Australian Transformers Convention

[jazzy_josh]

Not only that but as some conventions have even said, how will they make their money back? voice actors are free well the godd conventions are any ways. But to make your money back you would have to charge a small amount on autographs and photos, make sure there are plenty of stalls as well.

You need to think about these before having a convention because those haveto cover not just the event grounds you hire but also the cost for a voice actor to fly over seas plus accomodation as well. It would be difficult but hey the aussie dollar is stron so why not lol.

[jena]

I came back to this thread to offer the simple idea of just us, the collectors, having a booth at oz comic con. It would be a good opportunity to gauge interest for an actual con later. It's pretty clear that a stand alone TF con won't be happening this year.

[Prowl]

someone people even publicly came out and said that were going to intentionally boycott the convention because they thought it was such a dumb idea. Yeah, I'm serious.

That is just sad to me. Sad & petty.

I think the only way a convention of sorts would work out here is if it was a combined one. Think a 80's nostalgia convention with M.A.S.K, GI Joe, Transformers, Star Wars, My little Pony, Cabbage patch kids, Voltron etc. It could be profitable just for those wanting to relive their childhood. I am sure something like that turn a profit/break even but it would require a lot of joint work with other fan communities.

Then again I am not up on conventions & there is probably one like this already that happens yearly.

[jazzy_josh]

possible, but the best approach is to do a pop culture con, majority of the tf voice actors did other series as well and recent games. Easier way to get people in and for stall sellers to sell items.

[GoktimusPrime]

Overwhelmingly the one thing that people want more than anything else at TF conventions is toy dealers. And we already have them at regular collectable fairs throughout the country... so another challenge is to organise a convention that is more than just another collectable toy fair - like at Sabretron we had games & trivia with prizes, exclusive stuff etc., OzToyCon had trivia, griffin's big TF toy history tour, BotCon presentation etc. -- but still not enough to really draw in sufficient numbers. It's nice for some people to say that they want conventions, but when they were organised, the numbers were just lacking.

The best way to support TF conventions is to have attended them... and I am most grateful to everyone who attended previous TF cons, but as you would have witnessed, there just weren't enough people.

Perhaps the next best thing might be to go back to running an Australian TF fan booth at SupaNova? But again, without Hasbro's support it might prove difficult... e.g. unless you're a dealer (which attracts higher registration costs), you're not supposed to sell anything that isn't your intellectual property.

[kup]

possible, but the best approach is to do a pop culture con, majority of the tf voice actors did other series as well and recent games. Easier way to get people in and for stall sellers to sell items.

This is by far the best way to go about it. A pop culture con will grab the attention and curiosity of all, not just a niche group.

[jazzy_josh]

Well of course you just can't have a pop culture convention, you need advertisment aswell. If you were able to get the attention of Gifts For The Geek or hub productions or one of the many organizers out there to help back you up you might have a chance in getting this off the grounds.
Now the stalls that do go to fairs are a good idea to start off with, I know of a fair few that go to the other conventions around the state. But you also need the other stalls that sell for the major companies as goktimusprime pointed out. If you can get the Madman up for a screening room, Hasbro for a display area as well as a sales booth, EB or games for a gaming area and some where that also sells food this would be a good idea.

Games are a good idea but you would need a pre-registration as well as cosplay as cosplay comps get things going off in a big way! Cosplay comps also bring in a lot of people. But the main thing is you need actors there. When you guys did the first conventions, how did you raise the funds up for that, if you don't mind me asking?

[jena]

Perhaps the next best thing might be to go back to running an Australian TF fan booth at SupaNova? But again, without Hasbro's support it might prove difficult... e.g. unless you're a dealer (which attracts higher registration costs), you're not supposed to sell anything that isn't your intellectual property.

That's what I've been attempting to discuss, but the conversation keeps going back to an actual convention. I asked if anyone was interested in having a booth at Oz Comic Con in Adelaide and Melbourne. We could just have a booth, we could print some of the fantastic toy photography created by members here to display, some of us could take some figures to have on display, give out flyers about the forums etc. We don't need to actually sell anything. Just be there to meet other fans, possibly recruit new members that didn't know the forum exists.

[gekisou]

I remember Sabretron. it was a really, really good effort and I loved that while it was small, everyone was fairly friendly to each other.
I still have the photos I took of the con on my comp. And I still look at it fondly.

[jazzy_josh]

Good idea if that was a possibility, I doubt at this point Oz Comic Con has any tables left as they would of gone by now. Best to try for the Armageddon or Hereos and Villians convention as that way you can have Garry Chalk with the group. I still say it would be a good idea to hold a mini convention a pop culture one and go from there. There are some great places a mini one could be held but you would have to have other more recent pop cultures.