Ah, summertime. The perfect time sippin' ice tea, relaxing by the pool and—if you're going after certain niche demographics—stirring up a whole lot of excitement for your brand.
BlogHer12 starts in New York this week. The event has become a Mecca for brands looking to engage with women. For example, Johnson & Johnson is not only exhibiting, but sponsoring an educational session on the state of motherhood. Trojan plans to hand out 4,000 vibrators, while on a tamer track, Hot Wheels and Hershey's will be sponsoring suites to showcase their wares. GoBowling.com is setting up a bowling lane at the opening night party, and even President Obama is getting in on the act, addressing attendees live via video this afternoon.
Two years ago, when I attended BlogHer10, one exhibitor referred to the show as "Comic-Con for women." It's an apt comparison, although as a female nerd, I'm definitely of the opinion that Comic-Con is, well, Comic-Con for women.
Once upon a time, Comic-Con was a friendly little gathering of fans of comic books, science fiction and fantasy in San Diego. Now, the July event is a marketing juggernaut, attracting not only the entertainment industry but brands of ever stripe that want to hitch a ride on the show's hype machine.
Consider this small sampling of the promotions at Comic-Con 2012:
On the Road: Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block of programming extended its presence beyond its show floor both with partnerships with State Farm and Lexus. During the first two full days of the con, the first 1,000 fans to visit the booth who were age 18 or over got a scratch card sponsored by State Farm car insurance. The card gave visitors the chance to win comic books and V.I.P. passes for Adult Swim panels and parties during the show.
Outside the convention hall, Adult Swim-wrapped Lexus vehicles drove around San Diego's Gaslamp District, offering randomly selected passengers free rides and Adult Swim swag.
Quest for Adventure: On the more all-ages side of the Cartoon Network house, the network took over the New Children's Museum of San Diego to create a fully immersive "Adventure Time" experience for fans. The event welcomed guests into a recreation of the Land of Ooo, where
the Keyper (an AT character who wears a key-shaped hat) presented guests with a special key that would open one of the many doors in the secret lair of the Door Lords. Before the door opened, each guest had to decipher a riddle. If successful, they received a special prize.
Within the walls of the show, fans could get a "Comic-Con Quest" map at the Cartoon Network booth, which they could use to search for "Adventure Time" products throughout the exhibit hall. If visitors got a stamp for every item on the map, they receive a reward.
Big Bag Theory: Swag is available at any convention. But has your company ever given out a premium so prized that it shows up on eBay even before the event is over? That's more the rule than the exception with the goodies handed out at Comic-Con. The collectible bags given out annually by Warner Bros. are one big example. And we mean big—these bags are huge. A small child could use one as a sleeping bag. This year's bags featured images from shows and movies like "Fringe," "The Big Bang Theory," "Arrow," "The Vampire Diaries" and "Man of Steel." Other brands that decided to bag-it this year included AMC's "The Walking Dead" and FX's "Archer" and "Wilfred."
Cheaper than the Hilton: Hotel rooms in San Diego during Comic-Con are notoriously difficult to secure, which makes the Dodge Dart Challenge "Live in it to Win It" promotion actually quite sensible. The four-day game had four superhero-costumed contestants competing in challenges around the city, for the chance to win a 2012 Dodge Dart. (And yes, they did live together in the car during the convention.) Footage of the event was integrated into Viacom's TV coverage of the con on Comedy Central, MTV, Spike and VH1. A dedicated website streamed coverage of the contest, won by Trent "Toby Blue Wolf" Brookshier.
Will you be at BlogHer? Follow me on Twitter at @CMBethNegus for news from the event.
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