BronyCon Moving To Baltimore: A Good or Bad Idea?
BronyCon, the My Little Pony convention phenomenon which rose from 100 to 4,000 attendees in the last two years, has made the next step in its evolution by moving from the Tri-State area (originally held in NYC and New Jersey) to Baltimore, Maryland in 2013.
There has been mixed reactions to the news of the move, with NYC convention goers and vendors being the most upset. Some feel betrayed that their home convention is moving south. I can understand how NYC Bronies vendors would be hit hard because they now have to factor in costs of bringing all their wares with them.
However, for Southern Bronies, this is a good thing, since it brings the convention closer to them. Placing it at the Baltimore convention center gives BronyCon the chance to have a lot more space to use for their events, as well as the convenience of having a lot of hotels to choose from in the area.
There is only one major concern that I have. BronyCon is on August 2-4th, 2013, the weekend before Otakon, the biggest anime convention in the east coast, in the same city, in the same venue. If BronyCon would have taken place a month before or after Otakon, I would think that the move, although not a popular one, could have a chance to profit financially for them. But to have it a week before Otakon… I can’t see that being a good business idea.
Now, Otakon has always been close to another convention that takes place in the same venue, the Baltimore Comic Con. But the reasons why the Baltimore Comic Con has been successful is because…
- Comic fans and otakus tend to prefer to attend cons that are closer in theme to their fandom
- Most times it’s at least a month apart. Being that otakus and Bronies share fandoms and conventions, most non-Maryland attendees will have to choose between going to BronyCon and Otakon, unless of course they have the money to attend both.
Will this work? This year in Boston, Anime Boston and PAX East ran on the same weekend, and both did well, but again although there is overlap with fans, generally they both cater to different fandoms. Will BronyCon be hit hard next year for being so close to Otakon? Will Otakon be hit hard? Will both succeed immensely? I have seen conventions grow bigger and stronger, and this will be a test to see if both do well next year.
What do you think? Let me know your thoughts whether you think BronyCon’s move is a good idea or not.
