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Zap! Pow! Comic-Con smashes footfall figures

Port Solent is a destination marina close to Portsmouth, containing 17 bars, restaurants and a selection of boutique shops. Carswell Gould's challenge was to raise the profile of the venue, in particular for the local population, increase visitor numbers and help people rediscover what makes it such a special place to visit and spend time in.

Client Port Solent
Project team Gareth Miller
Services Virtual and live conferences and events Marketing strategy and advisory

Our Approach

We worked with the management team at Port Solent to devise an annual marketing strategy that had three marquee events at its core. Comic-Con was the first of these, designed to bring in a targeted audience and add something new and totally different to the local area. 

To promote the event we planned and executed a totally integrated marketing and PR campaign. We used a multichannel approach to raise awareness of the event, utilising PR, social media and radio advertising alongside the geo-targeted mobile advertising and billboard campaigns that we had already set running to raise overall awareness of Port Solent. 

The Outcome

Comic-Con smashed all of our expectations and delivered footfall figures of over 21,000 on the day. The original cast from the epic Star Wars films were blown away by the success of Port Solent’s sci-fi fantasy extravaganza Comic Con.

The event saw Michael Henbury and Pam Rose – who played an Ewok and alien Leesub Sirln respectively – meet ecstatic fans who experienced worlds and galaxies from their favourite movies, television shows and comic books. Families were transported to the mean streets of Gotham City where they admired a selection of Batmobiles, including the Batman Steamer from Podpad Studios. Props from the Harry Potter films and 80s classics Gremlins and ET were on hand, as well as Stormtroopers from Star Wars to keep everyone in check.

  • Comic-Con was a huge success and a truly out of this world experience with visitors transported to their favourite sci-fi movie, television show or comic book. We were thrilled with the turnout which set a new record for a single day at Port Solent and showed the enthusiasm everyone had for Comic Con. It was great to see so many people in costume as well as have the chance to meet actors from the original Star Wars films.
    Lisa Fowler, Event Manager, Port Solent
  • The event was superbly laid on. I was absolutely staggered by the volume of people – it was incredible.
    Michael Henbury, Britain’s Smallest Man
  • I was in the original Stars Wars and was glad to come along to promote the area and support Port Solent. It’s been a great success and everybody had fun taking pictures with the characters. What a fantastic day – and with such a fantastic view, outside overlooking the marina. Mums and dads have been encouraging their kids to become fans. Everyone had a great time.
    Pam Rose, Actress
Port Solent Comicon
Port solent comiccon
Man in Costume at Port Solent Comiccon
Tents at PortSolent Comiccon
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