Comic-Con, the world’s longest-running pop-culture convention is usually held at the San Diego Convention Center and attracts over 100,000 attendees. But last week, for the first time in the 50-year history of the event, it was held virtually. Comic-Con At Home, as it was billed, has largely been received as a hollow imitation of an event whose premise is to give fans a place to gather. Instead, the secondary function of the event, to generate buzz for major studio projects that fall in the sci-fi and superhero realm, was on full display. Without the authenticity Comic-Con is known for to balance that dynamic of marketing and fandom, the event left some disappointed.
Comic-Con had a virtual exhibit hall, YouTube videos of pre-recorded panels, and online movie screenings. The unique combination of spontaneity and exclusivity (at least in the moment) that defines conventions, especially this one, was missing. The choice to record rather than livestream panels seems like a particularly missed opportunity to capture some of the unexpectedness that often comes out of live conversations. The failure of Comic-Con to live up to the expectations set by its own success in IRL presents an opportunity for other organizations and event planners to consider ways to more effectively rework conventions, festivals, and other industry gatherings online. It’s a fresh problem that everyone is facing at the same time, but as the early examples of online-only mass gatherings have shown, there’s a lot of room to improve.
Online fashion shows have by and large faced a similarly lukewarm reception. Data has shown that virtual shows failed to drum up the online engagement that live events have inspired in the past. This is notable given the emphasis on digital content in fashion weeks for the past few years, but perhaps behind-the-scenes style Instagram Live content is less engaging to viewers when it isn’t paired with a high-production show. After all, the appeal of seeing behind the curtain only works if there’s a grand event.
One way to get around this is to do away with a false sense of centralization altogether. When VidCon was canceled last month, co-creators John and Hank Green (along with ViacomCBS, which acquired the conference business in 2018), decided to pivot to VidCon Now, a summer-long series of free programming. (The in-person event, which is normally held over three days at the Anaheim Convention Center, attracted over 75,000 at last count.) Sponsors include YouTube, the exclusive streamer of video content for the conference, and online-chat platform Discord, which is hosting channels for various workshops and panels. Given the subject matter of this convention, this strategy makes sense. For other industries, it’s unclear whether virtual conferences will work quite as well.
Some early tests include TechCrunch’s Disrupt 2020 and the Toronto Film Festival, both of which will be online-only this September. Many of the 2021’s major conventions have already made the decision to go virtual, including the Consumer Electronics Show (normally held every January in Las Vegas). For some, cancellations have revealed larger problems in management that may shutter future events completely. (BeautyCon, which would have taken place back in March, and EVO may not return.) 2020 into 2021 will be a turning point for conventions, many of which have grown out of their niches in recent years, due in part to online engagement. Organizers of the fall festival season and beyond may have enough time to rethink online engagement and use tools that deepen connection rather than attempt to directly translate them.
