How Auto Shows Could be Shaped by Comic-Con 2020
[Aug. 19, 2020]
The March 2020 Geneva Auto Show was one of the first automotive victims of the coronavirus. Slated for early March, the show’s vehicle unveilings were canceled in short order, leaving auto manufacturers in a pickle. Hyundai quickly came forth with an awkward prepackaged virtual presentation to highlight its EV concept that months later morphed into a complete EV Ioniq brand, while Koenigsegg’s online streaming job that reproduced the unveiling that wasn’t of the company’s Gemera Hybrid hypercar was simple but effective. Later, the North American International Auto Show (otherwise known as the Detroit Auto Show) was canceled. But a lot has changed since those early days of the coronavirus, and we’ve now seen several examples of what conventions and shows could look like. And, strangely, Comic-Con might be the influence we need in order to save the forthcoming season of top-rung auto shows.
Comic-Con 2020 was quite a pivot from the usual – that is to say, if Comic-Con’s reputation could be considered usual. But what has in the past been an internationally-infamous convention featuring healthy cosplay and star-studded seminars this year turned into a week of recorded Zoom calls and prepackaged interviews – and in one way or another, it worked.
True, hardcore Comic-Con pundits had their druthers, lightly bashing some of the the productions. Key Comic-Con complaints centered largely around the lack of star power compared to previous years, plus the airing of poorly produced prerecorded videos rather than live Q&As, but in all, the sentiment was positive and Comic-Con 2020 was applauded.
Beyond that – and this is key – Comic-Con 2020 was free to attend. A free model doesn’t necessarily work in the long haul, but while many people are touting our current COVID lifestyle as the “new normal,” reality is that in the coming years life will return to pre-COVID comfort and in-person conventions and auto shows will rise like a phoenix. The challenge is bridging the gap between then and now, especially when no one knows when “then” will be “now.”
For a solitary year, LA, New York, or Detroit hosting a free auto show a-la Comic-Con 2020 doesn’t seem like a bad concept. Internet auto shows could draw a wider array of eyes than the shows that are currently location specific for their attendees. Sponsorship could be sold in order to financially weather the storm, and then moving into 2021 and beyond, these same auto shows might actually see growth – which is especially important since in a recent round-table discussion organized by the Motor Press Guild, New York International Auto Show President Mark Schienberg revealed that while show attendance is healthy, it’s also not growing.
“[While] there are ebbs and flows of vehicle sales, the one thing that stays strong is auto show attendance has always been pretty much the same,” Schienberg said of his show’s attendance trends over the previous five years. He touts this as positive – and it largely is – but it’s also a sign that auto shows may have saturated their markets. A free online auto show as high a profile as New York could seed interest and ultimately drum up greater attendance in the coming years.
Manufacturers put on quite a production at major auto shows, as Ford did at the LA Auto Show in 2019 with the Mustang Mach-E. How would these shows translate to an online existence?
In that same discussion, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the LA Auto Show Terri Toennies agreed with Schienberg that auto shows may not play well on the virtual stage, as attendees desire the ability to touch vehicles at these shows. That, indeed, is true, but in the same way fans were not sitting in the same room as their favorite sci-fi actresses and actors at Comic-Con 2020, interest in the topic remained.
Should the next round of top-tier auto shows from the likes of LA, New York, and Detroit turn virtual, round table discussions and Q&As a-la Comic-Con’s 2020 showing must be learned from – and the whole thing should be free. Yes, Comic-Con is nothing like an auto show, but 2020 is a year for survival, not resistance, and that means unexpected lessons should be embraced and, wherever possible, assimilated.
(Main image courtesy Chevrolet)
Follow us on Google News and like us on Facebook!
