19 replies to this topic

[OmegaGamer89]

Hey there! So, on the old forums there was a thread about why we cant go back to the David L Lawrence convention center any time in the near future. It was mainly due to it not being feasible to get the DLLCC for our con space without getting the Westin for our hotel space, and neither one willing to let us back without a large increase in attendance.

The bottom line seems to be: The con isnt quite big enough to get that really great location.



SO! Here's my suggestion: We all come here and brainstorm ideas for how we can help tekko to grow and get better! What can we do to get more people to come? How can we make sure people come BACK for a second, third, forth, fifth, sixth year and so on? Lets all do what we can to help grow the con!

Now, a word of caution: I would suggest seeing what tekko staff/management and the con attendees as a whole thinks of an idea before trying it out. You may have an idea, and it may SEEM great, but there may be some huge problem it would cause that the con staff know about that we dont. So basically, come here to BRAINSTORM, but dont just implement the idea without it getting the general "OK" from either the powers that be.
The best way to do it, I think, would be to submit your idea here, see how people react to it, and then try to run it by the programming head or whatever con head would be relevant to your idea.

LET US BEGIN!!


TEH NINJAS
Well, as I think I mentioned on the old forums, I think that the event idea for "World's largest game of Ninja" would actually help tekko grow. If Tekkoshocon holds a world record (even for something like biggest game of ninja) thats a sort of incentive for people to come and check out the con. Furthermore, we could do a video of the whole event, and use it as a sort of advertising. PLUS, we could use the record to increase attendance each year, much in the same way that Zombiefest does! Each year, we put the word out; "We broke the record last year, now we gotta break it AGAIN! Everyone come on down and help us break the record for the Xth year in a row!"
The event itself would help to draw people to the con, both to participate and to watch it. I mean, a 115+ player game of ninja would be PRETTY cool to see. Plus, what if you WIN? Bragging rights that you are the NINJA WORLD CHAMPION!

DANCE PARTY
Another idea I had was some sort of big group stunt, similar to this:


Its not really anything specific to tekko, but a cool group video like this is good promotional material, you know? Its fun, its cool looking, it shows people at the con doing something neat like this, and it kinda gives you that "oh man, Id like to go check that place out!" kinda feeling.
And of course Im not talking about this song specifically, or even a dance specifically. Just some kind of big group thing that shows people from/at tekko, doing something really cool and having fun. Hmm.. maybe even a Tekko flash mob!

THEIR VOICES GIVE US SUPER STRENGTH
I would like to also repeat my suggestion/request of bringing in Little Kuriboh and Team fourstar. Whether or not some people agree that they do count as voice actors, here is one simple fact: They bring in the crowds.
Last month at Youmacon, the line for Team Four Star's roast of Little Kuriboh took up the ENTIRE 5ht floor and THEN SOME. People WILL come in to see LK and TFS. They are crowd-pleasers.

AND! Here's another thing to think about: Team Four Star's Youtube channel has over 15 million views and 365 thousand subscribers. They ALWAYS make a promo video to announce when theyre gonna be attending a con. Little Kuriboh does the same thing, and his channel has over TWENTY MILLION views and 250 thousand subscribers.
Think about it. Seriously.
TFS or LK making a video to announce they'll be at tekko? That ALONE would provide a SIGNIFICANT boost in attendance. It adds some GREAT guests to our line up, and its free advertising to millions of anime fans!


WIN FABULOUS PRIZES!!!

Ok, this one, Im not sure how feasible it is. But hey, its an idea.
So basically, the last two years, Colossalcon has given away a free trip to Japan as the grand prize for their cosplay contest. I dont know how feasible/affordable/easy/etc this would be for tekko to do, but the general idea is definitely good. Maybe not a trip to japan, maybe grand prize for us is a shopping spree at Joann fabrices, or a big gift certificate for Cosplay.com, or trip to disneyworld.
Or maybe a date with Vic Mignogna! XD

And really, the Japan trip idea may be more feasible than you think. After all, the Japanese Tourism Board is giving away 10,000 round trip tickets to Japan next year to help boost tourist visits, I imagine it wouldnt be impossible to get them do donate a free vacation.
But yeah, all in all I think that it would be a great help to tekko to try and get companies to donate prizes, and then give them away to the winners of the contests.


YOUR AD HERE!!
Speaking of donations...
Im not sure if Tekko may already do this, but what about sponsorships? Like, for example, the annual carnival at my church gets local businesses to sponsor it. The business makes a donation, and in return, the carnival has these big signs they hang on the outside walls of the school building with the company's name, logo, etc.

Im sure there's a fair bit of legal mumbo jumbo involved, but if Tekkoshocon could do this, I think it would give the convention extra revenue to help expand and improve in great ways! Basically, the company or business makes a donation to Tekko, and then Tekko displays signs or banners for the companies in various places around the con.


Well, thats all I got for now. Everyone else, please let your ideas be heard!

[newtypezaku]

OmegaGamer89, on 12 December 2011 - 01:16 PM, said:

WIN FABULOUS PRIZES!!!
Ok, this one, Im not sure how feasible it is. But hey, its an idea.

This won't bring in crowds because it's only available to people who are actually competing, which is a very small number relative to the desired attendance boost.  Sure, that might mean that we get more competitors from outside the area because the potential gain makes the trip worth it, which could put more people in the hotel block (which is the real problem Tekko has to solve), but I doubt it would bring in enough new badges to offset the cost of the prizes.

[OmegaGamer89]

newtypezaku, on 12 December 2011 - 02:39 PM, said:

This won't bring in crowds because it's only available to people who are actually competing, which is a very small number relative to the desired attendance boost.  Sure, that might mean that we get more competitors from outside the area because the potential gain makes the trip worth it, which could put more people in the hotel block (which is the real problem Tekko has to solve), but I doubt it would bring in enough new badges to offset the cost of the prizes.

Well the cosplay contest doesnt have to be the only thing with a prize. For example, you could just do a kind of lottery. On the last day, pick one lucky attendees name out of a hat (hat meaning "big container to hold thousands of names" in this case) and that person wins some cool prize. Or you could have some sort of raffle. You buy a ticket for a dollar or two, and are entered to win a gift card to cosplay.com or something.

Im not saying the idea is perfect, Im just saying its also not something I think should be ruled out just yet.

[newtypezaku]

OmegaGamer89, on 13 December 2011 - 03:21 AM, said:

Im not saying the idea is perfect, Im just saying its also not something I think should be ruled out just yet.

Fair enough, but it's still not going to provide that big an attendance boost.  And an attendance boost by itself doesn't solve the problem if it doesn't create demand for the hotel block -- specifically, Tekko needs to grow into the kind of show that makes people want to travel to it.

Stuff like world's largest game of ninja and choreographed dance party are cool and serve as great promotional material, but by themselves are a bit esoteric.  I don't know if they really appeal to the average con-goer as something to do as opposed to something to watch.  That's not the kind of stuff most people come to cons for anyway.

I think you have the right idea with a big guest, though.  If the con lands someone that people will travel to see, then there you go.  Those are people who weren't coming to begin with and now need the hotel.  That's the kind of growth that will work.  It works best when the guest is someone that's in demand but doesn't appear often -- if it's someone who goes to every other con, then there's no special reason to come to Tekko since you can just wait until they come to a con that's more convenient.

That's kind of the motivating factor behind bringing a large music bill every year.  Most cons have one or two big shows, if that.  Tekko rolls out a whole slate.  The tricky thing is that once you've landed that really big name guest or band, how do you maintain that momentum?  If you can't follow up, people won't come back.

So tl;dr, there are some decent ideas here, but the guest route is probably the surest way to do it.

[gogal]

I'm not going to quote the entire thing....

newtypezaku, on 13 December 2011 - 05:41 AM, said:

I think you have the right idea with a big guest, though.  If the con lands someone that people will travel to see, then there you go.  Those are people who weren't coming to begin with and now need the hotel.  That's the kind of growth that will work.  It works best when the guest is someone that's in demand but doesn't appear often -- if it's someone who goes to every other con, then there's no special reason to come to Tekko since you can just wait until they come to a con that's more convenient.

That's kind of the motivating factor behind bringing a large music bill every year.  Most cons have one or two big shows, if that.  Tekko rolls out a whole slate.  The tricky thing is that once you've landed that really big name guest or band, how do you maintain that momentum?  If you can't follow up, people won't come back.

So tl;dr, there are some decent ideas here, but the guest route is probably the surest way to do it.

Momentum is why we have passed on a few things that would have spiked attendence greatly.  The problem was we couldn't follow it up.
As was stated above, we are trying to build a different guest of honor line up every year, and bringing in rare and in demand guests.

Also, when selecting a guest, OmegaGamer89, there are only a handful on the circuit that will bring people in from out of town:  Steve Blum, Vic Mignogna top that list.  (Even though Vic does every con on the Earth, he is SO good to his fans that they come out in droves for him)...

I'll go into tons of details in one of my future "President's Blog" entries.

[JoeMello]

OmegaGamer89, on 12 December 2011 - 01:16 PM, said:

What can we do to get more people to come?

Spread.

The.

Word.

Seriously,  Tell people about the show.  The more darts you throw out, the more that will stick.

[OmegaGamer89]

You know, I actually got to thinking about something the other day...

What is it that makes a person want to go to one convention over another?

I mean, for me, its really about convenience; how far away is it, how expensive is it, is the hotel close enough to the convention area, etc, and also about how large of a con it is. I would rather go to a con of 3000 people that is 100 miles away, than a con of 1000 people that is 50 miles away. Personally, Im not really interested in the guests, autographs, concerts, etc, becuase those just dont appeal to me. Im only interested in the panels and events, dealers room, game areas, and cosplayers. For me, its about the interaction and random awesome fun times and adventures with random anime people at the convention, not about a famous guy who voiced a character.

However, I realize that Im very much a minority in this way. For most people, the guests are a major deciding factor.
But that makes me think; Many anime con guests can be found at any number of anime cons. I mean, 99% chance you are GONNA see Vic Mignogna at whatever convention youre going to. TFS and LK are at tons of conventions from Australia to to Pennsylvania to California to Britain. Many guests could be found at any number of conventions you may want to go to.
I actually think that one the most basic level, ALL anime conventions are essentially the same.

• You have a hotel and a convention area
  
• you have cosplayers and cosplay contests
  
• you have panels
  
• you have a dealers room
  
• you have an artist's alley
  
• you have dances and music
  
• you have a game room
  
• you have guests

If every single anime convention has these things, what makes one better than the other? For one, its obviously matters WHAT guests you have, but that can change greaty every year. One con might have different games in the game room than another. One might have a better/larger dealers room. Then there would be the quality of the cosplays and panels, but thats up to the attendees, not the con itself...
But every one HAS all these things.


So my question now is this:
What are all the conventions you go to/have gone to? And, when you were deciding whether or not to first go to a con, what was the deciding factor? What was it that you saw and said, "I am GOING to this con." for the first time?

[newtypezaku]

OmegaGamer89, on 16 December 2011 - 05:00 PM, said:

*giant wall of text*

What are all the conventions you go to/have gone to? And, when you were deciding whether or not to first go to a con, what was the deciding factor? What was it that you saw and said, "I am GOING to this con." for the first time?

I'm in kind of the same boat.  It's getting to the point where panels and general fandom happening in the hall are losing their appeal because I'm an old fart and don't understand the kids and their shenanigans.  Guests generally don't appeal to me because I'm a sub-tard and don't know who voice actors are.  And even if LK or TFS were here, I wouldn't go to their events because I don't much care for the people crush that I know would accompany them.  Same deal with concerts.

So it's pretty much down to convenience, which is a function of distance and cost with a small size component.  I go to Tekko because it's here.  I go to Sangawa because it's here and has more mature programming.  I go to Ohayocon because it's reasonably close and has a large array of programming without being suffocatingly large (although it's getting close).  That's about it.  Other cons within 3-4 hours are tiny, and Ohayocon is too big for my liking.

I've been to some smaller shows (Matsuricon and Colossalcon a year ago, Tsubasacon even farther back) because some friends were thinking of going and the room-share looked good costwise.  I would not have gone to them otherwise because, like you said, they're basically the same.

[DraikenTalkos]

Guests, distance, and cost are my main factors. Distance because I can't drive; cost because I'm a poor college student; and guests because there are certain people that I get excited to see. Tekkos 7 and 8 have definitely been great on the guest side because it was my first chance to meet some of my favorite people from my childhood (ie: the Power Rangers-related people), so I'd like to go to a con where I get to meet someone I'm actually excited to see.

(Or if there's something else fun to do like at Colossalcon. lol )

[JoeMello]

I hypothesize that with all other factors being equal, the best convention is the one your friends are going to.  Take away all the trappings, and anime conventions are just an excuse to socialize.  Add in a bunch of strangers with similar tastes, and you have a chance to release your inhibitions feel the rain on your skin and have a fun experience that you can't get regularly.  This is also partly why the humble anime club still exists, despite anime become much more ubiquitous since the days of VHS trading.*

So armed with only the basics (DVD's, games, vendors, and a place to put them all) you too can start a con that people will come to and enjoy.  The downside is that you become one of many (Fun fact: there were approximately 100 conventions in 2011, in the US, in the first 4 months.) so in order to stand out, you need to convince people to bring them and their friends to come.  Hence guests, contests, and the general programming wackiness that you see across the land.

Yes, I'm generalizing the heck out of this, but the incredibly wordy point is that word-of-mouth is important.  If you really think Tekko is hot to trot, tell people about it.  If you get your friends to come, your experience improves, and you and your friends win.  Tell strangers (within reason) and they'll bring their friends and you still win in the end, because that means more people to have fun with.

*-Now there's a panel: The Evolution of the Anime Club

[Alex756]

The immeasurables are what make me come BACK to a con.  while it might not be what gets new people -- except for the friend pull, it can't be ignored.  Tekkoshocon has something special going for it.  Face it, I drive 4 hours each way and *gasp* stay with my IN-LAWS to go to this con.  If I am willing to do THAT, there has to be something special.  Everyone I have dealt with for this convention has been great.  Last year the person running the panel organization was amazing.  The people at security were great.  The hall people making sure people were where they should be and even the poor people manning the stairwell of death.  OK, maybe not, but the claustrophobic one here did have a rather nice panic attack in there.

Add to it, YES the hotel is a little crowded but they are NICE!  I would rather be shoved in with con funk (although we will forever be the con that showed too much after last years water boiler incident) than deal with the attitude of the Westin.  The people at this hotel are NICE and treat us like PEOPLE.  For all the issues, the con is FUN, and this is from an old fart (and no I will not say how old )

The maintain is in place, in my opinion, growing is a matter of word of mouth, and telling our friends.  Post your conpics, put up your videos and do whatever else to let people know you are going and how much fun this con is   

Did I mention I stay with my INLAWS *shudder* so you know I have told all my friends how I love this con.

~Alex

PS the other con I reliably go to is at a very welcoming hotel too.  The Gaylord that Katsucon is at makes the westin look like a motel 6, but I snapped pictures of anime pics on the maid carts last year with the words 'welcome back'.

[DoubleJ]

Hmm, how to help the convention grow...

I'd say get out of the Wyndham because it's absolute crap for convention space, for starters. I realize you can't get back into DLLCC with 3,000 people, but are there any possible spaces in Monroeville? Because I honestly wouldn't recommend someone try the con for the first time while it's at its current location.

But if we're stuck with the Wyndham and need to get more people anyway, how many other cons is Tekko getting booths at? Within a five-hour drive of Pgh we have Philly, Baltimore, DC, (maybe) Richmond, Charleston, Wheeling, Columbus, Youngstown, Akron/Canton, Cleveland, Erie and Buffalo. I know at least three of those cities host conventions. Get a booth, hook up an Xbox with the Japanese version of whatever game is cool at the moment (or a DVD of a cool anime), and try to suck people in. When people aren't staffing the booth, have them walk around in their Tekko shirts -- someone may ask about it. If it doesn't break any laws, enter anybody who registers into a raffle for some fun little tchotchke on Sunday morning.

If you're not already, put up posters on the CMU, Pitt, Carlow and Duquense campuses. Between the four you probably have a higher population than Homestead at your disposal. If CMU still does their weekend movies at the University Center, see about getting an ad (or even just a slide) before the movie starts. The Oakland campuses are a 61 bus away, and the Duquense kids are almost close enough to walk.

Help the people who don't work downtown find a place to eat. I worked at Gateway Center about 10 years ago, so I can find Primanti's, Salonika and a few other places. College kids and out-of-towners, not so much. Put together a map of what's nearby (I'll forgive you for leaving out the Subway on Penn if it still smells like solvents) with rough price ranges. Mark anyplace that sells sushi -- it just seems appropriate to have it at least once at an anime con

My only other idea involves magicking up a new stairwell, but that seems unlikely so I'll just settle for hoping that the one they're installing is ready in time. If it's in but unfinished, do you think the hotel could be convinced to put in temporary materials to bring it into code compliance? I'd take a second stairwell covered in cheap Home Depot carpet and a railing made of 2x4s over nothing.

[JoeMello]

DoubleJ, on 13 January 2012 - 12:56 AM, said:

But if we're stuck with the Wyndham and need to get more people anyway, how many other cons is Tekko getting booths at? Within a five-hour drive of Pgh we have Philly, Baltimore, DC, (maybe) Richmond, Charleston, Wheeling, Columbus, Youngstown, Akron/Canton, Cleveland, Erie and Buffalo. I know at least three of those cities host conventions. Get a booth, hook up an Xbox with the Japanese version of whatever game is cool at the moment (or a DVD of a cool anime), and try to suck people in.

You think they haven't been doing this already?

[Alex756]

JoeMello, on 15 January 2012 - 07:33 PM, said:

You think they haven't been doing this already?

I don't remember seeing anything for Tekko anywhere in the area that people are promoting cons at at Katsucon.  Which is only like 5 hours or less away from Tekko, with a large portion of the people coming being from even closer to Pittsburgh.  It's not a bad idea, I don't know if it is possible at this point though to be doing that.  Given that Katsu is a little over a month before Tekko, I would think it would be a good canidate.

[JoeMello]

I know for a fact that Tekko has gone to stump at other conventions--just about every convention I know of does this--but like everything else, they're limited by time, money, and manpower.

IIRC, last year's live Tekkoshocast has a fun table swap story in it.

[manifesteddreams]

I travel to conventions strictly to work at the AAs now, so all conventions are essentially interchangable for me anymore.

Good musical guests are generally what get my attention. I've gotten sad that a lot of the conventions I go to seem to have primarily J-Pop/Rock bands and visuals. I got to go to see Nobuo Uematsu with Earthbound Papas last weekend at Magfest and that was one of the best convention moments ever. I loved listening to them play the music. No singing, no yelling, just music. I wish I'd see more of that.

As for guests, Mangaka and a very small handful of Seiyuu will make me seriously consider flying across the country for a show. I can't say I have a huge interest in dub voice actors because I don't listen to dubs. Any show that has a Japanese Sailor Moon, Ranma or Ah! My Goddess guest will have me throwing scads of money at them(am I dating myself here? Heh)

I almost never attend panels since they've always been a bit of a let down for me :\ I applaud people's efforts to contribute content since so many people like them, but I generally find them a bit awkward or biased and it ruins it for me.

Oh and AMVS, AMVS are a highlight event.

Out of curiosity, what shows has Tekko gone to to promote? I hit over 12 shows a year and I can't say I've seen any of our people. I'd totally volunteer a few hours away from my table to dance around like an idiot and tell people about Tekko, Sangawa and Kurokiiro.

[Mama01Miku01]

We do what we can...I know I spent all of saturday putting up flyers with my fellow staffers and WE Spent from 10am-7pm driving everywheres our cars would let us. As a team, we do our very best to get the numbers we have as well as happy con goers, but the truth is, we are never going to make everyone happy so were just going to keep doing out best and put out great smiles

[GnomieSvenson]

I think one of the key points that may have been brought up is effectively what makes Tekko Tekko? Is there anything specific about Tekko that makes it stand out apart from its location? Sure you could totally play up the Pittsburgh angle. I mean big city with a small town feel, so why not a big con with a small con feel? How you would do that, I don't know. Regardless, spreading the word is key as has already been stated. My suggestion would be targetted marketing.

1. SInce you have a pretty large AMV contest, why not target invites to area schools with digital/video arts departments. Target the departments and students specifically. Or get any Anime Clubs to do it. Come for the contest, stay for the con sort of thing.

2. I know for sure both last year and this year (unsure of previous years) you have bands making their US debuts. So maybe make a big deal out of that and try to get mentions on local radio stations, even if it is just to local college stations.

3. I know last year they did a little piece on Tekko on one of the local news channels. Try to get referenced on local tv and radio. Jim Krenn of WDVE did a little video thing on Anthrocon. Now I know Anthrocon gets a lot of its attention through negative sources, but the point is people not into furries know what they are. If we could get the word on Otakus spread (hopefully in a better light than the public view of furries) then maybe that would draw more participants.

4. I know Tekko has booths at other cons. Is there anything Tekko specific that they could do workshop or panel-wise? Kind of like "hey that was a great panel." "come see us at Tekko!"

Also I once heard that one of the cons used to be a 24hr con. What if Tekko were to do something like that? Even if it were just to keep viewing rooms, the game room, and areas for RPGs and CCGs open all night.

Anyway, those are just a few ideas that I hope will at the very least spark some thought. Hopefully I haven't suggested stuff that's already been done.

[GreatPein]

well here's a great point my friends brought up to me. a week or two ago was Ohayocon and Setsucon on the same weekend. they're about the same distance from pittsburgh give or take half an hour. what made people choose one con over the other? personally i just go to whatever con i can and i don't look for specific things but obviously they must've had something the other didn't have to draw people to them. i think LK and TFS getting the name of tekko out there would help, not necessarily them being at the con.

last year Tekko was on the friday or saturday news. maybe if we could get a new story but a few weeks before because i wouldn't just pick up from seeing a con on the news a drive out there, would you? The ninja game would be crazy for publicity. Guiness book of world records going anywhere attracts a huge crowd and even if not for this year but later years as well.

[InuNaruPokeAlchemist]

gogal, on 13 December 2011 - 04:06 PM, said:

there are only a handful on the circuit that will bring people in from out of town:  Steve Blum, Vic Mignogna top that list.  (Even though Vic does every con on the Earth, he is SO good to his fans that they come out in droves for him)...

^^ yeah, I've done and continue to do that yearly V^_^V;.


I try to advertise for Tekko online, though my communities and such. If I can thing of any ideas that might draw in people, i'll let you guys know.