CBS recently crossed into a new fan frontier with its first-ever booth and extensive presence at Comic-Con. For the uninitiated, Comic-Con is a wildly popular comic-book convention that's been drawing huge crowds for decades. In recent years, the four-day consumer event in San Diego has broadened its offering to also include horror, sci-fi, movies, television, and online entertainment.
People from everywhere flock to see the coolest comics and costumes, to sample movie and TV previews, to snag exclusive giveaways, and to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. Attendees are passionate entertainment lovers in the truest sense: they spend their money and vacation days and brave the massive crowds to inhabit the world of ultimate fandom. They're also social influencers who activate word-of-mouth and generate buzz. For entertainment marketers like CBS, it's an incredible opportunity to speak directly with our target audiences and reach the die-hard fans.
This year, we hosted panel sessions for "The Big Bang Theory," "Hawaii Five-0," and our tech-related series, including "CSI," "NCIS," "NCIS: Los Angeles," and "Criminal Minds." Each of the panels were completely packed, with fans turning out in droves to find out what's up next for their beloved characters and shows. Seeing the crowd's reaction firsthand, and hearing their applause, laughter, and cheers in the moment isn't something we regularly get to experience in the world of TV. It was really gratifying to witness.
At the CBS booth, fans had a chance to meet and get autographs from some of CBS's biggest stars. We also treated Comic-Conners to a ton of exclusive CBS giveaways, including "Hawaii Five-0" leis, "I Got Lei'd at Comic-Con" T shirts, "Big Bang Theory" sharpies to "mark" the show's big move to Thursdays at 8 p.m., and much more.
It's the kind of thing you have to see to believe, so take a look!