Author Topic: SDCC popularity.  (Read 14811 times)

Offline cciveg

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #15 on: April 24, 2018, 08:32:35 PM »
Attendance has peaked for years now. It can not get any larger at it has maxed out the available space at the convention center and hotels within a mile.
As it is unlikely the convention center will expand as CCI wanted it to, that's it. It can not grow. Sure, there will be "improvements" to the convention center, but the local taxpayer will isn't there to expand it. Even CCI has pulled back on the expansion and is talking about hotel rooms. But even another 1000 rooms downtown will not meet the market.

What helped comic con grow was the explosion of Hall H, when people started camping out. It was the Twilight and Harry Potter franchises that spurred this, with a dash of David Tennant. The infusion of a large female demographic pushed comic con beyond it's humble origins. Unfortunately,
 nothing has replaced it.

More to come...

Offline MickeyJack

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #16 on: April 24, 2018, 08:34:06 PM »
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You are not crazy.

CCI peaked in attendance and relevancy a few years ago. It is in a slow "decline", if that's the right word, in terms of the industry and it's importance. The crowds aren't going anywhere but it is a different type of crowd.
For the movie industry, some of it dates back to Scott Pilgrim. It was extremely hyped at comic con but withered at the box office. Others like Cowboys Vs Aliens demonstrated that screaming comic con crowds do not translate into ticket sales.
Now, with the media conglomerates, they can have their own conventions and control everything from venue to media.

To be continued...

I don’t believe Iron Man would have taken off like it did without its huge reception at SDCC

The hype of Joss’s surprise announcement of his directing Avengers followed by bringing out the whole cast was a HUGE launch into the golden age of the MCU. Pilgrim be damned! There’s good hype and bad hype. Marvel isn’t coming this year because they know how to time their big events. They’ll be back next year. Everybody has a Con now and they’re shamelessly (yes I mean you Salt Lake!) trying to copy SDCC. This Con is not declining. If anything, it’s suffering from being too big.


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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #17 on: Today at 04:21:11 PM »

Offline cciveg

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #17 on: April 24, 2018, 08:45:18 PM »
In the past couple of years, panels that would have once been impossible to get into do not fill up. Now, once the campers get in, one can walk into hall h with no problem for most panels. Doctor Who was the canary in the mineshaft for hall h. Many studios prefer a pretty full ballroom 20 than a hall h with hundreds of empty seats.

Next, rise of the exclusives...

Offline cciveg

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #18 on: April 24, 2018, 09:03:45 PM »
Once upon a con, exclusives where just that, a small number of items exclusive to comic con. Then, when vendors saw that people where throwing all kinds of cash at them, everyone has not just one, but multiple exclusives now. How long is the list now?
And in many instances, you can buy the same item later at another convention or online. Legos and funkos still draw big numbers but the flipper market has contracted.

Other areas of contraction, which others have noted are:
The demise of Nerd HQ.
The demise of the Alter-con (what was the name?)
The demise of Nerdist events. No more nerdist live. Like the studios, the return wasn't worth the investment.
The demise of large offsite exhibits (Godzilla) and storefronts (king of nerds cereal bar, practical jokers, etc.).
Only Snoopy hangs on.

...


Offline cciveg

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #19 on: April 24, 2018, 09:20:08 PM »
A couple of years ago, at the park across from the Embassy Suites, there was a comic con offsite music event there. I forget what the admission was supposed to be but attendance was so dire, that one could walk in and enjoy the DJs and watch a 6th Doctor dance to the Doctor Who theme song. There were maybe 50 people there at it's short lived peak but mostly a couple of dozen die hards. We picked up many givaways, glowing things and those overpriced Simpson's tyvek  wallets. I still have some laying around.

Oh yeah, remember Enchantment Under the SDCC? It is in Davy Jones locker.
Does USA Today's Pop Candy still have a meetup and exclusive poster? Those were a thing once.

Times have changed.


Offline cciveg

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #20 on: April 24, 2018, 09:24:23 PM »
I know I am going on and on, but bert's post has caused me to express what I have noticed in the past 15 years.
I remember when to registration was all on paper and if you registered for the next year, it was $35.

Offline MickeyJack

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #21 on: April 24, 2018, 09:30:48 PM »


To be continued...
[/quote]
You weren’t kidding.



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Offline Mel

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #22 on: April 24, 2018, 09:35:59 PM »
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I know I am going on and on, but bert's post has caused me to express what I have noticed in the past 15 years.
I remember when to registration was all on paper and if you registered for the next year, it was $35.
You should just go edit a post. We are not supposed to make multiple posts in a row.

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Offline rabbitwarren

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #23 on: April 25, 2018, 02:35:26 AM »
I think the landscape has just changed. TV is all the rage now so the tv studios are going to have a bigger presence. Thursday Hall H wasn’t so difficult to get into last year but Friday, with Walking Dead and a Game of Thrones, last year was still impossible. . 

As for freebies...  here’s some anedoctal information from someone who works in “experiential” marketing. The big trend is people living minimal lifestyles, so they don’t want things. They instead want “experiences”. The Westworld Experience last year is a great example. While the hat was great, it’s sitting in a closet now, collecting dust. On the other hand, I still frequently talk about that experience at work, right down to the drinks they served.

At work, we often get the “leftovers” from our corporate events. And outside of the high quality stuff (like the windbreakers and fleeces and the star destroyer model) they all just collect dust. Because no one wants a polo or T-shirt with our clients logo.

Anyway, point is, the market changes and so do the companies. From my own perspective, SDCC is still a viable platform given I have 100K + eyeballs right there and god knows how much more impressions in the media. How a company chooses to activate at SDCC is going to change though.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2018, 04:24:13 AM by rabbitwarren »

Online marcia29

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #24 on: April 25, 2018, 05:45:27 AM »
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...The big trend is people living minimal lifestyles, so they don’t want things. They instead want “experiences”.

[member=448]rabbitwarren[/member] - very interesting.  Is this trend appearing more in younger people or across the age spectrum?
It is 2024, and I am still asking...where's my flyin' car??!! @fannishmarcia

Offline MickeyJack

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #25 on: April 25, 2018, 05:56:28 AM »
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[member=448]rabbitwarren[/member] - very interesting.  Is this trend appearing more in younger people or across the age spectrum?
I’m 61. This will be my 10th SDCC. I’ve attended just a few other cons, like WonderCon this year. I’m a focus group of one, but as an “old guy” I’m definitely more interested in experiences than “stuff.”


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Offline rabbitwarren

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #26 on: April 25, 2018, 06:00:28 AM »
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[member=448]rabbitwarren[/member] - very interesting.  Is this trend appearing more in younger people or across the age spectrum?

More the younger spectrum. 

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I myself am well past 30 but I live a very "streamlined" existence but that's mainly a function of where I live, as I don't have a lot of space to accumulate stuff. 

Offline MickeyJack

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #27 on: April 25, 2018, 06:10:06 AM »
I do like getting swag, but not junk. I definitely love my WestWorld hat. This freebie crap they hand out like candy at a parade at many booths both big name and small is a total waste to me. I occasionally grab some of it in case someone wants it at the swag swap on Sunday night.

Online marcia29

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #28 on: April 25, 2018, 06:11:49 AM »
I remember comedian George Carlin doing a bit about all of the stuff we accumulate.  Great 'stuff!' :)

Come to think of it, I am much more picky with freebies.  I adored the Share Week bag, that had a crossover strap.  I gave to away to someone who actually uses it.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2018, 06:14:02 AM by marcia29 »
It is 2024, and I am still asking...where's my flyin' car??!! @fannishmarcia

Online marcia29

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Re: SDCC popularity.
« Reply #29 on: April 25, 2018, 06:24:30 AM »
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More the younger spectrum. 

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Hmm...methinks this trend may actually increase popularity because of the 'experience' of being at SDCC.  It is pretty special.  Ain't nothin' like being there, 'tis true.
It is 2024, and I am still asking...where's my flyin' car??!! @fannishmarcia