Over the course of a day at Comic-Con, you’ll likely accrue several t-shirts, sunglasses, pins, buttons and things you love but will never actually need or use.

With History Channel’s launch of its new series Knightfall, chronicling the Knights Templar’s protection of the Holy Grail, the network wanted to be utilitarian.

That’s how Knightfall’s “Guardians of the Gear” activation was born—where Comic-Con badge-holders can store their swag under the very same Knights Templar’s protection. Along the way, fans can glimpse the Grail, take photos with the Knights and watch a sneak peek of History’s new drama series.

“We wanted a way to introduce Knightfall to the Comic-Con audience in a cool way. It’s not a launched series, we don’t have a fanbase yet, so how do we build something visually interesting directly across the street from the Convention Center, and how do we service a need that hasn’t been serviced before?” asked Tracy Lenhart, vice president of experiential marketing & brand activations for A+E Networks. “One of the needs is there’s no storage. Which is incredible, because everybody’s walking around with their swag. So that’s how the idea was concepted, along with the Civic Entertainment Group.”

From Thursday July 20 through Saturday, July 22, at 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, July 23 at 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., fans can store their heavy bags along the MLK Promenade in between the Omni Hotel and Petco Park.

Each day begins and ends with a procession from the Knights Templar, bringing the grail to and from the castle.

“That’s our way to make sure we’re educating people on what the grail is and the importance of protecting it, which is obviously a massive plot point in the show,” said Lenhart. “It’s a very disruptive moment through the city. It gets fans excited. The physical builds are always amazing, but when we have something mobile that people can watch and interact with, that’s fun.

For years, History has focused its Comic-Con energies on Vikings (and will continue to do so), and the network hopes they can capitalize on that fanbase with Knightfall.

“We think this genre will play nicely with the already existing Vikings fanbase. We’ve already seen that on social. Fans are already receptive to Knightfall and seeking it out, wanting to know more about it socially,” said Lenhart. “We dovetailed off our footprint for Vikings and decided this was a great launchpad.”

In addition to storing their bags at the “Guardians of the Gear” activation, fans can preview the Knightfall: Rivals video game on the Steam Platform, arriving soon on mobile, and pick up the free “Truth & Lies” a Titan Comics comic book that acts as a prequel to the events in the forthcoming series.

Even something as simple as storage can’t be that anymore—brands must have an experiential aspect to their marketing.

“It’s number one on the board. When you allow fans to tangibly interact, taste, touch and feel your brand you break through in a crazy cluttered content world. I think that’s why the biggest brands are here at Comic-Con every year,” said Lenhart. “They’ve recognized that it has to be part of your 360 campaign plan to stand out. Nobody’s watching commercials as much as they used to. They don’t have to. You have to jump in front of them and build a castle to do that.

Which is literally what History has done in San Diego.

“Comic-Con has become a massive, valuable experience for us. We’re a traditional brand as History, but you have to do things non-traditionally now,” said Lenhart. “We have content that’s super relevant and exciting for new generations and there’s no better place than Comic-Con to launch to a rabid fanbase of entertainment enthusiasts, and get them excited. It’s become a part of campaigning for Vikings for sure, and hopefully for Knightfall moving forward.”

As such, fans have likely not seen the last of the Knights Templar. While nothing is set in stone, History is debating appearances at New York Comic-Con and beyond, business as usual for networks trying to stay relevant in 2017.

In the meantime, fans can store their own treasures with their minds at ease, and bide their time for Knightfall’s premiere sometime this year.

[All images courtesy of Getty Images for History]

Tags:


  Save as PDF