Analysis of the Communication Model and Consumer Behavior of

Commercial Comic Convention: A Comprehensive Study Based on

Online and Offline Channels

Jinqiang Zhou

Department of Japanese, Chengdu Jincheng College, 611731 Sichuan, China

Keywords: Integrated Communication, Customized Communication, Experiential Marketing.

Abstract: Since the recovery of the entertainment industry in 2022, the development momentum of commercial Comic

Convention has been rapid, and ACG enthusiasts have begun to participate in Comic Convention activities

frequently. As a social environment that connects ACG enthusiasts offline, Comic Convention has become

one of the most frequented activity venues for young people. This is also due to the Comic Convention's

unique promotional methods and strategies. It uses the Internet and offline activities to jointly promote online.

It uses platforms to cooperate in ticket sales and advertising and invites famous guests to cooperate with

popular game officials. Complete offline activities are held, and influencers, entertainment bloggers, and

guests who young people currently seek are invited. Feedback is continuously improved and perfected on the

Internet, and it has developed into the current situation where commercial comic conventions of various types

are flourishing. Fan Comic Convention and Only exhibitions are constantly expanding and refining details,

but there are still more parts that need to be refined.

1 INTRODUCTION

Comic Convention, as a channel for ACG enthusiasts

to directly socialize offline, brings together many

groups who like ACG. The main content of the Comic

Convention is an exhibition of animation, comics,

games, and other related cultures (Wu and Xiang,

2024). In China, there are large-scale Comic

Convention gatherings such as Bilibili World,

Comicup, Chinajoy, and carnivals organized by game

companies themselves. Game companies set up their

booths and officials invite popular guests to

participate in the on-site activities. Abroad, there is

the largest animation Comic Convention market

active in Japan and the Comic Convention NYCC in

the United States. This study focuses on

understanding the impact and feedback of publicity

methods under different channels on the public

through studying the advertising dissemination of

Comic Convention. Commercial Comic Convention

has been held all over China in recent years. It has

become a relatively mature and well-known large-

scale ACG gathering activity for young people. This

study also cannot be ignored in terms of its flow of

people and the economic value it brings. Therefore,

this paper selects large-scale domestic commercial

Comic Convention as the research object to carry out

the specific development and uses the literature

analysis method to search and read relevant materials

and literature. The advantage of this method is that it

can well analyze the inseparable feelings and core of

Comic Convention and young people, which is

conducive to the research. The ultimate research goal

of this study is to explore how commercial Comic

Conventions spread among the public and to achieve

the goal of ACG enthusiasts willing to participate in

Comic Convention consumption and high Comic

Convention consumption stickiness through a

comprehensive analysis of online and offline

marketing methods.

2 CONCEPT

ACG is a broad term for fictional culture derived from

comics and animations. Its concept also includes

creations and products such as paintings,

photography, films, publications, network art, and

performance art derived from animation or with

animation aesthetic styles. Heavy users of ACG

culture are mostly millennials and 18-25 years old

people. During their growth, TV and audiovisual

Zhou, J.

Analysis of the Communication Model and Consumer Behavior of Commercial Comic Convention: A Comprehensive Study Based on Online and Ofﬂine Channels.

DOI: 10.5220/0014113300004942

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management (APMM 2025), pages 323-327

ISBN: 978-989-758-791-7

323

programs have become a common part of their lives,

and the relative abundance of material life has

allowed them to shift more focus to their spiritual

well-being. The copyright of Japanese anime is more

convenient to be screened on Chinese video

platforms, and domestic animation is also thriving in

China. Domestic ACG games are beginning to move

to the world stage. It can be said that this is a "golden

age" for Chinese ACG culture.

Comic Convention is a place where ACG culture

gathers in public. People will wear their favorite

cosplay clothes and put on exquisite makeup. At the

same time, people will have the opportunity to meet

the famous cosplayer influencers they admire on the

Internet and voluntarily queue up to get their favorite

autographs and take photos. Some figures and game

peripherals, including rare derivatives not easily

found on the market, will be available for purchase at

the booth. This also serves as a means of profit and

publicity.

With the advent of the new media era, the research

framework of communication theory has gradually

changed (Cheng, 2023). Interpersonal

communication and targeted communication have

become a communication method that is more easily

accepted by the audience in the new media era.

Specifically, first, it has changed from a one-way

channel for information dissemination to an

intercommunication between information

disseminators and receivers. At the same time, the

comments and opinions of the receivers can be

analyzed in real time, and relevant information can be

pushed accurately. Second, the general

communication of marketing has changed to

integrated communication of marketing, integrating

advertising information and analyzing fans'

preferences, targeted push, and fan push, so that ACG

enthusiasts can see the topics they are interested in

and increase their reading volume so that they like it.

The platform (or brand) should produce continuous

content to push ACG enthusiasts, encouraging them

to keep subscribing to and following this topic.

3 COMMUNICATION MODEL

3.1 Online Event Planning Method

Comic Convention’s promotion method is primarily

online, with offline efforts as a supplement. The main

platforms used for promotion include Bilibili (pop-up

videos), TikTok, and The Red Book, among others.

Most of the ticket sales for the convention are

conducted through Bilibili. As the largest ACG video

platform in China, Bilibili has set up a member

purchase on the work bar at the bottom of the Bilibili

app software. User groups can enter the Comic

Convention performance interface from the member

purchase at the bottom to purchase tickets for large

and small Comic Convention across the country.

Most of the well-known large-scale Comic

Conventions in various places will cooperate with the

Bilibili platform to sell tickets. For example,

Shanghai’s Bilibili World, Guangzhou Firefly Comic

Convention, Chengdu World Line Comic

Convention, etc. Secondly, it serves as the exclusive

platform for fan exhibitions on the Cpp software,

including the country's most well-known large-scale

events like the Shanghai Comicup and Guangzhou

CPGZ, where tickets are sold.

Online advertising communication mainly relies

on platform promotion (Zhao, 2024). Bilibili's splash

ads can be obtained through bidding. Large Comic

Convention with a budget will choose to put the

opening date of Comic Convention and exhibitors on

Bilibili's splash ads. The second position is the video

ad slot on Bilibili's recommendation page, as well as

the long ad slot below the progress bar when the video

is clicked. Both can be used to display Comic

Convention ads. On TikTok, the official account of

Comic Convention is stationed, and the opening date

of the next session and the greeting video of the

exhibitors are promoted by publishing pictures and

texts and previous exhibition videos. On Red Book,

exhibitors will be asked to post notes specifically to

attract fans to visit and cause discussion.

Comic Convention also has a unique event called

"free tickets". It is a free ticket event initiated by

Comic Convention officials. Exhibitors need to bring

the topic of Comic Convention, as well as their own

role-playing photos and exhibition information. If

they reach a certain number of likes,

recommendations, or reposts on the Internet, they will

be eligible for free tickets. Its scope of objects

includes cosplayers, photography, etc. If you are an

influencer with a large number of fans or a cosplayer

or photographer with a good number of likes and

reposts, you can even get a year of free tickets.

3.2 Offline Activities

Comic Convention will also promote another city's

Comic Convention at another large Comic

Convention. For example: Shanghai Comicup has a

promotional advertisement for Chengdu Comiday.

There are also large-screen advertisements at subway

stations, subway and bus handles, and large screens

in commercial streets (this is a special case, most of

APMM 2025 - International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management

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which exist in electronic large screens in offline

shopping malls where ACG enthusiasts gather and

there are many anime peripheral stores). There will be

flash event check-in points for on-site interactions at

Comic Convention, and some influencers and

cosplayers with many fans will be invited to cosplay

as the required IP characters on site, and then some

small activities will be held to receive peripherals and

tickets.

4 CASE ANALYSIS

4.1 Audience Groups

Comic Convention's bases are mostly in first-tier and

second-tier cities, and new first-tier cities (Liu, 2020;

Wang, 2023 & Komachi, 2014). These cities have

enough public places and complete facilities to hold

Comic Convention, including very convenient

transportation and a higher density of ACG

enthusiasts. The author uses the well-known 'World

Line' Comic Convention in their local area as the

research subject to analyze the primary audience of

Comic Conventions. Chengdu Comic Convention has

been held a total of 17 times by the end of 2024,

mainly through Bilibili as the ticketing platform. The

Bilibili ticketing platform shows that the number of

people who "want to go" for each session is about

10,000. Due to the additional opening of on-site

tickets, the actual number of people exceeds this data.

Most of the people who use Bilibili to buy tickets are

old users who have used Bilibili for many years. By

analyzing this group of people, it is concluded that the

audience of Comic Convention is mostly young

people under the age of 24, with a balanced ratio of

men to women. As senior users of Bilibili, most of

them are addicted to ACG culture and social circles.

4.2 Communication Effect

From the Audience Perspective Bloggers who do

Comic Convention related activities on TikTok have

found that the audience profile of Comic Convention

is as follows: the majority of people are under 23

years old, and the cities of Guangdong, Shanghai,

Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Sichuan are the most popular,

followed by the three northeastern provinces, Hong

Kong, China, and Taiwan, China (Han, 2023). Most

of the people are students, followed by office workers

and freelancers. Comic Convention is a low-cost

place to meet like-minded friends. No matter what

background you have, you can participate as an ACG

enthusiast. It is a place for relatively equal

communication. Comic Convention has many peers,

and you don’t have to worry about too many

interpersonal relationships at Comic Convention.

People who get along in this activity venue have a

sense of identity, temporarily escape the pressure and

anxiety of real life, dress up as their favorite ACG

characters, and release their stress.

In terms of the synergy between online and offline

communication, the official account publishes videos

and promotional advertisements related to this and

previous Comic Convention, as well as exhibitors,

events, and venues, and through mutual forwarding

and likes among user groups, it gets a high feedback

and click-through rate online, thus spreading on the

Internet (Takeda, 2023 & Liang, 2024). In addition,

its unique promotional method, Comic Convention

Free Travel, can be spread on a large scale among

ACG enthusiasts, especially on social chat software

such as QQ and WeChat that are frequently used by

groups.

In terms of communication effect, due to its

particularity, Comic Convention's advertising videos

will have additional exposure and push flow on

Douyin and Bilibili. For activities such as the topic

Free Travel initiated by individuals, the basic data is

20 forwards or likes or more, plus the itinerary videos

of the exhibitors. For the Chengdu local Comic

Convention world line, according to the data in

January 2024, 30,000 people want to go to the Comic

Convention on the ticketing platform, and the actual

number of exhibitors is far greater than 30,000,

including people who travel for free and buy tickets

on-site, as well as people who come to the exhibition

on a whim. Shanghai Comicup was held in

Hangzhou, and 400,000 people wanted to go, but

because the number of tickets per day was limited,

those who were unable to buy tickets also gathered

near the venue.

5 DISCUSSION

5.1 Integrated Communication Theory

Comic Convention forms a unified and powerful

ACG culture brand communication message through

the coordinated operation of multiple communication

channels and tools. It emphasizes the integration of

different communication forms, including

advertising, public relations, and digital marketing

content to achieve a high communication effect. All

communication channels, whether online or offline,

convey consistent IP information and exhibition

themes to increase the coherence and unity of the

Analysis of the Communication Model and Consumer Behavior of Commercial Comic Convention: A Comprehensive Study Based on

Online and Ofﬂine Channels

325

impression of Comic Convention. Through social

media to publish event previews and invite well-

known bloggers or KOLs to promote, use online

advertising to push information to create online

popularity. Offline, the site through the setting of

official booths and interactive activities, distribution

of brochures and free peripherals direct contact with

the group to enhance the experience of fans on site

(Xu and Shi, 2022).

Through vigorous publicity before and after

Comic Convention, first, conduct an event marketing

warm-up online, and through warm-up activities,

attract the attention of ACG fans. At the same time,

before the holiday, through real-time content updates,

such as live broadcasts or short videos to maintain

popularity. It can also attract people's attention at the

time of ticket release. When selling tickets through

the online channel of Comic Convention, the

company set up pre-sale tickets, which will be more

preferential than offline tickets, encouraging this

group to buy pre-sale tickets or participate in some

forwarding activities to obtain more preferential

information or free admission. The company

optimizes the user experience of this group, through

the combination of online and offline. Taking

Shanghai CP Comic Convention as an example, the

company guides Comic Convention to use the App,

which can be used to purchase tickets online, view the

map of the venue, and the detailed information about

the surrounding items sold, to enhance the overall

experience of the exhibition and increase the

stickiness of this group to the exhibition.

5.2 The Role of Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing is a consumer-centric strategy

that enhances the emotional connection between

brands and consumers by providing an immersive

experience. This marketing method is particularly

important in Comic Convention activities, which can

effectively increase the participation and loyalty of

this group.

The group of Comic Convention can enhance the

sense of participation. This is an event site that brings

together animate fans, Cosers, photographers, niche

culture enthusiasts and creators, and various projects

enhance interactivity. For example, taking photos and

checking in with favorite characters, adding contact

information, and having a sense of belonging with

like-minded friends of the favorite IP. Comic

Convention often has limited-time on-site sales of

peripherals, which are only available for purchase on

site and not sold online and are also the target of user

groups scrambling to buy. This kind of participation

not only makes the group feel fun but also deepens

their sense of identity with the culture (Zuo and

Wang, 2019).

At Comic Convention, they distribute gifts on the

podium and have close contact with their favorite

influencer (Patel and Binjola, 2020). Coser can evoke

emotional resonance within the group for the IP.

When a person receives an official gift or obtains the

qualification to participate in a special event, he will

have a sense of being recognized and valued. This

positive emotional experience will be transformed

into loyalty to the IP, prompting him to continue to

rely on and stick to the IP.

Through on-site interactive activities, the official

can directly collect feedback from participants and

understand their real thoughts and needs. For

example, by setting up special staff to interact with

them, take photos, check in, or set questions, the

official can understand the real feelings of the group

about the on-site activities. This kind of research

based on experience can help the official to

continuously optimize strategies and improve the

satisfaction of visitors to the exhibition.

5.3 Customized Communication

Customized communication is particularly important

in modern marketing, especially in Comic

Convention. The characters that this group likes to

come from different IPs, so they have different

interests and needs. Formulating a communication

strategy that suits their preferences can improve the

marketing effect (Liang, 2024).

Customize the content. At present, there is a

feasible plan, the Only Exhibition, which is a Comic

Convention that only allows people with an IP to

enter, such as the Genshin Impact Only Exhibition

and the Nintendo Only Exhibition. However, the

storekeeper is currently initiating it in the name of one

person, and the facilities are not perfect, the ticket

prices are not reasonable, and the hosting experience

is insufficient. Therefore, if a small Comic

Convention is set up under the experienced big Comic

Convention, it will be more popular and trusted. For

example: World Line-Genshin Impact Only Comic

Convention. Or set up a special IP partition at that

venue to divide different venues, but this will lead to

an insufficient number of venues and high costs.

VIP customization when users attend the guest

signing. The current Comic Convention already has

such a strategy, but it is only for the number of

signings sold. It can be refined, such as setting

different VIP customized price levels, for example,

setting the price of early entry and backstage

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meetings, so that you can interact with your favorite

teacher one-on-one.

6 CONCLUSION

This study found that in the success of commercial

Comic Convention communication, the combination

of online and offline enhances the communication

effect. The key is to preheat in advance through the

online channel of social media live broadcasts, attract

more people to pay attention and participate, thereby

expanding the influence, calling online bloggers to

publish videos and notes, and soliciting discussion

topics. At the same time, the interactive experience of

offline activities can enhance users' sense of

participation and cultural identity. Enterprises can

effectively spread Comic Convention, increase the IP

exposure rate and market influence of the Comic

Convention, and achieve greater commercial value.

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