[Deptheads] Renaming the Cons

[Eric Burgess]

While don't necessarily agree that a name change is in order either, I do
think there are a couple of factors here:

1. Locals - A name change won't affect the local attendees one bit. The
SoCal folks that attend the cons know the names and it isn't going to matter
to them. I would wager that you wouldn't lose a single regular attendee by
changing Gamex to KoboldCon or Strategicon Spring or whatever.

2. Non-locals - Changing the name COULD affect non-locals. The confusion
comes from people that are not familiar with the cons. In this area,
there IS something broken - our own Special Guests are unclear of what we
call the cons. Many people at a distances are puzzled by a convention series
because they are accustomed to Origins once a year, Kublacon once a year,
GenCon Indy once a year, and so on.

If we are aiming at this crowd - and that means attendees, VIP Special
Guests, manufacturers, retailers, and other dealers (not to even mention
media to help promote the cons), a more unified (and, perhaps, 'cooler')
nomenclature could benefit the cons.
-- 
...ERB

Boardgame Babylon - 2007 Board Game Internet Award winner for Best
Podcast/Videocast


On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 11:18 AM, Michael Russell <mikeinva8 at mac.com> wrote:

> I totally agree with Janice, there is an old saying "If it ant broke
> don't fix it" and the cons have had these name for around 25 years,
> and did very well with them in the 80"s and 90's (the downward turn of
> the cons was more due to bad management, not the names of the cons) so
> why change them now??  The cons are showing good improvement, lets
> keep that turnaround going. Changing the names will just add
> confusion.  Oh and Janice is right, ORCCON came from Orange County
> Convention- nothing to do with Orc's.
>
> Mike R
>  On Feb 22, 2008, at 7:04 PM, Janice Sellers wrote:
>
> > As much as I usually agree with Robert, I can't say I'm totally with
> > him on this.  Major corporations involved in acquisitions and mergers
> > spend billions of dollars studying recognition and perception factors
> > before deciding which name they'll use, or if they'll come up with a
> > new name.  The fact that they almost always use an existing name
> > argues strongly in favor of keeping names that are already
> > established, just for the recognition factor.  So not matter how fun
> > and evocative the names might be we could come up with, we would be
> > starting at a huge negative just getting people to acknowledge them.
> > Think about the reactions when Mondo started his conventions -- no one
> > recognized the name ConQuest, so most people were a little leery about
> > it.  And if we still have three different conventions with three
> > different names, even if all three names are cool, we still have
> > trouble tying them all together.
> >
> > I've always assumed Strategicon was for "strategy convention" or
> > something similar.  I have no idea how Alan came up with it or
> > Gateway.  Gamex is fairly lame, I admit (though not as lame as
> > GameCon, which really was a game convention in the Bay Area for a
> > couple of years), but I've never thought of it as "gay mex."  We all
> > seem to agree that OrcCon (for Orange County Convention, I've been
> > told) is the only cool name we have.  If (and I really do mean IF) we
> > feel the need to rename the conventions, why not name them all OrcCon?
> > OrcCon Spring, OrcCon Summer, OrcCon Fall.  Or OrcCon Presidents'
> > Day, OrcCon Memorial Day, OrcCon Labor Day  That way there's no
> > question they're related, we keep name recognition, and it's a cool
> > name.
> >
> > Janice
> >
> > On 2/22/08, Robert Lionheart <spinachcat at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> The problem is Gamex and Gateway are terrible names.  They have
> >> been lame
> >> since their first day.   There would be some initial rebranding,
> >> but right
> >> now we have lots of people who do not know that Gamex and Gateway are
> >> related to OrcCon or Strategicon.  I have seen various postings
> >> where people
> >> say that Gateway is a boardgame only con and OrcCon is a RPG only
> >> con or
> >> vice versa and lots of confusion about the fact all three cons are
> >> owned by
> >> the same crew.
> >> OrcCon is a good solid name.   Strategicon is an okay name, but
> >> never made
> >> any sense because there is either no Strategicon event or there are
> >> three
> >> events depending who you ask.   "Strategicon Presents" is a band-aid.
> >> Gamex and Gateway do nothing for us.   The evoke nothing except
> >> hispanics
> >> with alternative lifestyles and a cheap computer company.   In the
> >> long run,
> >> rebranding with fun evocative names will be worth the changeover.
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