Sean D. Francis

Marketing Lessons from GenCon

Posted on 12 August 2010

Last week I decided to go to GenCon, a massive gaming convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana every year. Over thirty thousand gamers, geeks, and random people got together to enjoy games, buy costumes, meet Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day, and enjoy each others’ company. Large conventions are massive spectacles of chaos turned into wonderment. At the end of the day I can only stand in awe and marvel at how it actually worked.

GenCon pumps over $28 million into the local economy and the businesses downtown have perked up and taken notice. That is a lot of money on the table. Sure, most of it is going to the hotels, but 30,000 gamers eat a lot of food and drink a lot of beer. While in Indianapolis contributing my share to that $28 million, I fully utilized my social marketing tools to keep abreast of what I needed to check out. I was immediately impressed by two locations that utilized Twitter to draw in customers.

West Coast Tacos

Despite the name, West Coast Tacos is located in Indianapolis. All through GenCon West Coast Tacos made sure to keep people up to date on where their truck was parked by including the #gencon hashtag in their tweets. Here is just a sample of how they were tweeting the basics.

#GenCon we will be at Meridian & Ohio for Lunch today 11am-1pm
#GenCon today at 4pm Maryland & Capitol…Look for us! #Gamers
We will be staying at #GenCon til midnite

Nothing unusual there, and that is essentially how most businesses use Twitter.  Yet, what makes West Coast Tacos better is how they engaged with people on Twitter.

This is my 1st time at #GenCon and I must say the People are really cool at this convention….Very polite, fun people. #GreatVibeHere
@lccrafton Ok..sorry about tonight, but we didn’t know how good #GenCon was going to be..but We’ll see you @ConnerPrairie for sure!
#GenCon is awesome! I can’t explain the vibe of this convention.It’s large #crowds with a very chill..happy vibe…if that makes any sense.
Make sure you check in on @4square @4SqIndy When you come to see us tmrw #GenCon #Gamers #Indy
Which Game has the most #Gamers at #GenCon??? Just curious…

The ‘non-business’ tweets help the consumer relate.  People want to go to businesses that want them there.  If that isn’t a golden rule of marketing it should be.  Nerds, Geeks, and Gamers dressed in costumes, wearing crazy t-shirts, carrying huge Fantasy Flight game bags, don’t want to go to a business that will treat them rudely.  Wait, no one wants to go to a business that will treat them rudely.  Unfortunately we don’t know how we will be treated until we are actually in the business requesting service.  West Coast Tacos made it clear through their use of social media that not only did they want gamers to buy their food but they enjoyed being able to sell to gamers.

Scotty’s Brewhouse

The other standout in social media marketing was Scotty’s Brewhouse.  From the first time I checked Twitter all through the convention, I knew Scotty’s was one of the key places I needed to go for a meal.   Not only were they doing a great job in marketing via Twitter, but they had everyone else talking about them.  Scotty’s took customer engagement to a new level.  Actually, no, they took what they knew and adapted it for the customers that were there.  The downtown location for Scotty’s is next to Conseco Fieldhouse and most likely has to be crammed full of sports fans.  Sports bars know how to cater to sports fans.  Lots of TVs tuned to local teams.  Catering to gamers is slightly different but not any more difficult.

First, take a look at how Scotty’s was tweeting during GenCon.

NOW SHOWING… RT @uplandindy: Monty Python and the Holy Grail @brewhouse! Even more awesome! 501st Legion at Scotty’s and Ghostbusters on the TV’s… http://tweetphoto.com/37039665
Sci Fi Classics all day for #GenCon #Indy RT @kelbyhicks: Love that @brewhouse is showing ghostbusters. Makes my day.
#GenCon #gamers – we are the sole provider of #RootJack Pirate Drink by the bottle. Grab one today! Open til 3 am w/ 1/2 price apps at 9pm
@sunkingbrewing @natelake1 can you answer? RT @LordAckbar: @brewhouse What’s the alcohol content on the Fat Dragon? #GenCon

Just from these selected tweets you can see that Scotty’s was a very welcoming place for GenCon folk. It wasn’t just a matter of wanting the con attendees to drop money at the restaurant, they actively wanted the con attendees to be there. Playing movies we would like, making special menu items for us, and using social media not to pump out a message but to engage in a dialogue. Notice that last tweet.  Someone asking about a beer and @brewhouse contacting the maker to get the answer.  That is engagement, that is dialogue, that builds loyalty.

RAM Restaurant and Brewery

Another restaurant that deserves special attention in regards to their marketing is RAM Restaurant and Brewery in Indianapolis.  RAM had huge banners and other decorations that made it very appealing to GenCon attendees.  They even had a special menu, renaming all the standard menu items to make them sound like foods from a fantasy world.  I was impressed with the effort but shocked when the waitress said that RAM was the spot of gamers to eat.  For all their effort to make their restaurant welcoming to gamers, there was no social media outreach.  Their tables were filled and I’m absolutely positive they did a tremendous amount of business, I didn’t feel the same connection I did with Scotty’s.  I knew I could walk into Scotty’s and be absolutely welcome before I even saw the place.  If RAM wasn’t conveniently located, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to see if they were gamer-friendly or not.

There are lessons here for small and big businesses on how to engage with people through marketing.  Marketing doesn’t have to be a constant pushing of a specific message.  In fact, I believe that is the least effective way to market now.  Marketing can and should be a dialogue between business and customer.

Jennifer Brozek

Within the con itself, I saw some additional wonderful attempts to utilize social media to market.  On the vendor floor there are so many booths to visit, so many things to see, that it is impossible to see it all.  Of all the people there, Jennifer Brozek caught my eye with her Twitter efforts.

1st person who comes by my booth, buys a book and mentions the ENnies will win a ticket to the ENnies cocktail party! #gencon
I am bored! Someone come to my booth and entertain me. Win a prize! #gencon

Why does this stand out?  Because so few were actually using Twitter to draw attention to their booths.  Sadly the two times I tried to visit her booth to let her know her Twitter messages were reaching an audience she was unavailable.

White Wolf

Now to mention a complete marketing failure on both a social media point of view and in a traditional way.  White Wolf is making an effort to recapture the luster it had in the 90s.  This is a good thing since they sort of have become an ‘also ran’ in the gaming world. The first thing they did was turn their booth on the convention floor into a gothic bar.  It was impressive but the only way anyone knew about it was accidentally stumbling upon it.  There was no effort to get a word of mouth campaign going.  At the booth they were giving invites for the White Wolf Succubus Club party on Saturday being held at Club Industry.  The club was perfect for such an event, yet there was no signage, no marketing at the club itself.  Yes, I know, in order to keep to the ‘lifestyle’ theme, they didn’t want to have a bunch of GenCon banners hanging around and White Wolf logos everywhere.  Yet, the party was Succubus Club, a name their market already associates with White Wolf.  By the end of the month will people remember that the party was sponsored by White Wolf or will they think it was just another GenCon party?  I really feel White Wolf missed an opportunity.   They could have been using social media to engage the public, had a photographer in the club to capture the night for further promotion, and made sure the event was branded so in the photographs attendees took the White Wolf brand would carry through.  All those pictures going up on Flickr and Facebook could have been reminding everyone that the great party they were at was part of White Wolf’s Vampire lifestyle.

The lesson here, I believe, is the notion of follow through and remembering why we utilize social media to market brands.  We are trying to bring customers to our products and build loyalty.  Setting up a great event that people will enjoy is awesome and appreciated.  The event is  a marketing effort and needs to reap some benefit for the effort.  I, of course, am not privvy to the goals of White Wolf in regards to this event and for all I know to them it was an absolute success.  People had a great time.  I just know that if I was footing the bill, I would expect more.

On the positive side, social media marketing really allows businesses to stand out from the pack.  The cautionary side of it is the same as with any marketing effort: never forget the brand.  When tweeting and engaging with the public, it is the brand that should be doing the engaging.  It is the brand that is holding the conversation.  It is the brand that needs to reap the rewards from the marketing effort.