San Diego Comic-Con International, once a haven for what some have called nerd culture, has evolved into a generational phenomenon. As this alleged nerd culture manifests into the mainstream pop zeitgeist, the floors of Comic-Con are flooded with the curious looking to catch a first-look at upcoming comics, toys, video games, collectibles, graphic novels, horror films, television and more. Over 130,000 devotees attended, and the majority was there to experience, learn, share and buy.
For Comic-Con 2013, Pearl Media and Pearl Media Productions created lasting impressions for The Blacklist, Ender’s Game and Insidious 2. Through unique exhibitor hall installations and experiential out of home initiatives, tens of thousands of consumers were reached on location along with hundreds of thousands more through social and earned media.
The Blacklist
NBC’s The Blacklist is an upcoming drama series featuring James Spader in the role of Raymond “Red” Reddington, an international criminal recruited by the FBI to hunt and capture a terrorist. To create excitement around the show, while highlighting Spader’s character, Pearl Media and Pearl Media Productions, in partnership with Pop2Life, created a projection hologram inside of a maximum security prison cell. Consumers walking through the cell were confronted by the Spader hologram image as he went off on diatribes typical of his character.
Ender’s Game
Summit Entertainment’s sci-fi fall blockbuster Ender’s Game was a crowd pleaser with a walk through replica space ship. Pearl Media and Pearl Media Productions, again partnering with Pop2Life, contributed to this immersive experience with a translucent projection of Harrison Ford as Colonel Hyrum Graff warning attendees of an imminent alien invasion.
Insidious 2
Insidious was one of the most talked about horror films of the past decade. Three years later the anticipated sequel is here to up the scream factor. Pearl Media, in partnership with Horizon Media, built and managed an Insidious 2 branded ice cream truck to hit the streets of San Diego around Comic-Con. Quoting the Walter Williams song, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream,” consumers were screaming for both Insidious 2 and a free ice cream treat. Using hash tags #iscream for #insidious, consumers would post to Twitter, FaceBook or Instagram to get their free ice cream from onsite brand ambassadors.
Pearl Media, and its production arm Pearl Media Productions, are in the business of creating and producing consumer experiences that, in turn, create lasting consumer impressions. We were privileged to have had the opportunities to help extend such great content as The Blacklist, Ender’s Game and Insidious 2 to a targeted and qualified audience through innovation, technology and partnership.
