San Diego Comic-Con
The Ultimate Comic-Con Experience (Without the Booth)
How do you show up in pop culture's largest fan event in a BIG way when you don’t have a BIG budget to go the traditional route?
To target millennial gamers and entertainment enthusiasts, I partnered with Polygon and created a memorable online and offline Comic-Con experience.
Instead of a traditional sponsorship, I leveraged my relationship with Polygon to curate a unique day of programming at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in San Diego’s famed Gaslamp Quarter, just minutes away from the convention center and the epicenter of Comic-Con.
The TCL event featured exclusive conversations with industry luminaries like Genndy Tartakovsky and Rebecca Sugar, followed by a rooftop party with gaming stations, a GIF booth, and a DJ. We also invited special guests like actress Janina Gavankar to connect with fans.
The campaign achieved a few key goals for TCL;
Elevated Brand Awareness: Secured high share of voice on Polygon.com, a key platform for our target audience.
Targeted Reach: Exposed TCL to in-market TV shoppers not only on Polygon.com, but at scale across Vox Media's network.
Deep Audience Engagement: Tapped into Polygon's passionate fanbase and "showed up" at Comic-Con through exclusive programming featuring industry stars. This strategic activation helped us break through the noise and connect meaningfully with fans adjacent to the main event.
This digital campaign and companion IRL activation not only increased our brand’s visibility, but also fostered deeper connections with our target audience and industry influencers.
The event's success demonstrated the power of creative partnerships and strategic offline activations, even with a limited budget.