Warner Brothers At Comic Con: The Untold Story

Comic Con has a growth problem. With the convention now selling out and reaching capacity every year, it is no longer a question of if it will sell out but how long will it take. This year the San Diego based convention sold out in less than 8 hours, and that was with technical difficulties getting in the way.

Critics and attendees are coming out of the woodwork left and right to point blame at someone, whether that blame goes to a particular group of fans or exhibitors, everyone has a scapegoat ready  Last year, a record 130,000 attendees walked through the halls of the San Diego convention center. Needless to say, in that vast number of people there were many left out of some of the activities they planned.  Whether it was to get into a certain Hall H panel, nab an exclusive “Tron” figure from the people at Disney, or get a rare autograph from the cast of your favorite show, there was just no way to service the amount of people crowding the con.

The Tron Booth from last year

Good Luck tagging that photo in Facebook.

Even during the convention itself stories were coming out about frustrated attendees waiting in line for hours on end, being discouraged from their goals for walking the wrong way down a hallway, or even being barred from reentering the convention floor because they stepped out to use an ATM before the side doors were open. The pinnacle of the horror stories is easily the stabbing in Hall H of a fan just trying to hold a seat for a friend.

When the dust settled most fans shrugged and said, “That’s Comic Con.” Many veterans know: you make a plan, you make a backup plan, and then you don’t get disappointed when neither of those works out. It’s the most frequently repeated advice when you’re heading for the geek party on the border.

One of the largest exhibitors at, and now integral partner of, Comic Con International is Warner Brothers. In the past 5 years they have gone from only a minor presence to being the supplier of commemorative tote bags. You are now virtually guaranteed to be exposed to Warner Bros. at the convention.

A view from the top of Warner’s Comic Con Booth in 2008

Now add more people.

An attendee who welcomed such exposure was Jennifer Peurifoy. Jennifer had planned a trip to Comic Con in the hopes of meeting the cast of one of her favorite shows, a WB produced, CW show called “Vampire Diaries”. Basically a witty fun version of Twilight, that was created long before “Twilight”, but I digress. Jennifer didn’t get to enjoy her planned activities for Comic Con and I think it may be best to let her own letter to the CW do the talking.

“To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to complain about the unfair and disorganized way the Warner Bros booth at Comic Con handled the signing.

I attended the Hot Topic signing in LA this year. Ian and Nina were snowed in therefore unable to attend the signing. They did show up for the Q & A. I was fine with meeting only Paul since he was SUPER nice. The experience was orderly and not a bad one at all, I was just disappointed we didn’t get to meet Ian and Nina.

When I found out they would be at Comic Con, I was excited. Maybe I could get my poster signed by the remaining cast. I planned accordingly and was super excited.

First of all, the people (security and people in the actual booth) had no idea what to tell anyone about signings. I went to Comic Con everyday and went to the Warner Bros booth the day before to find out what I needed to do to get into the signing. The people there told me to show up first thing in the morning and wait. My friend and uncle went to the panel. I decided to take my chances and go to the signing.

When I arrived, first thing in the morning I was told there was no line. Okay, that was understandable. I sat down and ate my breakfast across from the booth. A little later, I checked with the booth and no line yet. One of the workers told me they would hold up a sign and Tweet it. I waited across from the booth some more and saw people lining up. Security would come around and disperse the line. Saying they were in line for nothing. I waited and waited. Finally, no one was moving out of the line and I asked security. He said it was the “unofficial” line for all of the WB signings.

I lined up with everyone else. I waited and asked every security person if this was the proper line to be in for the Vampire Diaries signing. I was assured it was and I had been there all morning that I would get in. The day before, I had been there all morning for the True Blood signing and got screwed out of that. I was making sure I would get in to get my poster signed.

There was a lead security guard with a blond pony tail who was there the day before. He came by and told us that there was no more room. I was very upset because this was the second day in a row at this booth this same exact thing happened. It’s embarrassing but when I get upset I cry and I burst into tears. A WB lady in a suit came over and brought me back into the booth. I was to wait on the sidelines to see if she could squeeze me in.

Unknowingly, while I was waiting INSIDE the booth, my friend who was supposed to be in the hall waiting for the panel was ushered into the line for the signing. She said it was a totally random thing and more people were let in AFTER I was brought into the booth. I was told I would not be able to get anything signed and asked to leave.

How the hell could you be full if the line NEVER moved? I waited all morning long and did exactly as I was supposed to, according to the booth employees and security. I wasted almost a whole day of Comic Con to get completely screwed because no one knew what they were doing. An official line was NEVER formed. No one could tell me where the people came from who “filled up the line” other than “they got here 30 seconds faster than you did”. That was complete and total bullshit since I was there ALL morning.

There has to be some sort of orderly way to approach signings. The Dark Horse Comic booth has raffles and so does Fox. At least then people can plan their days accordingly. I wasted WAY too much of my Comic Con time at or around the Warner Bros booth.

I never write complaint letters but I was actually offended at the lack of organization. I was not the only one to leave that day pissed. Basically we all felt like we got completely crapped on.

I expected a much higher level of service from your company, and I am quite disappointed. I will be informing my friends and family about this experience.

Sincerely,

Jennifer A Peurifoy“

The Autograph Signing That Shook The World!

Can I just say that is some damn fine smoldering Ian.

This letter was only the beginning of Jennifer’s crusade. Jennifer also wrote letters to Warner Bros. directly, Comic Con, and HBO about both the Vampire Diaries and True Blood signings. Jennifer also started a website, Warner Bros Comic Con Booth Stinks and a facebook group, Warner Bros Comic Con Booth Horrible. Ms. Peurifoy was mad as hell, and she wasn’t going to take it anymore.

The group swelled to over 190 people by November, many people chiming in with remarks about Warners not caring, and exhibitors in general being ignorant of fans feelings.

Lisa Gregorian has been working for Warner Bros. for 24 years. She started with Lorimar Pictures and worked her way up. In 2005 she was named the EVP of Worldwide Marketing for Warner Bros Television. Six years ago she attended comic con as an attendee and was floored (pun totally intended) by the fact that outside of DC, Warner Bros did not have a presence at the pop culture convention. She returned to Burbank and began looking into a strategy that would bring all of Warner Bros. to the convention.

Outside of Hollywood, few people realize that Warner Bros is operated as several different companies that rarely overlap. A movie promotional team doesn’t reach out to TV, theatrical doesn’t look to DC comics to plug their Oscar hopeful. With the exception of the occasional synergy (usually brought on by outside parties) the different sister companies are left to work autonomously. With regard to Comic Con though, Gregorian knew that strategy wouldn’t work. Bringing together all of the various iterations of Warner Bros under one umbrella to present their wares at comic con is one of Lisa Gregorian’s most impressive achievements, though it is the one that goes the most unnoticed. They all have the same logo after all.

After What Deadline Hollywood calls five years of being “the driving force behind Warner Bros. Entertainment’s participation at Comic-Con,” Gregorian was named Chief Marketing Officer of Warner Bros. Television. While she earned the position with a lot of hard work, many industry observers believe it was her initiative to take Warner Bros. to Comic Con that sealed her favorable fate.

Lisa Gregorian, Chief Marketing Officer Warner Bros Televsion

Geeks’ collective “Man on the Inside” as it were

Comic Con is a perfect storm for the entertainment industry. It’s close to Los Angeles, yet removed enough that you do not have to deal with the baggage that comes with a studio event in Hollywood. It takes place in late July, a time when the up fronts have occurred and studios know what shows are going to series and what isn’t going to make it. It’s also perfect because shows that have started production have generally reached an acceptable number of episodes for a break anyway. More and more the casts of shows and movies want to go to Comic Con, as it’s one of the few places they know they can have an intimate, yet distanced interaction with some of their most passionate fans.

If you pay attention at Comic Con you’ll notice one particular woman getting very hands on and managing a staff of full time employees from Burbank and a temp staff from San Diego of over 150 people. It’s Lisa. Unlike most executives, content to send their marketing people and a few stars from their movies, Lisa Gregorian is right there, on the front line. If you wait around long enough you might even see her restocking giveaways or wiping down a display. The Warner Bros Booth is her baby.

It’s with that mentality that Lisa Gregorian received a letter forwarded from the team at Comic Con a few weeks ago in February. She was finally reading Jennifer Peurifoy’s letter of discontent, and she was heartbroken. Lisa had believed she had covered all of her bases. The previous year she had an active team on Twitter making sure any problems with the WB fans were tweeting about were addressed instantly. She had her staff on the floor actively engaging in dialogue with attendees trying to get feedback and make the experience as smooth as possible. She was even trying to deal with the fact that comic con wasn’t allowing them to form queues for their booth as it would impede exhibitors near them. In all this one slipped through.

Lisa went almost immediately to the facebook page and posted this response, “You have our attention. We JUST received a copy of your letter and I am so very sorry that you did not have a good experience at the WB Booth. Please know that we have close to 50 people who spend months trying to create a great fan experience which includes producing great sessions, getting the productions to line up dates for the talent, artwork, videos, giveaways, and the booth among other things. We are changing the method for signings this year and WILL USE TICKETS for the first time. We are working on the logistics for this. Please send a private message to me through facebook as we would like to speak to you directly. We know that we cannot change the experience you had, but please believe me when we say that it is heartbreaking to hear you were unhappy. WB respects and appreciates our fans and would like to address all of your concerns so we can make it better next time.”

It was a surprise to many that Warner Bros would respond to this “fan group,” an even bigger surprise was who this Lisa Gregorian turned out to be. They had been contacted by the woman in charge of the whole shebang.

Jennifer has very quickly updated her facebook group with the communications that the Warner Bros team is sending her and seems to be happy. But that doesn’t solve things for Lisa Gregorian. While a lot of geeks and fan boys would shrug this off as just one of those comic con things, Lisa is taking it personally.

When we spoke earlier this week she made it clear that this type of incident “cannot happen.” She is using it, learning from it and adjusting to the growing pains that comic con has been feeling these last few years.

Even with Comic Con five months away, Lisa is already talking to her team and Comic Con International reps about new processes and how to handle the growing demand for the WB’s signing events. The most obvious idea that Lisa points out will most likely be implemented is the addition of a ticketing system. She is currently reviewing reference models for how other studios and exhibitors handle giving out tickets. Whether it’s a pure lottery the day of or a ticket you can claim in advance, before comic con even starts, has yet to be decided, but these are all considerations that Lisa has to mull.

The Marketing Chief weighs every possible calculation in her planning, from overzealous comic con security that she wishes would distance itself from associating with her booths fans to how many members of a stars entourage are going to be in the booth, Gregorian takes it into account. When it comes to the security of the booth in the coming year, Lisa says she wants more of her own as “they have rules.” She is keenly concerned with comic con attendees being manhandled.

Lisa Gregorian firmly believes in Comic Con International as a place to find what she calls, “Fanatical Evangelists.” People who not only love the product the WB bring but also a desire to share that love. Essentially what Jonathan London has said is the definition of a Geek. A Geek is the anti-Gollum; they want to share their precious.

Wonder Woman is on the dance card for Comic Con if it gets picked up

That’s Tyrese. We just like to point that out sometimes. “It starts from the baby.”

This year Warner Brothers is expected to have one of its biggest years ever. Lisa admits that if “Wonder Woman” gets picked up for series it is a prime candidate for the convention. In addition there are the obvious potential panels. With a large slate of properties looking to be in production as Comic Con approaches, Warner Bros has an expansive list of projects to choose to present at this year’s convention. When asked by a fan if Smallville will be back for a farewell appearance Gregorian hints Welling may have reason to return, “This is the final season of Smallville so it is very unlikely that we will have a session since the show will have ended in May. Tom and the cast did attend last year and it was an amazing session. BTW, he is also executive producer of “Hellcats“, also on the CW.“

Whatever show appears really depends on what Gregorian calls their mythology. If it has a hook with rich characters that fit with Comic Con’s very broad base of attendees then it’s a candidate. It also depends on those involved with the show. Warner Bros. has a hands off approach when it comes to who attends Comic Con. The casts are invited, but no one is required to attend. All of the Warner Brothers stars you see, from the cast of Chuck to the Big Bang Theory to the cast of Green Lantern attend because they choose to. Making the Warner Bros booth exciting because you know they want to be there almost as much as you do.

Jennifer Peurifoy is most likely returning to the Con this year as indicated by her Facebook group postings. The letters she sent out last year were both concerning vampire based shows, True Blood and Vampire Diaries. I began to ask Lisa if it was possible that Jennifer was a holdover from the Twilight kids that purchased tickets before Summit announced they weren’t coming. She laughs and interjects, “You must be a purist. There are no bad fans, she just had a bad experience.” An experience Lisa wants to make sure doesn’t happen again to any of us.

UPDATE: Jennifer Peurifoy commented on the story on her group’s facebook page. “Yikes, don’t know how to take this one. To answer the question at the end of the article, I am going to Comic Con and no I am definitely not a Twilight fan.”
“Oh, and it wasn’t so much about the vampire stuff as it was the authors. I have been reading L.J. Smith and Charlaine Harris books for years, so I watched the shows.”