As superhero films dominate the multiplexes, the exhibition market has been quick to cater for a demographic with a penchant for cosplay, memorabilia and all things cult entertainment.
MCM’s Comic Con events began in the UK and Ireland, and follow an international model that brings together popular culture categories including movies, gaming, comics, anime, television, gadgets, clothing and toys.
“I’ve been in this arena for two years, but the show’s owner has been at this for around 20 years, initially doing small shows, focusing on cult programming like Stargate before graduating to larger scale franchises in the comic world,” MCM Central’s head of European PR and content development Gary Burns tells EW.
“We’ve used London ExCel for a number of years and we’ve created some regional events in Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. More recently, we spread the franchise abroad to cities including Stockholm, Malmo, Belgium, Hannover,” Burns adds.
Mainland Europe was a natural progression for MCM, who recognised a large number of visitors to its London show were international. “We conducted research into these markets and saw that they were strong. We had also had enquiries from these cities, which strengthened the case,” he adds.
A sea change in the Comic Con exhibitor profile, from niche industries to big brand involvement has strengthened the offering. Big brands including Amazon, Fox International and the BBC all bringing content and experiential stands. “Amazon made a big splash at Comic Con in May; launching the show Preacher, and actually recreating the church from the show at our event. Dominic Cooper came along to do a screening / Q&A and some photography.”
Comic Con, is ironically deviating from its initial focus, comic books, due to consumer’s changing habits. American director Jon Schnepp has appeared at the show, and has a comic mad following. He recently launched a Kickstarter for a doc called Rise of the Uber Nerd, looking at how US comic book stores are closing down, largely because people are consuming comics and content on iPads, and other mobile devices and getting more dynamic comic book narratives through film and TV.
Burns’ career has also seen him witness the need for online communities to unite at exhibitions. “Before Comic Con I worked for two companies and they were entrenched in online worlds. People lived online pretty much, met friends online and never saw the benefit of a live event. However, when we did them the response was fantastic. It gave fans something physical, something more tangible and made all the difference.”
Celebrity interaction is a key segment of Comic Con’s offering, and people across the world are keen to meet the stars of the various cult franchises. “Q&As and panels offer show-goers a broader experience. We find our UK shows are more collector-focused. That forms only a small part of ours, but we have a broader spectrum — we’re more interested in engaging the audience now. Interacting with them.”
Recent celebrity attendees at MCM Comic Cons include actors Daniel Radcliffe and Gillian Anderson. MCM’s London show has also attracted the whole cast of Channel 4’s Humans and more recently all the key cast members of FOX’s new Robert Kirkman series, Outcast.
“We have been influenced by the likes of San Diego Comic-Con, we want to offer a well-rounded experience — not just queues for autographs and photos. The shows have now reached a level of popularity where key exhibitors know this is an audience they need to reach, so they approach us. Once the books open for our shows, they fill up quickly.”
While its international shows are currently more scaled down versions of the London ones, the following is growing. “Our followings are initially built through communities, but the signs are good. Our last London show in May attracted 133,156 visitors, including 42 per cent first time visitors. But the other 48 per cent are probably mostly core fans — and you have to nurture that. We provide spaces for them to meet and interact. We need to keep our minds open to new ideas on those fronts, that’s our core audience.”
The future for MCM Comic Cons will include expanding existing elements, like increased video conferencing from stars that can’t make it to the events due to scheduling issues. “There are a lot of technology elements we can improve too. There’s 3D scanning, VR and AR is huge right now with Pokemon Go making obvious strides in this area. We had the HTC Vive guys involved in a high profile production project at the last show. We can’t reveal too much, but it’ll be finding its way to a mainstream TV channel sometime soon and opening up our shows to an even broader audience.”
