Author Topic: Discussion re: CCI FB comments (from CCI Posts and Announcements Forum)  (Read 21204 times)

Offline Khaaaaaaanh!!!

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It's funny that you use the restaurant analogy b/c I was thinking the same thing. I miss the mom and pop BBQ joint we had here that moved from a 2 table hole in the wall to a bigger building and failed within a few months. The recipe was award winning but it couldn't handle the additional costs from rent to servers that the bigger space required.  We have a few bakeries around here that I think intentionally keep the lines long to give the illusion that demand is high.

As I've said, sometimes less is more. It's clearly not a money thing for CCI but a way to put on a show that everyone there can enjoy. Once you start running everyone ragged, it becomes less of a celebration and party and more of a chore to hold the event.

If anything, I like in the Glanzer interview after WonderCon (I believe that's where I heard it) where he alludes to possibly another event so WonderCon can return up north to SF and another CCI organized con can be held in Anaheim which will tide fans over until Comic Con in July but still give fans another event that they can enjoy on a smaller, more relaxed scale.
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Offline Mario_c

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I predict we'll see the con bubble pop within a few years. I am surprised it blew up to the levels it did given the recession but many of the larger production companies have not been getting the returns they were hoping for after going HAM on the con advertising.

Right now they are at that sweet spot where they have the demand, but what if they do extend the days just to have that be the breaking point where people & companies get con fatigue or just flat out do not want to pay more? That's an expensive experiment that they would be gambling on.

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Offline Mario_c

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If anything, I like in the Glanzer interview after WonderCon (I believe that's where I heard it) where he alludes to possibly another event so WonderCon can return up north to SF and another CCI organized con can be held in Anaheim which will tide fans over until Comic Con in July but still give fans another event that they can enjoy on a smaller, more relaxed scale.

I would love to see them branch out of
Cali and enter larger territories that are equipped for large expos but other comic cons are not in, like Vegas, Atlantic City, or Miami.

Offline alyssa

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I predict we'll see the con bubble pop within a few years. I am surprised it blew up to the levels it did given the recession but many of the larger production companies have not been getting the returns they were hoping for after going HAM on the con advertising.

Right now they are at that sweet spot where they have the demand, but what if they do extend the days just to have that be the breaking point where people & companies get con fatigue or just flat out do not want to pay more? That's an expensive experiment that they would be gambling on.
agreed, i saw it happen to rock climbing- people couldn't get enough then all of a sudden, bam, all the demand dried up. Popularity is a fickle thing.

my little local comic shop in portland ME is trying to fund it's next con by setting up a Kickstarter page to get the 10K they need to hold the show - it's brilliant and it get's them out from having the huge cash outlay upfront. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
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Offline Transmute Jun

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What you don't seem to be getting, is that what makes sdcc so good is the intensity and over saturation.

That's an argument I haven't heard before. IMHO, the show could use a *little* dilution. There's so much to see and I always have to make hard choices...

Offline Transmute Jun

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Right now they are at that sweet spot where they have the demand, but what if they do extend the days just to have that be the breaking point where people & companies get con fatigue or just flat out do not want to pay more? That's an expensive experiment that they would be gambling on.

Interesting. Others on this thread have commented that the demand will not go away without significant price increases.

Just curious, Mario, why do you think companies will 'get fatigue'?

Offline Mario_c

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Please excuse how long this is. Again, this is just my opinion based on facts and past reactions in the industry.

I think that the big film companies will get fatigue for many reasons and all of them are financial. Dont get me wrong, I love this event as much as the next guy who can get in and I want to see it go on forever but the business end is just not that good long term for film companies who have banked so much on a con appearance translating to box office success. Those days, I'm afraid, are over.

If I know hollywood like I think i do, then there are a team of people for each studio who have looked at what they have in thier line-ups and decided months ago how much money they want to put into this years con if any at all. They are starting to realize that the fans at the con are a very small sampling of their target demo and no matter how much hype they feel they see, these multi-million dollar films with ad budgets that are just as big have had a hard time recouping the loss.

In my opinion it seems like the lesser known outrageous movies like piraña 3d have been the ones to leave the con with real buzz. But if the really big movies and celebs stop going then that could bring down the interest of the mundane fans who only wanted to go because they knew they could see Robert patinson or whoever.

That's Hollywood, several of the toy companies have on average found thier stock of exclusives not selling as well year after year. Extra inventory and declining sales could lead to them scaling back the offerings for the next year or even pushing the same exclusive at several shows as a generic "convention" exclusive then eventually the remaining stock will be hocked on a retail site (like dc direct).

Then there are the fans. Yes, there is a large collection of con goers who do this year after year. This'll be my fourth year and I can tell you that unlike being a gay teen this does not get better. It actually gets more frustrating and exponentially expensive. My first year cost I think 1800 total. This year that's just how much my hotel costs. Do I need to stay in gaslamp? No, but having been a vet of this thing I know I want to be where the action is. I project that when August rolls around I wouldve spent $12000 on four sdcc's for two people. I am by no means hurting because of this nor am I regretful, I knew what I am spending my money on, and all of that money is without a dime being spent on two passes to even get into this thing in two years. The average late teen through college kid wouldn't be able to ball like this year after year and they could struggle financially with a trip that you need to plan eons ahead of time to attend.

And finally, there are the people who work these things and they all need to get paid. Volunteers blanketing the streets with flyers, pr people being flown in to rep their clients, extra security, sanitation, chefs, transportation, prostitutes (they are there if money is to be made) all of these people are coming in lager numbers year after year but if there is a cap on how many people can actually get in then that will taper off since it could be over saturated with opportunists who are just a bit too late.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2012, 02:12:44 PM by Mario_c »

Offline alyssa

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That's an argument I haven't heard before. IMHO, the show could use a *little* dilution. There's so much to see and I always have to make hard choices...
i've found that dilution leads to 'not much i want to see...' pretty quick.
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Offline Transmute Jun

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Mario, you've raised some interesting points. I don't have enough knowledge/experience with this industry to respond with anything appropriately intelligent. I appreciate your thoughts and am interested to see how things work out, and whether or not your predictions are true.

You're right that the average college student can't necessarily afford the outlay involved, but presumably as they graduate and get a job they would be more able to do so.

Offline Trev

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Mario, you've raised some interesting points. I don't have enough knowledge/experience with this industry to respond with anything appropriately intelligent. I appreciate your thoughts and am interested to see how things work out, and whether or not your predictions are true.

You're right that the average college student can't necessarily afford the outlay involved, but presumably as they graduate and get a job they would be more able to do so.

If you're thinking that Hollywood might pull out or reduce, just repeat to yourself - Avengers is over $1.2b in box office alone. It cost $220m to make and maybe $300m to make and market. That's almost $1b in profit and it is still in theaters.

Hollywood will now ride it as far as they can. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't double down on sdcc.

Offline Khaaaaaaanh!!!

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Hollywood will now ride it as far as they can. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't double down on sdcc.

Interesting thing with that point is how quickly Hollywood will blame SDCC as soon as a movie fails. And that will happen with more movies than not.
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Offline Transmute Jun

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When stuff fails, the people responsible are always looking for a scapegoat. It couldn't be because the movie sucked, could it? ;)

Offline Trev

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Interesting thing with that point is how quickly Hollywood will blame SDCC as soon as a movie fails. And that will happen with more movies than not.

I don't think so. They might blame the marketing plan, and that might include SDCC, but I doubt anybody would blame SDCC completely. If the movie sucks and word gets out via SDCC, well that's a gamble they took with a movie that sucked anyway.

There was a good analysis on the Beat a year or two ago, I'll see if I can find it.

Hollywood blaming SDCC for a bunch of failures would actually be OK with me, bec. it might mean they would pull out or pull back.

There's enough capital floating around Hollywood thanks to superhero movies that SDCC is a pretty big bargain. Even if they spent a million or two on SDCC -- which seems crazy high to me, they could do SDCC for the next 10 or 20 years and not make much of a dent.

Small films will probably always do Guerilla marketing at SDCC. Big Studios have enough coin to do it right until the trend is run into the ground. That's what Hollywood does anyway.

Offline Trev

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I don't think so. They might blame the marketing plan, and that might include SDCC, but I doubt anybody would blame SDCC completely. If the movie sucks and word gets out via SDCC, well that's a gamble they took with a movie that sucked anyway.

There was a good analysis on the Beat a year or two ago, I'll see if I can find it.

Hollywood blaming SDCC for a bunch of failures would actually be OK with me, bec. it might mean they would pull out or pull back.

There's enough capital floating around Hollywood thanks to superhero movies that SDCC is a pretty big bargain. Even if they spent a million or two on SDCC -- which seems crazy high to me, they could do SDCC for the next 10 or 20 years and not make much of a dent.

Small films will probably always do Guerilla marketing at SDCC. Big Studios have enough coin to do it right until the trend is run into the ground. That's what Hollywood does anyway.

Here's the article I was referring to:

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Offline Angology

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It so breaks my heart that Scott Pilgrim is the big example, and a failure, and that therefore it must have sucked. It was my favorite movie that year, and on my top ten list of all time. I truly believe that it just had a limited appeal, and no amount of marketing would have expanded it. I cherish every piece of SP swag I got that year.
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