Warner Bros.' DC FanDome provided the company an opportunity to showcase its upcoming DC films, television shows, video games, and comics in the absence of an in-person convention due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the company reports the virtual event garnered 22 million global views from over 220 countries and territories in just 24 hours.
According to Warner Bros., the Hall of Heroes event amassed those 22 million global views from DC FanDome's in-house player, live streams from comic book influencers, and user-generated content by fans who watched the presentation. Furthermore, the trailers for the company's slate of films, television shows, and video games have collectively earned over 150 million views since their debut at DC FanDome. The event itself was able to trend on Twitter in 53 markets and on YouTube in 82 markets.
Lisa Gregorian, Warner Bros. Television Group Chief Marketing Officer, explained that the concept for DC FanDome developed because she and Blair Rich, President of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros., wanted to create a fan-driven worldwide event that would encompass all of its divisions after they knew San Diego Comic-Con would be canceled due to the pandemic. "Productions were shut down and literally, like many parts of the world, we were shut down at the company as well. Blair and I were having these conversations and along with hundreds of employees, who were working from home, this all during COVID, who were meeting for the first time virtually from home and collectively working during the entire summer on putting this project together," Gregorian explained during an interview with The Wrap.
While the hosts and panelists of DC FanDome filmed their segments remotely, many through Zoom, organizers wanted to ensure the event provided an experience unlike other virtual conventions held in 2020. "One of the things we had observed in a lot of the virtual experiences that Lisa and I have had thus far is that they felt kind of very flat and not immersive. So we wanted it to feel like a fully-realized space and that’s where you see the depth and dimension and the volume. We wanted it to feel like people were together. We didn’t want it to feel just like a bunch of Zoom calls put together, that was really important to us," said Rich of their ambitions.
DC FanDome was broadcast for free in nine languages and in many cases provided the first official preview at of the company's most-anticipated releases. The event concluded with director Matt Reeves discussing new details and unveiling the first official trailer for The Batman, which recently resumed filming after production was suspended in March due to the pandemic. According to The Wrap, reactions to the event as a whole were "99% positive".
The success of DC FanDome, even before the viewer totals were announced, arguably set a high bar for forthcoming online conventions. However, the fact that Warner Bros. was able to pull off such an ambitious event with little to no errors throughout the broadcast might also bring some relief to organizers of the remaining 2020 events, who now have a proven template on how to provide an immersive experience for fans until in-person conventions can resume.
DC FanDome will have a second event in mid-September after audience demand left the company with no choice but to split the event into two days. This second DC event will feature cast reunions, retrospective panels, and other less-pressing content.
DC FanDome day two will take place on September 12, 2020.
Source: The Wrap