Behind: Comic-Con International 2010

I had a good, tiring, and productive time at Comic-Con. The convention was a success for the team, and we’re all happy with the results. I had some free time on Wednesday evening and Thursday, and between work shifts on Friday and Saturday, to explore the convention centre, surrounding hotels, and San Diego city centre. I’d never been to San Diego before, so it was interesting to walk around downtown. I also attended some great events, like a party for geeky women and their friends, and a few promotional events for a couple of products or brands I’m interesting.

From a social media, social marketing, general marketing, and brand visibility perspective, Comic-Con was fascinating. While I was out there trying to see things that I’m interested in as a fan, it was also very interesting to see what other brands were doing to promote themselves either to non-fans or for brand awareness in general. As someone who is somewhat involved in marketing, at least from a community perspective, Comic-Con was an incredibly fascinating experience.

One of the brands that I’ve connected with is Syfy. Even though I don’t subscribe to cable television, I do watch some Syfy Channel shows, and I follow their Twitter updates. I’ve followed them ever since their name change and branding revamp, out of professional curiosity. Syfy really went all out at Comic-Con, from hiring out the Hard Rock Hotel’s Café Diem and fully branding it with Syfy-related shows (including menus and décor!), to on the street person-to-person marketing, and online social media engagement through Twitter. Every bit of their marketing was on-message and consistent with their brand look, feel, and themes.

If I never get to go again, I’m glad that I experienced Comic-Con at least once.

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