Anime Expo’s 24th annual event is fast approaching. As we count the days down to the largest Japanese animation event in the country which will host guests such as Takahiro Miura (Fate/Stay Night director), Hiroyuki Imaishi (Kill La Kill director), Daisuke Ishiwatari (Guilty Gear director) and voice actors Cherami Leigh and Christopher Sabat among various anime, musical, manga and gaming guests, we managed to have a chat with CEO Marc Houston Perez who consented to talk about what attendees can expect this year and some lessons he learned from previous shows.
Darius Washington: So, well I see you’re busy already. How are things shaping up for the con this year?
Marc Houston Perez: Great. Lots of firsts this year. We are renting the entire LACC South Hall, West Hall, Kentia, Petree, Concourse & all of the 300,400 & 500 meeting rooms. (Previously, we were not renting Kentia Hall.) We have a brand new registration company, a new decorator, a new housing company, a new website, about 10 new employees and a record breaking 1600 volunteers, up from 1200 last year.
These are not first, but are being brought back: Usage of Microsoft Theater (Formally Nokia Theater), Club Nokia & using JW Marriott for Video screening in 2 new 900 person rooms. We will be releasing the map to the exhibit hall with 500+ exhibitors, 600+ artist alley tables, & an entirely new space for table top games and autograph sessions.
DW: Ok. Sounds like you did some overhauling then?
MHP: Yep.
DW: So let’s tackle a couple carryovers. Last year you guys had to deal with two aspects of registration issues: long time process and the necessity for a cap in the first time ever being at the LACC. You even issued announcements about your plans to correct these soon after. Could you talk about these a bit?
MHP: So lines. Last year was an absolute disaster. We had sun burn, heat stoke and lots of very justifiably upset attendees. We went back to our registration company with a list of all of the issues from 2014 in an attempt to address them for 2015 and they attempted to tackle them. They worked with us for a few months but ultimately decided it wasn’t a good fit in working together.
So we parted ways. In that part they were very gracious and supported us while we looked for a new company. We wish them luck, and think they do great for smaller market but we really pushed beyond what their capacity was. So that time allowed us to meet with quite a few companies to review the various options in the marketplace.
Ultimately we selected Eventbrite. They have been sponsoring our B2B show, Project Anime, for quite a while and made a very compelling case. Those changes have been great in a few ways but we are also still working through some hiccups.
The big changes that will be seen this year that have been made with the switch are: Plastic badges with no printed names. For as long as I can remember the bulk of our attendee badges have been printed on paper stock. This process involves the attendee coming up, verifying id and then waiting for a printer to print their badge, pick up the badge then stuffing it into a holder on a lanyard and walking away. Under perfect circumstances, this can be in as little as 20 secs, but in real world roll out it’s much closer to 45-60 seconds. Now process 80k people and multiply it by 45 seconds and you get 1k+ hours of time invested.
We added more computers last year than we have ever had, but it still was not enough.
When you add in: Printer issues, System issues, lost or no ID, it really adds up.
So we decided it was time to switch out all of our badges to pre-printed non-customized badges. No need to print anything, just scan a code, verify ID, hand the appropriate badge and off you go. So we tested it and saw it done in real world and are looking at about 15-20 seconds per registrant in real world environment.
Second, we added more registration locations. Previously all registration was done in south hall, creating a huge mass of people in one place. So we have decentralized the different pickup areas. Public can pick up their badge in south hall lobby or in front of west hall tower, press has a press area, Exhibitor have an exhibitors area, all with plastic badges in an attempt to make the process as smooth as possible.
That’s just registration. Our decorator is brand new, so new layouts and signage and setups with them. Our housing company is brand new, so it’s breaking in their new system and trying to make sure that our attendees are getting the service they need. This year is yet again a learning year for us. We are getting better, but we still have a long way to go.
This year we hired 3 people to handle customer service requests, dealing with Social Media, Email, Phone calls and even letters. You would think that after 24 years at this we would have it down. Well… we don’t! *smiles* But, it is a huge focus for us this year and we hope to get things right. Next year is our 25th anniversary and we want people to say “Wow… 24 was the best yet; I can’t wait to see what they do for their 25th.”
DW: Good goal to have.
Let’s talk about your events and guests here for a bit. Last year for example you had a tremendous push for Sailor Moon with the largest gathering of cosplayers around as well as hosting previous and current voice actors premiering the Sailor Moon blu ray and Crystal at the time. You also had Kill La Kill singer Eir Aoi come and perform a pretty amazing show. Do you have anything at that level this year?
MHP: Momo Clover Z & Kiss. I mean come on. KISS… Fricken KISS! Performing with Momoclo! This!
DW: That was definitely something to read about for certain
MHP: IA, WagakkiBand, Little Witch Academia 2, A cosplaying Corgi…
DW: LOL What? A cosplaying corgi?
MHP: Boom! http://www.anime-expo.org/guests/kiba-corgi/
DW: Ok. that will be a sight to see. I was personally amazed when you guys announced Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure director Naokatsu Tsuda would be coming to help premiere the English dub. That’s a show I’ve really been into and know a lot of folks like. Can you talk a little more on that?
MHP: Well TSUDA-san is awesome. What more can I say? The series has been running for 25 years as a manga then to now take on the job of bringing it to life is a big set of shoes to fill. He has done a great job and series has been a huge success. We are just honored again to have them release the dub with us.
DW: I just saw you guys are doing a Project H Festival as well, with artists geared toward hentai fans?
MHP: Yes. We come together with an outside group to create something a bit more adult in a controlled environment. Rather than releasing the content on a crowd that is mostly more below 18 then above it, we wanted to have a section set aside that will still appeal to an adult audience but wont overwhelm the all ages appeal we want to maintain.
DW: Another project I’d definitely like you to touch on: Project Anime. You’ve managed to have this going for a few years now at AX and in Japan, and just got one up and running in Atlanta at Momocon. Could you talk about that a bit? How that came about and how you feel these conferences have been turning out?
MHP: Sure. The SPJA (Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation) is a 501(c)6 Mutual benefit non-profit trade organization. We were originally focused on just Anime and Manga, then music and fashion. Then video games and board games and its really come to be all of Japanese culture. So AX has been expanding its breath and depth of what it wants to promote.
Along with that the SPJA realized we are not the end all – be all of Japanese or even fandon events. We have lots to offer in lessons learned but also want to learn from others.
So what better way then to learn from your peers. So we started an event, hosted a few groups and had round table discussions about the various areas that we felt needed attention. It has grown into an event that by the end of the year will be in 6 regions
Singapore, Tokyo, LA, Atlanta, Beligum and (Classified).
My joke about it is that AX always an example to learn from. Sometimes its an example of what not to do, but its always an example. *smile*
So as we grow PA, we want to gather more groups and hopefully create an organized group that will create white papers, speak with one voice, offer solutions across multiple regions and really at its core create better events that do an even better job of pleasing the fans and promoting the content of the industry. SPJA has no desire to “Rule the Kingdom” but does want to see the kingdom come together to support what we all know and love. PA is our first… foray into that space.
DW: So you like to see various organizations having their own ways of doing things then?
MHP: Yes. But I’m sure we can all agree that better run panels, better guests, smoother contracting, better registration systems, and the thousand other ways our shows can grow will be improved by more people talking and sharing together.
DW: Sounds like you have quite a project on your hands. May I touch on one more subject a bit? The ticketing policy for events seems to evolve each year. Can you tell me how you develop this structure?
MHP: Yes. First off, we do not aim for a profit with our concerts. We may see a profit, but it is usually less than 10 thousand dollars on an investment of 100k. Quite frequently we see a loss. Also once you account for the cost of airfare, travel expenses and hotel. Concerts actually lose money.
So we sell tickets to cover most of that loss. So to walk you through the process, we select a musical act or are approached to bring someone out. We contract with a management company or label and develop a contract. Often a guarantee or appearance fee is involved. Anywhere from $500 to $50k. So all of that goes into expenses. We take those costs, minus flight, food, hotel, staff, other expenses and divide by x seats at x price to come up with a ticket price.
An average ticket price section the seats, price accordingly and go back the management company with our calculations and hope they accept. We try not to go above $50 average price as that’s what most are able to pay. In those situations, we try to lower expenses and make a decision. That’s the basics.
DW: Ok. So, just curious, have you already got plans you’d like to see come to fruition for AX 25? Without going into more detail than you’d like of course.
MHP: We are already in talks with a number of groups for 2016. Not much I would like to say yet. *smiles*
Darius Washington: How about for this year. Are there some things you might be able to give a hint toward in the next week or two?
MHP: Well… huge huge huge secret guest coming in for the Anamanguchi
DW: All right. Looking forward to hear about that soon. So what has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your time leading Anime Expo?
MHP: Wow… there have been so many.
1. Develop a personal life away from work. (very very hard)
2. Be friendly with employees and volunteers, being genuine not fake but still at a respectful distance. (I love the people I work with but I can’t always be friends with them.)
3. Make the show more fun and keep it growing and developing. Don’t be stagnant. Last year our budget was more than 5 million. In 2012 it was 3.5. We are adding on more than a 3/4 of a million dollars in expense each year. I say that to say this: Is what you are spending money on making an actual difference to the attendee? As in an actual noticeable difference? That’s the lesson, give them what they need. Customer is king, but they don’t always know how to articulate what they want. Take the time, listen and try to find it out.
4. Have fun. After all at the most basic level, we are just promoting animation folks.
DW: Well thank you for your time. I know you’ve got a ton of work to do still. You’ve given some great insights into how the show works. Looking forward to it.
MHP: My pleasure.