[ACML] The Gluttony of conventions and their failures...

[Craige Howlett]

My best advice for staying small, cap the registration numbers...

Craige...




--- In animecons at yahoogroups.com, "Sushu Xia" <sushux at ...> wrote:
>
> Hmm... And what about conventions that want to stay small?  Our 
anime
> club puts on an academic anime convention, with a couple of 
professors
> that we fly in, and some local comics artists and the usual.  And I
> really don't want it ever to be more work than that, especially 
since
> we're 6 people in a college club with papers to write...  Do you 
think
> enforcing an academic focus would prevent any expansion?
> 
> ~Sushu
> UChi-Con
> http://jas.uchicago.edu/uchi-con/
> 
> 
> 
> > Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 15:47:30 -0800
> > From: "Craige Howlett" <craige.howlett at ...>
> > Subject: Re: [ACML] The Gluttony of conventions and their 
failures...
> > To: "Anime convention discussion list" <animecons at ...>
> > Message-ID:
> >        <b37e5f010602201547s26402636lda6d0856b476fe14 at ...>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> >
> > The greater percentage of anime clubs, as an expansion of their 
attempts to
> > expose the masses to  anime offer a mini-con, for say $10 for a 
day pass.
> > They would have a couple of viewing rooms, a couple of panels on 
how to draw
> > manga, what is anime, what should parents think about when their 
kids want
> > to read manga, how voice acting is done and if the club has the 
energy,
> > maybe a dealers room.  Local hobby shops offer statues to paint, 
comic books
> > shops, manga shops, japanese food stuff and go on.
> >
> > College campuses offer an excellcent resource for low cost 
facilities and
> > plenty of space.  Also, the local anime club can combine their 
talents with
> > the college anime club and expand their offerings.
> >
> > Many of the now major anime conventions got their start this way.
> >
> > Craige...
> >
> > craige.howlett at ...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 2/20/06, chris wanamaker <animepimpforever at ...> wrote:
> > >
> > > Whoa wait a minute.
> > > When did anime clubs come into the picture?
> > > What should anime clubs be doing at this point than?
> > >
> > > Since I run an club I would love to know.
> > >
> > > Chris W.
> > > DCAC Prez.
> > >
> > > Craige Howlett <craige.howlett at ...> wrote: ACML list has 
brought up
> > > an interesting point what causes most conventions
> > > to fail.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > >From my point of view, they have started out as clubs, grew in 
size to
> > > require a hotel space, continue to grow and than they find out 
that their
> > > current space is not enough, now they are getting larger.  The 
failure
> > > starts with the staff who might still have the mental picture 
that they
> > > are
> > > still a club, not a business.  When they should have been 
mentoring
> > > someone
> > > for their job, they either can't, wouldn't or couldn't' find 
the time to
> > > do
> > > it.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I guess the real question is where do you separate the anime 
clubs, who
> > > are
> > > doing something for 'free', the anime clubs that are starting 
out, looking
> > > to grow, the clubs that have graduated to being a profit 
generating
> > > business, but their staff still has the wrong 'mental picture' 
and the
> > > anime
> > > convention that is growing faster than their staff can 
support.  Would you
> > > separate it by the number of attendees, the size of the support 
staff or
> > > by
> > > the dollars that you generate for revenue purposes?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > There are other factors in a failure, like a business plan, cash
> > > management,
> > > risk analysis, accounting practices, resource and material 
management.
> > > While the best business model would tell you that having no 
competition is
> > > the best, having a competition makes you tighten your thinking 
and person
> > > who really wins are the attendees.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > FanimeCon has been doing the convert thingies, going from a 
club to a
> > > business model and it has not been simple.  We are on the same 
dates as
> > > BayCon, a regional science fiction convention that accused ARG 
of
> > > attempting
> > > to steal their attendees and their staff.  There was even talk 
about legal
> > > action, but that's all that was, talk, which is as we all know 
is cheap.
> > > What is interesting, our attendees go to BayCon at nights, a 
short 'light
> > > rail' ride down the street to 'party' at their convention, 
which has a
> > > party
> > > floor and FanimeCon doesn't want anything to do with it.  
Liability  and
> > > insurance issues.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Craige...
> > > _______________________________________________
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> > >
> > >
> > >
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> >
> >
> > --
> > Craige Howlett
> > Craige.Howlett at ...
> > www.Craige.Com
> >
> > "Intolerance is the last defense of the insecure."
> >
> 
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