VidCon to Expand Convention to New Territories in the Near Future

Sarah Tortoreti, VidCon’s vice president of marketing and communications spoke to us about how COVID-19 affected the convention and what it was like planning for the first in-person convention for almost three years. This year was also sponsored by TikTok, when it previously was sponsored by YouTube.

Q): With us being back in person, what can we expect for VidCon?

A): So hybrid experiences, I think are going to be part of what we do moving forward. Now, we were being very aggressive in the way that we were doing that 15- 12 to 15 sessions a week, we saw a huge number of people tune in over the course of that summer, we had a lot of people tune in globally, which was pretty cool. So I think what we learned is that what we do is appealing, there’s an appetite for it. Obviously, we can’t be in every single market in the whole world. But we can, we can continue to do these digital sessions and things that can bring our community together in a 365-day-a-year way. So if you can’t attend VidCon, in real life, there are four stages that are being live-streamed every day. And I also think we’ll continue to do sessions throughout the year. So the digital experience will continue to be a part of who we are and what we do.

Q): How many territories are you operating at the moment? And what are these other places you might scale in the future?

A): Obviously, Anaheim is our flagship event, which is awesome. We are adding two more events in 2022- one in Mexico City and one in Madrid. But, the goal is to continue to expand and add cities year over year. That makes strategic sense for Bitcoin as a business and Paramount global as a business.

Q): How do you evaluate this new territory? Is it based on the demographic of the location or is it based on fan demand?

A): Yeah, and we’re still working through that, to be honest, but it’s a combination of all of those things. Obviously, the consumer base needs to be there, the people who care about online video and the creators that are in it, but also the industry that, you know, kind of drives the whole thing. So we have to evaluate that that exists first. And then if you know, it’s sustainable, and can be profitable.

Q): There’s obviously talent, some talent has been from day one, and some talent have gone to other things. How was VidCon catering to a lot of the talent?

A):  Well, that’s something we learned as we go, you know, I think VidCon is we pride ourselves on being a reflection of what’s going on in the theater economy and what’s going on in this whole online video ecosystem. So our creators and who is important in this space changes. I mean, I think that’s evident this year, right? We’ve been out of the market for a few years, three years, and the whole ecosystem has completely changed. And so this year, more than half of our creators are new to VidCon because they are new to the space within the last couple of years, which is crazy, but also awesome, right? It brings up completely new energy in a good way. And I think that also differs from market to market. So it’s just about making sure that we’re on top of who’s important to who, where. And that’s part of what we live and breathe every day.

Q): What are the current challenges that VidCon has impacting and how are some of these challenges being resolved or potentially going to be resolved in the future?

SARAH: Yeah, I mean, I would, I think just getting through the last two years has been the challenge. Now that we’re here, we’re kind of like, alright, we got it. We’re getting it done. The vibe is great. People are super excited to be here. I think everyone’s sort of attending. So that’s been the challenge. And now that we’re here, we just need to see, see what’s next. See how it goes from here.

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