Staff
Wizard World
Sep 1st
Last week, I attended Wizard World Comic Con in Rosemont, Ill. Wizard World is a tremendously popular and well-run convention featuring celebrities, vendors, speakers and exhibitions. It all started in 1991, when Gareb Shamus founded Wizard Entertainment, and it has been growing ever since.
This year, the big guests were Adam West, Julie Newmar and Burt Ward from TV’s Batman, along with William Shatner of Star Trek fame. Long lines of fans waited to meet their favorite stars. Even some of the stars wanted to meet the other stars.
Pro-wrestler Shane Douglas was hoping to meet West, a childhood favorite. Douglas talked about his passion for comics and how excited he was to attend the convention.
Being the intrepid reporter that I am, I came away with a celebrity scoop. Actress Beth Horn, who appeared as ‘Venom’ in the 2008 season of American Gladiators, told me about plans for an American Gladiators movie next summer, and she will be auditioning. Horn is also excited about the upcoming release of her film Fancy Pants. Horn’s favorite vacation spot is Florence, Italy, because she loves the people and culture.
Not everyone is interested in the celebrity aspect, however. Attendees Dave Pauwels (of Sisters Grimm Comics) and Joey Rodriguez were more interested in the Artist Alley. Rodriguez thought the event was pretty cool, but was disappointed that Marvel and DC and some major publishers such as Darkhorse were not there. Hopefully, as Wizard World continues to grow, this will change.
Conventions like these are huge business. Unfortunately, attendance figures are not released. As an indicator, all hotels in the area were booked solid, according to the concierges. That doesn’t even take into consideration all of the local attendees.
Additionally, since most people spend a major portion of each day at the convention, they tend to dine nearby (thus bringing more money into the area). The total revenue it brought into the Rosemont area was tremendous.
In 2010, there were Wizard World conventions in nine major U.S. cities, and there are plans for adding five more cities in 2011. Wizard World keeps growing and improving every year. My friends and I are already looking forward to the first announcements about next year’s convention.
– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist
Front of Mind
Aug 31st
I’m always amazed at what becomes visible to the conscience when something is suddenly brought to your attention. I could pass the same thing every day and never notice it until someone pointed it out to me. Then, suddenly, I see that item wherever I go. It could be a new brand people are wearing, a new car model or new 2D barcode technology.
I am very excited that Global Traveler is introducing 2D barcode technology. I know advertisers will be taking advantage of this great marketing tool. Before the technology was presented to us in a recent meeting, I was not even aware of its existence. Now that I have been made aware of it, I keep seeing barcodes all over New York City. Just this past weekend, I was shopping and walked by Norma Kamali. Each item in the window had a barcoded sign with it. I asked the storekeeper if the barcodes were popular, and he said yes. When the code is scanned from the window display, it links to the item online and allows consumers to purchase the item directly. He went on to inform me that mostly businesswomen are using this technology as they simply don’t have time to go inside and make the purchase.
Stay tuned for more on this technology and keep an eye out for it on ads, billboards, everywhere. Your favorite articles, brands and products could be just a barcode away. Simply point your Smartphone at the code, take a picture, and you are instantly transported to the desired link!
– Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher
A Proud Moment
Aug 30th
I have never been prouder in my professional career than I was last Tuesday and Wednesday. We brought in Global Traveler‘s sales staff for an annual seminar. PowerPoint presentations were made by Alex Young and Kim Krol, covering everything from our competition and our obvious strengths to internal procedures and the fantastic success of eFlyer, GT‘s e-newsletter.
Alex presented, in a very artistic way, all the destinations she has traveled to in her eight-year tenure with Global Traveler — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Seoul, Tokyo, Seattle, Montréal, London and Singapore were just the tip of the iceberg shown. I followed suit, covering my destinations, including Fiji, Norway, Korea, Thailand, China, Australia and Mexico — just to name a few. Dick Evans even talked about his near capture while on a horseback safari near the Afghan border.
We then presented and summarized our airline clients, pasting their logos on their home markets as we discussed routes and services. In between the presentations, we viewed videos and commercials from Thai, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Delta, United, Air Canada, Asiana, Korean Air and many more. Highlights from Emirates’ first class and Lufthansa’s A380 were shown.
We covered Global Traveler‘s new 2D barcoding capabilities and discussed the possibilities for linking these barcodes from Smartphones to any websites desired. We thought linking a GT 2D Barcode to Dale Moss’s video interview on our website was an interesting use for the new technology.
We ended the seminar in true Philadelphia fashion — with a trip to Citizens Bank Park to watch the Phillies take on the Astros. It was a great event and sure to be an annual gathering from now on. Maybe we should consider Palm Spring or Hawaii next?
– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO
All for a Good Cause
Aug 29th
My husband and I like to attend charity auctions. We enjoy supporting a good cause while having the opportunity to purchase goods and services (especially travel packages and getaways) we can put to good use. I’m not talking about auctions for large foundations that bring in millions of dollars – there aren’t too many of those in our neck of the woods – generally, our churches, local schools and community foundations are the beneficiaries of the three or four auctions we attend each year.
Not only do we bid on items for these auctions; we also like to contribute something to be bid upon as well. Our go-to item is an evening of wine and food for eight to twelve in the winning bidder’s home. Over the course of our married life together, Harry and I have hosted countless parties in our home for family and friends, so we’ve developed a pretty well-honed routine and built up our repertoire of recipes. Our 500-bottle wine storage unit is always bursting at the seams, with new acquisitions never quite keeping up with our consumption. So it’s become a natural for us to replicate the format of our favorite evening with friends for someone else’s group of buddies to benefit our favorite charities.
This morning we are recovering from the labors of providing such an evening. Last spring the Rogue River High School’s FFA group held their annual Beef Feed and Auction, and a local couple bid on our wine tasting party. Last week they called, asking if, on such short notice, we might be able to pull together the event for this Saturday evening, when they would have friends in town. Well, Harry rallied and graciously said, “Yes, of course,” while I was thinking, “What? When?!!”
Harry provides the brains and talent behind these things, planning the selection of wines and doing most of the cooking. I do prep work, shopping, clean up and, most important, questioning some of Harry’s choices: “Don’t you think we should have some fruit? What about veggies? Isn’t that a lot of wine? Are you really going to cut the zucchini that way? (You can tell we’ve been married a long time.) He manages to maintain his cool, we refine the menu and, in the end, everyone has a great time.
The hosts and their guests last night tell us they indeed had a marvelous time. They enjoyed two white wines, four reds and two dessert splits. We served up a variety of cheeses and crackers followed by a host of hot and cold “heavy” hors d’oeuvres and concluded with a decadent dessert. We enjoyed ourselves, too, sharing our love of good wine and food with some lovely folks and seeing them enjoy each other’s company. But I gotta say, I am happy to be able to put my feet up today!
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor
