Good morning!
I was recently able to bring a brand-new comic convention on board to advertise with our stations. I'm reaching out to the wonderful folks here for some help: What exactly should I be saying in the script?
It's this convention's very first year, but they've managed to secure some decent(albeit it older) guests as well as an excellent facility to house the event in. It'll be featuring most of the mainstay comic convention features and events, including a wide variety of artists, vendors and spaces for various gaming activities. There will also be some good evening draw events such as musical performances and a small wrestling event showcasing some old WWE talent from back in the day.
My conundrum is that I know I have plenty of things to talk about...but I'm not sure what to narrow it down to, let alone how to actually script it out. I'm still quite new to the position and have a small handful of sales under my belt, but a convention is entirely different from the businesses I've been writing scripts for!
As I mentioned, their budget is limited, but we'll be running advertisements during the week leading up to the event. Our station also runs a ton of contests throughout the week, so we'll be giving away tickets and talking the event up for an additional week.
While 60-second spots aren't always the most effective, I'm definitely leaning towards that length due to the amount of information that needs to be conveyed. Our rates for 30- and 60- second spots are the same, so it all boils down to what information needs to be said and how long we need to take to say it.
With that being said, I'd definitely welcome any and all advice!
When you say "Comic and Toy Convention" there is so much more you don't have to say, because I already KNOW.
What is the one thing that would get people there?
What would make YOU go if you were in the target market.
Concentrate on that.... let the rest be discovered!
Fortunately, I'm conveniently the target market for this particular event...which is probably why I'm actually struggling some to narrow it down.
I feel like I should actually be focusing on the guests and non-comic book-related stuff, actually; the folks putting this event together want people in this market to realize there are more to these shows than just comic books and sweaty nerds in costume(although there will probably be plenty of those!) There are a number of actors who will be attending as guests, including Ernie Hudson of Ghostbusters fame and a few of the original Power Rangers.
They definitely want to promote it as being more than what you might expect from something like this, especially since we don't see many events like this Maine.
So cut out all the stuff you don't need to say because you've covered it in the title of the event.
Yes, meeting the actors!
That's a draw.
Invariably when people tell me there's more to something than just... (insert nature of event) there isn't MUCH more. Be true to your core audience. Don't try to attract the people who wouldn't got to this kind of event by telling them it's going to be something "different".... just get all the people who would go who didn't think of going!
First decide is this more a comic or a toy convention - totally different markets. You might consider two different ads....
The part of this convention for comic afficionados - I would talk with one or two about what at the show is the spark, what venacular they would hear that would draw them to the show. My guess would be you are largely talking to males - serious collectors would be 45+ but teens, with the graphic novels, have probably become a larger part of the market. Found this article on demographics:
http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/02/its-no-joke-comics-and-collection-development/
First thought is that you take a movie trailer approach from something like "Watchman" or "Sin City".
Toy-wise - baby boomers nostalgia will still be the driving demographic. They are looking for specific things they collect so it would be wise to include categories if not the more popular namebrands in the ads.
