As just reported, the NY Times delivered a pretty strong diss to the economics of Comic-Con, and I’m sure con vets and observers will be responding very soon, as Marvel’s CB Cebulski already did:
In the meantime, the Bonfire Agency’s founding partner Steve Rotterdam</strong> penned a response for the Beat. The Bonfire Agency specializes in crafting ad campaigns to the geek demo, so they have some thoughts on branding strategies in general:
Sadly, the NYTimes article reflects the writers’ misunderstanding of the relationship the brands cited have with pop culture consumers, in general, and SDCC attendees, in particular. Most of the brands cited in the article are, in fact, returnees and many have extended their sponsorships to other pop culture “superfan” conventions throughout North America. More importantly, these brands have come to know that overt, hard-sell, commerce-before-content posturing and tactics at such events not only do not work with attendees, but have a tendency to backfire – particularly in the social realm. So what is dismissed by the writers as laid-back soft sell is, in fact, the best strategy for success when sailing through fan-infested waters.
Be it at the San Diego Comic-Con or at a local comic shop, brand support that smartly celebrates the passions of the geek demographic pays off in increased brand awareness, loyalty and word of mouth. Because when brands like Hyundai, Dr Pepper, Pizza Hut, Schick, MAC Cosmetics and Uber help superfans better connect to what it is they care about, they better position themselves with these discriminating, socially influential consumers for when the time comes to buy.
One thing the writers did get right. Compared to attendees of other conventions and trade shows held in San Diego, attendees at Comic-Con don’t spend as much to wine and dine themselves at area restaurants. First of all, the majority of them don’t arrive with expense accounts. More importantly, they prefer to direct their indulgences and dollars to the dealers and vendors on the exhibit floor.
The Bonfire Agency came on the scene a year ago with some great ideas for giving all levels of the comics industry more information; this month they are spotlighting one of the best, FanPan, a consumer input panel of 500 pop culture users and influencers. It’s free to join FanPan, but brands and products can then avail themselves of FanPan input to test how their products will be received by the highly vocal and internet savvy early adopters.
So yeah, it’s a focus group and focus groups can be a pain in the ass; but in this case it’s a valuable chance for market testing in an arena where a lot of people are simply flying blind.
There’s more info in the PR below, but if you’re interested in having your voice heard, go to the above link and sign up.
Bonfire Agency, the advertising and marketing firm dedicated to helping companies better understand and deepen brand engagements with more than 5 million passionate comic and pop culture enthusiasts, announced today a new phase of recruitment for the agency’s proprietary “FanPan” consumer input panel. Consumers interested in joining the panel may do so online at www.bonfirefanpan.com.
“Comic culture is such an incredibly influential force – not just in entertainment, but in areas ranging from fashion and politics to dining trends and automotive design,” said Ed Catto, co-founder of Bonfire Agency. “Brands want to connect and engage with these ‘firestarters,’ but they need clearer insights into what they’re all about beyond comics.”
Launched shortly after Bonfire’s founding early last year, FanPan consists of a rotating membership of more than 500 representative comic culture consumers of varying degrees of “fan-aticism,” The panel was created amid growing concern about the lack of genuine research into who these consumers are, what they think and what they like.
“Surprisingly, most of what is passed off as consumer knowledge within the industry is self-reflective, assumptive and not very helpful when you’re trying to convince marketers to spend dollars connecting with the ‘geekiverse,’” said Steve Rotterdam, Bonfire co-founder and a former senior vice president of sales and marketing at DC Comics. “This is a demo that tends to be highly opinionated, iconoclastic and elusive. We’ve found that one of the best ways to find out what they’re thinking is to ask them what they’re thinking. Go figure.”
Among the consumers that Bonfire is talking to are members of the Fandom Advisory Network (FAN), a highly vocal, online group of comic fans eager to make their opinions heard. “The Fandom Advisory Network was formed to actively seek input from the entire fan community on the myriad issues facing collectors, so we believe it dovetails well with Bonfire�
[Yesterday we chatted with one half of the Bonfire Agency, Ed Catto.Brands not already woven into the fabric of our culture – and that’s most of them – have a harder time. Remember, we’re a demographic that likes to read – for fun! While brands are blown away by our passion, they’re often frightened by our intellect. While they respect our power to set and influence cultural trends, they freak out when they fall short of our expectations and we tell everyone we know all about it – by every means available. Most brands and their traditional agency partners just don’t know how to talk to us. But they will try. And, more often than not, they will fail. Bonfire was created in part to service these brands – to build relevant bridges between them and an audience of consumers that just might become their most effective advocates, if they could only learn to swim in our pool without inadvertently peeing in it.
THE BEAT: You’re coming off a stint with a large comics publisher. What is the biggest lesson from that period that you are bringing to Bonfire?
ROTTERDAM:
There are so many, Heidi. I think the biggest lesson, at least in relation to Bonfire and the ways in which we intend to work with clients and partners, is something that I thought I knew before I went to DC, but didn’t really appreciate until after I got there. And that’s the importance of talking with your customers and not at them. A conversation that begins with one party already knowing
The Bonfire Agency,
a geek/nerd-demographic targeted advertising agency headed by former DC SVP of Sales and Marketing
Steve Rotterdam and veteran marketer/Captain Action master
Ed Catto. Together they bring many smarts and skill sets to an industry that still needs business people who can think outside the box. While the agency already has a few clients on board, their jobs are not just putting together modern marketing campaigns for brands that want to reach the nerd dollar. They are already looking at putting together an ad network, a "fan pan" consumer testing group and consulting with industry mainstays like Free Comic Book Day and the CBLDF.
In a time of great change for the industry we wanted to see where Catto and Rotterdam see things going and how they hope to approach their business. First, an interview with Catto who has made his mark on the comics scene with his retro yet fresh relaunch of the Captain Action brand of toys and comics. Catto discusses how he put that deal together and where he sees Bonfire going in the following interview.]
THE BEAT: I would have to suspect that you were a lifelong fan of Captain Action before you found the license and brought it back to life. Would that be correct?
ED CATTO: Yes, but more than that, I’m a passionate comic/toy fan and collector. In fact, I first tried to understand the world through the lens of 60’s superheroes: the Batman TV Show, comics, and Captain Action
. My parents always encouraged reading in all forms, so a weekly trip to the newsstand (after Sunday pasta dinner) always meant another comic. It didn’t hurt that my parents loved and traded comics as kids too. My mom loved Wonder Woman and my dad liked Crimebuster and the Phantom. But the original Captain Action toy, with the associated properties, was also the launchpad from which I’d been introduced to so many other comics – Milt Caniff’s
Steve Canyon, Alex Raymond’s
Flash Gordon, Kirby/Ayers/Severin’s
Sgt. Fury,
I think that the NYTimes, which I usually like and respect, was pretty wrong-headed here.
It’s totally ridiculous – the NY Times is saying that SDCC attendees don’t spend enough money? Do they not realize that the people who go to the con are COMIC BOOK FANS, and not doctors, or lawyers, or any other kind of professional? Of course they’re eating whatever cheap food they can find – they’re not on a bloody expense account!!
The NY Times does articles like this this that seen aimed at enflaming response rather than offering a true balanced observation.
What the article illustrates is a lack of understanding (by choice?) as to what Comic Con, or any fan convention is. Comparing SDCC to the Golden Globes is ridiculous when you really pay attention to the focus of the two events. Comic Com is an event for the fans to connect with what they’re passionate about, be that comics, movies, books, toys , etc. The Golden Globes is an event for the press.
“Low rent”? “No spending power”? Maybe the writer should have asked the mayor of San Diego about that. He said in interviews over the weekend that the convention brings in about $175 Million to the area and is without question their biggest annual event.
“are COMIC BOOK FANS, and not doctors, or lawyers, or any other kind of professional….”
WHAT? I’m a professional. And I’m a comic book fan. At my last comic store the CEO of a Fortune 100 company had a pull list. We also had a couple NFL players with pull lists. Not every comic book fan is a ‘poor college student’.
I’m not arguing the original writer’s case, but some of the counter-arguments are ridiculous.
If the NY Times goes by attendance, which I heard a news outlet say 130,000 over the four day period, and use their own $603 number, then that’s $62,000,000 right there. I guess that’s chump change. Plus, they don’t factor in that other conventions don’t normally have things for sale inside the actual event, as SDCC does. With lodging, I’d imagine that’s where the bulk of their spending income goes to. Pretty lame article.
At a restaurant near the convention center, a worker told me extra staff was brought in because Comic-Con is the busiest time of the year for bars and restaurants in Downtown San Diego.
Steve Rotterdam speaks for me on these matters. Well done!