WizKids chose to sell its DC HeroClix at the San Diego Comic-Con (see 'San Diego News and Notes'), and both DC HeroClix and Mechwarrior at GenCon. In response to retailer criticism of this practice, WizKids EVP Martin Stever issued the following message:
As all of you have heard, we had DC HeroClix on sale at the San Diego ComiCon this past weekend. I'm now calling it, 'The Skid Heard Round the World.' Yes, we had DC HeroClix on sale there. About 1 or maybe 1.5 skids worth of product. These were rushed to San Diego from our factory because we wanted to create some buzz at the convention. Evidently that buzzing has been heard as far away as Australia and Germany.
Here are some facts with regards to WizKids selling product at conventions:
1) We believe in the mathematics of buzz. Yes, there will be some consumers who choose to buy from us at a convention rather than wait until they get home to buy from their local game shop. We also believe that the positive buzz that can be created at a large consumer show can positively affect overall sales. We believe the increased sales from the positive buzz creates more sales for retailers than those that shift from their store to our booth. If we didn't believe that there would be an overall increase in sales at retail because of the buzz we create with a convention release, we wouldn't do it.
2) The overall amount of product released at San Diego was very, very small. Somewhere between 1 and 1.5 skids of product. If all the emails and calls we've received and the posts we've read online predicting sales shifting from retailers to convention sales were true, we would have had to bring in several truck loads of product to sell. That wasn't the case. Thinking through the math, in San Diego we sold less than 1/4 of a single booster per retail store that carries WizKids product in the U.S. So retailers worried they're going to lose lots of sales to our convention efforts need to take a deep breath and think through the math.
3) We feel we were successful in creating buzz. Considering everything that happened at San Diego from every company there, I think there were four topics that were elevated to 'top buzz' at the show, and the coolness of DC HeroClix was one of them. That was also the analysis I heard from many people from all levels of the industry.
4) We believe that the buzz of new product helps us recruit new players. Our San Diego booth was packed with people playing HeroClix for the first time. I'll guess that we had more than 400 people try HeroClix for the first time at the show. Having a 'hot' product at the show is one reason people choose to stop and spend 20 minutes learning how to play.
5) We believe that we know what we're doing with regards to convention marketing. Last year at the San Diego ComiCon, we had only a few Warlords in the area and San Diego was one of the markets in which we knew we were underperforming. We worked hard to have a presence at the show, to get people to try Mage Knight, to buy a starter and a couple boosters. A couple months after the show, feedback from San Diego retailers showed that our sales were up in the area. Now, a year later, we have over 30 Warlords in the San Diego area. That's Warlord growth way, way higher than our national average. So again, the math of buzz, we sell some product to multiply overall product sales.
6) On the first two days of San Diego, we probably did allow individuals to buy too much product. There were 'per person' limits, but in hindsight, those limits were too high. DC HeroClix and MechWarrior will be available at GenCon and DragonCon, but we'll be limiting purchases to 1 starter and 3 boosters for each line.
7) When you rush the manufacturing and shipping of a small amount of product to get to a convention, the way we did, you don't make any money on the sales. Conspiracy theories abound as to why we'd sell DC HeroClix at a convention before the product release date. I can assure you that it is only because we believe it will increase overall product sales. When you consider our costs, it's clear we don't make any profits on the sales at the convention. It's too expensive for us to rush product and for that to happen.
