Broken Frontier

American author and humorist Mark Twain once wrote, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” Since that very concept is the central idea of this column, turning the small industry of comics into something bigger, I’ve addressed the issue of advertising in this column many times in the past, debating its usefulness as a tool for comics advocacy. However, in light of recent developments, I felt the need to devote another week’s musings on the subject.

If you hadn’t heard, a few weeks ago manga publishers Tokyopop announced that they would begin putting ads for their comics on television. These ads are scheduled to appear 75 times a week through the month of September on cable networks that rank high in youth markets, such as MTV, Cartoon Network and Spike. They will be focused on such various Tokyopop series as Tokyo Tribes, Kill Me Kiss Me, Shutterbox and Tokyo Babylon.

Upon hearing this news, many fans reacted with skepticism, unsure of just how this plan would be carried out and what it would accomplish in the end. Among those skeptics was Broken Frontier’s very own resident pessimist Graeme McMillan. Our favorite self-proclaimed “depressing old fuddy-duddy” stated in a recent column that “I’m all for Tokyopop trying to do whatever they can to grow their already-impressive market outside of their existing customers, and it’s nice to see them try something new and all… it’s just that, well, I don’t hold out great hopes that it’s actually going to succeed.”

Graeme raised many of the common criticisms against advertising comics in his column. It’s been done before, he stated, with limited success. Advertising comics might not work due to the availability issues with comics, and the expense of television ads causes this campaign to be not very cost-effective. Besides, says Graeme, those being targeted are probably already aware of comics, and if they’re not reading now, then what good can these ads really do?

However, as Broken Frontier’s resident optimist, I think that these arguments are easily countered. I am hopeful about the outcome these ads will elicit, for a number of different reasons.

First of all, the very different world climate today creates an ideal situation for a company like Tokyopop to succeed at advertising when ten years ago they would not have. For instance, since the advent of the Internet and websites such as Amazon, it has become child’s play to buy a trade paperback and have it delivered right to your door. Also, the advent of cable has made it much less expensive to purchase ads and much easier for a comic company to target ads at a certain niche much more directly, based solely on advertising with the channels you think your audience would be watching.

And as for who these ads will reach and how effective they will be, well really it’s the same as any other kind of advertising. These ads will most likely not reach people who have never heard of comics, nor will they convince people who think comics are for geeks that they’re wrong. Instead, these ads will reach the niche of young people who have certainly heard of comics before and might already have an interest in trying some but just haven’t done anything about that interest yet. Also, comic fans might decide to broaden their horizons past the simple superhero stories they’ve always read as a result of these ads, and that’s definitely a good thing.

Compare the situation with these ads from Tokyopop to any other commercial you’d see on TV, and you’ll get my point. An Applebee’s commercial wouldn’t convince someone who hated Applebee’s to eat there. But it might bring in people who were indifferent to Applebee’s, but liked what they saw or who had eaten Applebee’s before and were hungry at the moment they saw the ad. Applebee’s ads are designed to simply pique an interest, and I’m sure these comic ads will do the same.

That said, this campaign is most likely to work for Tokyopop, because they are a different kind of publisher than most American publishers. Tokyopop already has an incredible presence in chain bookstores, with their spinner racks and the overflowing manga sections currently present in most bookstores. Also, because they’re solely a publisher of graphic novels, their products are much easier to find than a typical single issue of a comic. Additionally, since they are primarily publishers of foreign material, they have less overhead. The creators have been paid, and the printing plates have been made. The only real addition to the cost is for translators; thus, the company has more money available to spend on advertising.

Should American publishers wish to follow their lead, these other companies need to use similar strategies when choosing what they should and should not advertise. The first volume of The Complete Peanuts is a perfect example: it’s already selling well enough to be #19 on the New York Times Bestseller List and can thus build on the pre-existing hype.  It is widely available in bookstores and online; there is less overhead cost going to the creator, and in addition it has astounding name recognition, having been a daily newspaper strip beloved by millions of readers for fifty years. Another good option for all the same reasons would be the new Ultimate Spiderman hardcover that Barnes & Noble will be producing, and perhaps a little less viable, but still with the potential to succeed due to its critical success, DC’s It’s A Bird.

As I stated above, I am very hopeful about the success of this campaign, because it will not only be good for Tokyopop. When (and in my mind it IS a matter of “when,” not “if”) a new customer goes to the chain bookstore looking for the comics they saw on TV, they’ll find Courtney Crumrin, Elfquest, and Runaways digests right beside Sgt. Frog and DNAngels. If they go to Amazon, the site will suggest other comics to them. Thus, with just a little bit of effort, the entire industry will be reaping the benefits of this campaign, a campaign that could very well help our small industry grow into something much larger.