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At New York Comic Con this year, I stopped by the Bandai Namco booth and spoke with Justin Cavender, Senior Marketing Manager at Bandai Namco North America. We talked about the products they brought and which fandoms seem to be the most popular nowadays.
How do you decide what exclusives to bring to the con?
That's a great question, and it comes from pretty high up; it's based on popularity, IP, maybe figures that haven’t had love in a while, or maybe it's a popular figure that's just repainted a different way. There's a lot that goes into it. I wouldn’t say honest-to-goodness market research or closed doors; it’s based on timing with our licensors, what’s appropriate for them, and all of this stuff is planned pretty far in advance. Once we’re done here, we’re gonna go back home and then talk about next year. It's one of those things.
Do you notice certain figures have a bigger fanbase here? Do certain ones tend to sell out quicker?
So each con in itself is almost its own living, breathing ecosystem. What’s interesting about New York Comic Con is that theres a lot of single-day badge holders, whereas, likeSan Diego Comic-Con, theres a lot of 4-day badge holders, so what’s neat about this place is it’s just a revolving door of different people each day, so that can have an impact on what you want to sell, because you aren’t selling to the same people every day. Anime is pretty popular in New York City, and I mean the cosplay here is like second to none compared to some of the other cons that we go to. I mean, right now, if you were to walk out to the Crystal Palace, you would just see a sea of humans dressed up as their favorite characters, and anime, which was once niche, is pretty much a staple in pop culture at this point, which I think is fascinating.
How is the reception at NYCC versus other cons?
I think there are similarities, but when it comes to exclusives and fans, they rush the booth and lineup in the morning, where it's wrapped around the booth, whereas in San Diego, it's usually some sort of unique order system: sometimes it's tickets, sometimes it's a lottery, sometimes it's a scheduled time to pick it up, just because San Diego is its own separate vibe and energy. And every single booth has some sort of exclusivity. Whereas here, it's more of a get-together and a way to celebrate the culture, while San Diego feels more like a buying culture, and everyone wants to buy, buy, buy.
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Do you have a favorite figure here?
It changes. I’m more about the experiential side. I feel like people can buy stuff anywhere- Target, Amazon, Walmart, whatever and what I think is most exciting is when we have workshops or demos, when people can try things hands-on, or maybe, like with Godzilla, with the suit actor coming out, and building some sort of memory for someone. I’ve been going to cons since 1998; San Diego Comic-Con was my first con. I was in college, and it changed my life. It taught me what it is I want to do with my life. I've gone as a consumer, attendee, media, and exhibitor; I've seen all sides. At the end of the day, it's just building memories and experiences; that's what's important. You might not remember which con you got that figure, but you’ll remember that statue or that crazy workshop. But as far as figures go, I'm usually pretty excited about the event exclusive; even if we have like 3 or 4, theres usually one that stands out, like this year, the Burning Godzilla one, is a favorite.
Is there an anime you haven’t worked with that you would love to get the IP for?
Oh sure. There are so many anime out right now. We are lucky that we get to work with some of the biggest ones like Dragon Ball and One Piece and Naruto. I'm sure theres always like a new hotness, like when Demon Slayer came out in 2019, everyone was walking out as Tanjiro and stuff like that. So i mean I dont know what that next one is yet, but you those animes fan that have their ear to the ground and are like “make that figure! Make that figure!”, and I mean, Bandai’s pretty receptive to feedback, at least I am receptive to feedback, and in marketing Im always sort of reling that messaging, but I don’t have an answer for you what that is, but im sure theres something out there.
Is there an anime that you personally would like to work with that you haven't yet?
Not an anime per se, but an animation thing, and that’s King of the Hill. I wanted King Of The Hill for years. I mean, I have a Peggy Hill pin, three-time substitute teacher of the year Peggy Hill. So I would love to have figures of King of the Hill with optional face parts and hands and maybe even like build a figure too.
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Do you notice trends tend to change with what’s popular each year?
Yeah, especially if I am looking up here. I have seen countless Doctor Doom cosplayers walk over there [to the Marvel booth] and take photos. We were just kind of figuring out ourselves what's the hot thing right now. But I mean theres so many anime characters walking around right now. A lot of One Piece, theres a plethora of characters, quite a roster, and theres some deep cuts, but I think One Piece is really making a move. There was a time when Deadpool was walking all over the place, but now I just see a lot of One Piece stuff walking around, which is great to see.
What is your favorite part about Comic-Con?
Oh man. It's gonna be connecting with fans and friends. I've been coming to New York Comic Con since 2019, and in fact, before I came up here to speak with you, I bumped into a guy, and he won all our raffles for our stamp rally we did in 2019, and he did it every day, and he just kept winning. I've been seeing him all these years, and I literally bumped into him as I came up here. So I mean, just that, I love that theres millions of people in New York City and I just bump into people that I know; it just blows me away. So at the end of the day, just connecting with fans and friends.
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