm-maker Morgan Spurlock puts it, to “the creme de la creme of all those people,
\nof all those fans, of all those bloggers, of all those ticket buyers who are the most
\ndiscerning of fans and who will scream from the mountaintops when they like something.”<\/p>\n
The so-called “geeks” who attend Comic-Con have turned into “the cr\u00e8me de
\nla cr\u00e8me” of marketers’ target audiences.Another interesting phenomenon is that
\nComic-Con has grown beyond just “genre” properties like fantasy and
\nscience-fiction movies, video games, and television programs. The attendees are key
\nopinion makers.<\/p>\n
The times sure have changed from that little convention with 300 people back in 1970.<\/p>\n
And, it’s not just the big guys who exhibit at Comic-Con. For every Sony, Marvel, Warner
\nBrothers, and Hasbro with their massive booths and incredible budgets at Comic-Con, there
\nare just as many little companies, and even individual artists and owner-creators, who
\nhave small booths and are looking to grab some time in the spotlight among the very
\ndesirable audience that attends Comic-Con. As many have pointed outed, Comic-Con is a
\nperfect marketing case study for mass marketing versus niche marketing. Comic Con
\nrepresents both types of marketing at the same convention.<\/p>\n
Finally, another phenomenon to come out of Comic-Con is partly a result modern society’s
\naddiction to social media – it’s how film-makers (and, in turn, other marketers at
\nComic-Con) utilize the power of Comic-Con with reviewers and influential bloggers. People
\nhave begun to notice that the people who are getting super excited and tweeting
\nexcessively about the carefully crafted celebrity panels at Comic-Con aren’t just the
\naverage everyday fans who waited in line for hours, but journalists and movie-bloggers
\ncovering the event. The marketing teams at the major studios have realized that they can
\ncreate excitement and buzz for their properties by appealing to the geek-side of the very
\nsame professionals who will be reviewing them for their readers. While some see this as a
\nhuge conflict of interest, others see it as just a changing “sign of the times”
\nregarding the blurring lines between marketing and editorial.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is that Comic-Con may not be exactly what you perceive it to be. For good
\nor ill, it’s become a social barometer for an audience with the power to propel a brand
\nto the heights of success, or consign it to the depths of marketing oblivion.