“Dedication” is the keen observation from one of our collaborators, Shane Santiago of SBS Studios, who visited Stalwart Communications and San Diego for the annual sold-out behemoth Comic-Con International. I heard someone say they should rename the epic pop culture event “Fandom-Con.” It must take some serious love to purchase a flight, an outrageously marked up hotel room, and tickets to then put on a costume, fight through a crowd of more than 130,000, to stand in a line and *hopefully* see some pretty cool Hollywood-driven movie, gaming and television stuff.
What implores someone to participate in such a love-fest? It’s not easy ignoring all those “nerd” and “geek” references. I KNOW, I’ve been to “the Con” twice. They hand out extremely huge Swag bags at Comic-Con, but they aren’t giving away much for free. Most of what’s going in those bags is gonna cost you something. But while observing downtown this weekend, there were a lot of smiles underneath those Darth Vader helmets.
As public relations professionals, how do we help our clients capture that level of loyalty and dedication? Comic-Con is a perfect example of setting the stage for what an audience consumes. It’s unique because it doesn’t rely on the old standbys such as the promise of free stuff, comfort and now, the conference isn’t even 100 percent safe after the pen stabbing incident.
What gets people there? Here are a few takeaways that might help spread the love:
- Preferential treatment – as Shane points out in his blog, panel after panel showcased “exclusive” footage for attendees. That doesn’t cost them a cent, but certainly gets people talking. Brainstorm what your clients can offer that might be considered privileged.
- Make the audience the superhero – At Comic-Con, Hollywood celebrities abound, but it seems the real stars are the attendees who dress up in different costumes. Other attendees stop average people and ask to get a picture taken with them. Challenge yourself to figure out what makes a consumer the star from a press release, to a giveaway, to a panel.
- Tell a good story – Many Comic-Con fans have truly fallen in love with the stories in their favorite books, television shows, movies and even video games. So much so, they are inspired to dress up as the character. A client can be as endlessly fascinating and it’s our job to help unearth those compelling stories.
- Root for the underdog - Everyone always talks about how Comic-Con started in a basement by a group of geeks and look at it now. When embarking on a new PR strategy, don’t ignore the potential of targeting a smaller niche audience, especially if they like social media.
