Cole Houston of A Piece of the Action Collectibles, in Arlington, Texas did a cross-promotion with local conventions for Free Comic Book Day (see '2005 FCBD in the Books'), and turnout 'easily exceeded last year's:'
A Piece of the Action Collectibles is a small, weekend-only comic and collectibles retailer located in an obscure, often overlooked mall. As a result we are often overlooked. We have had a mall location for just under two years and 2005 was our second year to participate in FCBD. We got our start selling at toy and comic conventions and with a subscription service. To this day conventions account for more than a third of our business. So we decided to give something back this year, as many conventions get overlooked, too.
We coupled Free Comic Book Day with our own exclusive event, Convention Awareness Day 2005. Invitations were extended to all local fan-based conventions (comic, sci-fi, anime, etc.) to send representatives and distribute information about their shows. This allowed us to make Free Comic Book Day an even bigger event. We held FCBD in the store and hosted the conventions (six local shows were represented this year and all wanted me to assure them the event would be repeated next year) in another part of the mall, near one of the main entrances. Maps were provided to guide visitors from one event to the other.
The turnout for this year's Free Comic Book Day easily exceeded last year's and we came much closer to running out of books this year than the year before. Business was remarkable and we were discovered by many collectors who were previously unaware of our shop. We are already working on plans for other events to be held at the mall which provided space to us free of charge as the recognize the importance of events to draw attention to the mall itself, as well as one of its tenants.
My wife Catherine manned the store while I ran the Convention Awareness Day area, complete with a Free Comic Book Day section showcasing the titles available at the store and entry forms for our special prize drawing to be held that evening. Several of the attending conventions had drawings or other promotions of their own which added to the Free Comic Book Day experience for all who attended at our shop and the mall. One show promoter brought their famous 'marshmallow blow guns' and gave prizes to anyone who could shoot down a row of empty soda cans at a distance! By the end of the day we had given away over 200 comics, increased awareness of our shop and the local convention scene, and contributed to our second highest sales weekend of the year! Not to mention picking up a few new customers for our comic subscription service!
