Over 10 straight days of trade show event management accounting for approximately 1,600 employee hours worked, 4 football fields worth of trade show freight, 14,600 square feet of exhibit structure built, and 8 total New York Comic-Con Booths. A busy NYCC is an understatement… but we’re not complaining.
Booth 1- Dreamworks | She-Ra and the Princess of Power
To promote the release of Dreamworks newest series on Netflix we built this 30×30’ booth activation with multiple interactive elements. These ran like a maze through the entire Comic-Con booth which included a massive (and very heavy) 10’ tall She-Ra statue, interactive throne, “sword in stone” photo-op and finished off with a GIF greenscreen photo booth integrated with social media posting.
Throughout the booth multiple photo opportunities were placed in an effort to spread awareness and for comic-con attendees to share via social media.
The first stop was a custom fabricated throne replica with sensors that illuminated the chair, snapped a photo and ran a brief TV clip when somebody sat on it.
The second was a “sword in stone” photo op which was made using 3D printing as well as the actual sword being hand shaped using foam. When touched the sword and stone illuminated within and the select She-Ra sayings played.
The last stop was a green screen GIF photo booth where attendees could set themselves in a variety of She-Ra branded animations.
Booth 2 – NBC Universal | Glass Movie Promotion
For the NBC Universal release of M. Night Shyamalan’s newest release in the “Unbreakable” trilogy, “Glass”, we put together a detailed 30×50’ movie set replica and activation. Being the movie was loosely based off a comic book, New York Comic-Con was undeniably, the perfect place to promote and the long lines proved it!
The movie activation included a spot-on movie set replica similar to the Sony Pictures Spider-Man experiential display we did last year. The main attraction? An enclosed walk-through in which rooms that were set-up similar to the psych ward in the movie. Placed within each room were photo-ops, which spit out a personalized movie promo poster fans could retrieve upon exiting the activation.
Booth 3 – Bandai | Dragonball Z Crystal Palace Sneak Peak
Bandai has taken their presence to the next level with a nationwide one-year, 9-stop tour starting at San Diego Comic-Con International , which we have been more than happy to help manage. NYCC was no exception.
This crystal palace (lobby) 30×30’ booth was the first thing attendees would see after passing through the entry gates. It was therefore, essential that it made an impact. The trade show exhibit featured original artwork, character statues and promos that led them to the massive 90×80’ exhibit inside the convention center floor.
Booth 4 – Bandai | Dragonball Z Monstrous 90×80’ Indoor Experience
One word – “colossal”. This was no ordinary trade show booth. This was its own venue inside a venue and absolutely nothing that was left out. Bandai had the space and they took full advantage of every last square foot.
Bandai pulled out all the stops with a two-story Dragonball Z custom fabricated exhibit structure reconstituted from their outdoor San Diego Comic-Con Outdoor Marketing Display and blended it with their indoor San Diego Comic-Con Booth.
The 90×80′ trade show booth design was sprinkled with everything from multiple photo ops, a full retail store, character and set replicas all the way down to interactive gaming and competitive arenas.
Booth 5 – Imgur | Press Lounge Photo Booth Activation
New to us and NYCC this year was online entertainment and all-out daily comedic relief website, Imgur. Their 10×20’ booth space was tucked away upstairs in the press lounge in what we thought was a nice quiet corner.
We were wrong. Imgur’s comic con booth display ideas, including a GIF based photo booth drew one hell of a crowd with fans lining up for free swag and a personalized GIF of their choice.
We always love see our booths drawing traffic in spots that were not meant to and this booth did just that!
Booth 6 – Dark Horse Comics & Umbrella Academy
Relatively unchanged from years passed, Dark Horse Comics did have some small changes and fun additions. Their base 30×50′ island booth featured a forward facing signing counter that has sat some of the biggest names in entertainment including Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson and the late Anthony Bourdain. The standard giveaway counter was ever present and has always been a necessity to the team, as their omnipresent yellow bags are everywhere throughout this show.
Multiple integrated displays lined the booth showing off the newest offerings and limited releases. A full retail store lined the back of the booth. Meeting space and press lounges surrounded the center structure, which featured a full break and A/V room.
New this year was the addition of The Umbrella Academy section promoting another new series on Netflix. The corner featured a 3D photo-op shareable in GIF or standard picture formats.
Booth 7 – Konami & Yu-Gi-Oh
We hear it all the time: “Konami has a primo-spot” and we agree. We also think they have a “primo” exhibit. The 30×60′ exhibit was custom fabricated a few years back and has stood the test of time with features like full-length canopies wired for lighting, A/V, custom integrated display cases, touchscreen gaming stations and much, much more.
New this year was enormous two-story LED lightboxes and lightweight fabric side panels that were swapped in to replace older worn exhibit graphics. Regular maintenance is a must for any booth. This booth, fortunately, does not need much.
We love how versatile this modular booth is. It’s seen multiple configurations over multiple shows over countless trade shows and conventions and still looks brand new.
Booth 8 – IDW Publishing
Save the best for last? One of our favorite clients, IDW Publishing has great booth design ideas that are simple yet highly effective at shows like Comic-Con. We packed it all in; storage and break room, signing counters and full retail area all in a compact 20×20’ booth space.
This was our biggest New York Comic-Con yet and we could not be any more proud of the Marketing Genome team that helped make it all run flawlessly. Here’s to another great year and many, many more to come!
