__twocolumncontent.jpg)
Nowadays, making the trek to San Diego Comic-Con is nearly mandatory for every film and TV studio with any piece of content that can be categorized as genre.
That’s largely due to Warner Bros., who, under the leadership of CMO Lisa Gregorian, recognized the value of gathering early buzz from the crowded Conference Center floor and the decorated Gaslamp District. You won’t find another studio more visible at #SDCC than Warner Bros. This year, the studio is bringing 18 different TV shows across six different networks to the event, combining forces with TV Guide, local hotels and SDCC to make their presence known and ubiquitous.
The explanation for their expansion is simple. “The growth of Comic-Con has happened at the same time as the growth of all of our DC production,” said Gregorian, Warner Bros. Television Group President and Chief Marketing Officer. As WB’s stable of comic book shows have grown, so has the specter and influence of SDCC, providing a perfect storm for WB.
Increasingly, other networks are focusing their marketing efforts outside of the Convention Center for activations and stunts. Perhaps this is because Warner Bros. has laid claim to the Convention Center itself.
“All of our activations are within the convention or within the Comic-Con banner,” Gregorian said.
It’s likely that every convention goer, or any person staying in San Diego during the event, will own a piece of WB’s marketing puzzle by the end of the week, if not within the first five seconds of registering. Some 30 participating hotels will feature five superhero series (Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, Teen Titans Go! and Supergirl) on limited edition collectible hotel keycards. Warner Bros. continues to sponsor the official bag of SDCC, with 13 brand new designs promoting Arrow, The 100, Supergirl, Lucifer, two Gotham bags (one for the show’s heroes and one for the villains), The Originals, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, The Flash, Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem (a film from WB Home Entertainment), Teen Titans Go! and Blue Ribbon Content’s digital series Vixen, a show spiraling out of the same universe as The Flash and Arrow.
For the sixth year in a row, WB TV and TV Guide Magazine are partnering for four collectible covers of a special edition of the magazine. The four covers will feature The Flash, Arrow, Gotham and Supergirl, and will be distributed from Warner Bros. 2,400 sq. ft. booth (#4545).
WB will be unmistakable on the show floor thanks to said booth that will be surrounded in its entirety by D6 digital billboards.
“If we have a particular show [for a signing], let’s say it’s Gotham, we can make all of the artwork on the booth turn to Gotham, which is really nice, and allows for a lot of flexibility,” Gregorian said.
The booth will feature a brand-new Big Bang Theory slot machine for fans 21 years and older, that’s now launching nationwide on casino floors. Leonard and Sheldon would surely get a kick out of playing this game beside the all-new costumes for Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The MasterBuilders at LEGO will be busy at WB this year, with a life-sized diorama of the Scooby Gang’s Mystery Machine, alongside 2D replicas of Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, Daphne and Velma, at the booth to promote Be Cool Scooby-Doo!, a new show premiering this fall on Boomerang.
LEGO and WB will also offer fans a chance to win an exclusive LEGO Dimensions T-shirt thanks to the LEGO Dimensions Sweepstakes. There are nine character statues from The Lego Movie displayed throughout Comic-Con and San Diego, and all fans need to do is share their photo with one of them on Twitter using the #LEGODimensionsSweeps for a chance to win. If you tweet pictures of all nine statues, one lucky fan will get to take one statue home: the ultimate Comic-Con exclusive.
Across all five days of the con, WB shows have panels, signings and screenings, and it all kicks off with Wednesday’s Preview Night, an annual event that kicks off SDCC by showcasing four of Warner Bros. top pilots for the fall. This year the studio is unveiling CBS’ Supergirl, the CW’s Containment, FOX’s Lucifer and NBC’s Blindspot, as well as a special episode of Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go!
Obviously, WB TV’s programming spans several networks, providing a widespread outlay of marketing across the spectrum for the WB. “We have a very close relationship with all of the networks that we are in business with, and we partner with [them for] all the activities that we do at Comic-Con. Although, in most cases, we take the lead on those activities,” Gregorian said.
Those activities are scattered across the four-day event, culminating in Warner Bros. Television & DC Entertainment’s “Super Hero Saturday Night,” featuring video presentations of Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, Vixen and the CW’s new show Legends of Tomorrow, along with an encore pilot screening of Supergirl. The stars and producers for all the shows will be in attendance for the gigantic three hour preview in Hall H, from 8 to 11 PM.
For many of these shows, like Supergirl, this is the first glimpse fans will see of them, and it’s the start of the marketing campaign leading to their fall premieres. While it’s important to build buzz, “Comic-Con is just a small piece, a very very small piece of the marketing that’s done on launching a series. CBS has tremendous plans for how to position the show [Supergirl] and market the show for their launch in late October. But this is just a small, very very specific group of fans that we’re taking the show out to,” Gregorian said.
Those fans can track WB’s many festivities along at home, or while waiting in line, at WB’s Comic-Con website, their Twitter account (@warnerbrostv), or their Con hashtag #WBSDCC.
Tags: