Is your event is a bit ho-hum?  Are there fewer attendees than in the past?  Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I wish my event were more fun?”  Perhaps what your event could use is additional PASSION.

This past July I attended Comic-Con International in San Diego (SDCC) to see what a show with lots of PASSION looks like.  If you’re not familiar, Comic-Con is a 40-year old event which celebrates comics and popular culture.  Attendance is massive, with over 130,000 people and tickets that sell out in days.  In FY09, the show’s economic impact to San Diego was $162.8 million with $67.8 million in direct attendee spending.  Now that’s a popular show!

So what can you do to get PASSION into your event?

TRUTH 1 – Glorify your event’s identity

If you picked one or two words to describe the look and feel of your show, that would be your show’s identity.  For Comic-Con, it’s costumes.

Dressing up for Comic-Con is serious business.  In fact, what you wear to Comic-Con is so important it has its own name – cosplay.  Attendees tweet about their costume months before the show.  Fans create how to videos; there are conference sessions on creating the perfect costume; and the biggest show event culminates with a masquerade contest.  It’s fun for those who dress up and those who just go to watch.

• So what if your identity isn’t as flashy as costumes?  Embrace whatever you are with gusto.  If you’re a book show, glorify readers and librarians.  If you’re a medical event, play up educated professionals in white coats.  If you’re an engineering show, geek out on the technical angle.  Your attendees will get it and love you for it

TRUTH 2 – Celebrities boost attendance

Crazy, rabid fans will do a lot to see their favorite celebrity.  At Comic-Con, the line to see the True Blood cast was over 4 hours and half a mile long.  People happily lined up at 6 a.m. for a panel that lasted one hour.

Celebrities also draw the media’s attention.  Comic-Con was covered on national newswires, featured in several issues of USA Today and made the front cover of Entertainment Weekly.

Just the presence of celebrities generates passion.  There was strong buzz about offsite parties and who attended (Conan O’Brian), and tweets about celebrity sightings in hotels (Danny Devito).

• Who are your event’s celebrities?  Look to subject matter experts, government regulation champions, and industry leaders.  You don’t need blockbuster name recognition as long as your audience cares about them.

TRUTH 3 – ‘Swag’ is more important than you think

Attendees are motivated to get stuff (swag).  Although they may say it’s not that important, people want freebies on the show floor.  At Comic-Con, pre-show announcements for collectibles generated excitement, and fan tweets directed friends to the coolest swag.

Make it fun to get stuff.  BBC America created a QR scavenger hunt for fans of the sci-fi show Doctor Who.  They pre-publicized the scavenger hunt on their website along with a pre-planning map of participating exhibitors.  Excited fans scanned the QR codes and were entered into a drawing for swag.  (I didn’t win, darn.)

Swag also includes experiences.  The most populated area of the show floor – often 10+ people deep – was for playing mature video games.  Playing the games, as well as watching others play, was the fun experience.

• What is your industry’s version of ‘cool stuff?’  Know what your audience cares about and make that available on the show floor – whether it’s giveaways, drawings for a limited number of items, unique  educational experiences, or fun games.

TRUTH 4 – Create an environment for ‘people just like me’

Nerds are cool at Comic-Con.  Attendees self-identify as nerds and create websites called www.sdccnerdattack.com, www.thenerdmachine.com, and www.alertnerd.com.  This show is a safe haven of 130,000 people ‘just like me’.

However, even nerds have classifications.  Just a sampling of conference topics included sessions for comic books collectors, Japanese anime fans, Star Trek enthusiasts, and vampire lovers (there were lots of these folks).

Social media is the communication vehicle that finds ‘people groupings.’ Twitter leaders pull followers to them; Facebook posts give much needed first-timer tips and spontaneous meet-up parties can happen. Even the most determined group of people found a way to connect – attendees who couldn’t get tickets formed their own, simultaneous offline convention.

What major subgroups exist at your event?  What do they really care about?  By identifying the major persona groups and providing them motivating experiences, you will build passion for your next event.

Loretta Hudelot is senior manager of Customer Insight and Research at Freeman.  She can be reached at loretta.hudelot@freemanco.com.