SyFy Channel's Cafe Diem restaurant at San Diego Comic Con
on September 11, 2009, 5:02 am
In what was probably one of the most innovative and contextually grounded as well as utilitarian ideas I’ve seen period was what Syfy channel did with their experience-based marketing. Now first you’ll have to know that “Eureka” is a show on SyFy that takes place in the town of Eureka. In the show the restaurant, called “Café Diem”, is where much of any talking happens that isn’t location or plot specific. You also need to know that when you exit the convention center when the doors close you want to eat and the Gaslamp District is literally across the street. By no surprise it’s a street of restaurants.
This year when you walked out of the convention center and into the Gaslamp District in the first half dozen or so restaurants there was Café Diem there seemingly plucked right out of Eureka. One might have to check with Global Dynamics to see if some kind of teleportation research didn’t go awry.
As it’s been a little bit here's a VERY quick review on some new approaches companies used this year before moving on:
San Diego Comic Con is unlike most conventions in that the attendee’s take over the entirety of downtown during the day and night. It’s unique convention situation as the attendee’s stick around after hours and local to the convention. This creates a situation where all of downtown San Diego Gas Lamp area is functionally turned into SDCC’s attendee’s cafeteria and hang out. This year few people at some companies got the bright idea to completely stop competing for their attention in the convention center and during convention hours, and it worked in spades from all I could see.
The theme seemed to be “experience” and “immersion” for the innovative things that the companies did. The idea was to bring you into a world that was being promoted and as a byproduct get you excited about the product that was being promoted.
Sci-fi arranged with the restaurant Mary Jane’s to be converted on Tuesday night so Café Diem that would open on Wednesday morning. SyFy brought graveyard crews in at 10 PM when the Mary Jane’s closed and had Café Diem open for breakfast at 6:30 AM. The functionality of the change was simply enough; it was all vinyl signage that was put on backs of chairs, glass and anywhere else what was a solid surface. The only dimensional signage was the exterior sign.
The conversion was complete: signage, menus, napkins, and coasters. I tried to find any evidence from simply looking around of what the place was before and couldn’t find it. During Comic Con our group ate in Café Diem. Even for those that didn’t watch Eureka, it was an experience they quite enjoyed. Again immersion and experience were on the menu along with good food and fun.
Menu
The interior was a complete conversion...
Even the kitchen and soda fountains were covered with signage.
Okay the next is not a great picture but it was taken across the street with my iPhone.
This though was in one way even more of a paradigm shift than even Disney’s Flynn’s Arcade and the Alice in Wonderland experience. Disney’s outside experiences was IN ADDITION to events in the convention walls. SyFy on the other hand did the restaurant conversions INSTEAD OF having a booth. Café Diem WAS their presence at Comic Con.
On Monday Jonelle and I went back to see what the restaurant was really and they were quite kind to give us some stuff that was left over: Menus, pens and coasters. The menu is one of my favorite items from this year SDCC.
Here are some before and after pictures to give you a concept of the changes that happened.
The main dinning area
The waiting and reception area
Kitchen and soda fountain
Exterior Signage
I don’t work for SyFy or Disney so I have no inside information on goals, or measured success. From what I could see and hear people talking about I think when mixing together new experience and immersion promotion, taking advantage of attendee’s evening availability, the fact that the attendee’s don’t generally leave down town and that the convention is bursting at the seams with too much going on inside I think this new direction is something we might see more of in the future for San Diego Comic Con. I certainly hope so.
If you want to see all the pictures we took you can check out the galleries at
Mobile Me (http://gallery.me.com/theshadowknows#100174&bgcolor=black&view=grid)
Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/topherdavila/sets/72157622017862508/)
This year when you walked out of the convention center and into the Gaslamp District in the first half dozen or so restaurants there was Café Diem there seemingly plucked right out of Eureka. One might have to check with Global Dynamics to see if some kind of teleportation research didn’t go awry.
As it’s been a little bit here's a VERY quick review on some new approaches companies used this year before moving on:
San Diego Comic Con is unlike most conventions in that the attendee’s take over the entirety of downtown during the day and night. It’s unique convention situation as the attendee’s stick around after hours and local to the convention. This creates a situation where all of downtown San Diego Gas Lamp area is functionally turned into SDCC’s attendee’s cafeteria and hang out. This year few people at some companies got the bright idea to completely stop competing for their attention in the convention center and during convention hours, and it worked in spades from all I could see.
The theme seemed to be “experience” and “immersion” for the innovative things that the companies did. The idea was to bring you into a world that was being promoted and as a byproduct get you excited about the product that was being promoted.
Sci-fi arranged with the restaurant Mary Jane’s to be converted on Tuesday night so Café Diem that would open on Wednesday morning. SyFy brought graveyard crews in at 10 PM when the Mary Jane’s closed and had Café Diem open for breakfast at 6:30 AM. The functionality of the change was simply enough; it was all vinyl signage that was put on backs of chairs, glass and anywhere else what was a solid surface. The only dimensional signage was the exterior sign.
The conversion was complete: signage, menus, napkins, and coasters. I tried to find any evidence from simply looking around of what the place was before and couldn’t find it. During Comic Con our group ate in Café Diem. Even for those that didn’t watch Eureka, it was an experience they quite enjoyed. Again immersion and experience were on the menu along with good food and fun.
Menu
The interior was a complete conversion...
Even the kitchen and soda fountains were covered with signage.
Okay the next is not a great picture but it was taken across the street with my iPhone.
This though was in one way even more of a paradigm shift than even Disney’s Flynn’s Arcade and the Alice in Wonderland experience. Disney’s outside experiences was IN ADDITION to events in the convention walls. SyFy on the other hand did the restaurant conversions INSTEAD OF having a booth. Café Diem WAS their presence at Comic Con.
On Monday Jonelle and I went back to see what the restaurant was really and they were quite kind to give us some stuff that was left over: Menus, pens and coasters. The menu is one of my favorite items from this year SDCC.
Here are some before and after pictures to give you a concept of the changes that happened.
The main dinning area
The waiting and reception area
Kitchen and soda fountain
Exterior Signage
I don’t work for SyFy or Disney so I have no inside information on goals, or measured success. From what I could see and hear people talking about I think when mixing together new experience and immersion promotion, taking advantage of attendee’s evening availability, the fact that the attendee’s don’t generally leave down town and that the convention is bursting at the seams with too much going on inside I think this new direction is something we might see more of in the future for San Diego Comic Con. I certainly hope so.
If you want to see all the pictures we took you can check out the galleries at
Mobile Me (http://gallery.me.com/theshadowknows#100174&bgcolor=black&view=grid)
Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/topherdavila/sets/72157622017862508/)
