Picture: Magicon Llamas by Juju in the Box
Experience Survey 2023: Magicon Elevation
First of all, a big thank you to everyone who shared their experience, this is very valuable for us, and we will make adjustments based on this feedback.
Let’s look at the demographic:
9.6% had never been to a cosplay convention before. Welcome to the community!
51% went to Magicon Origins in 2022. Glad to have you back!
99.9% intend to visit another cosplay convention in the future.
Then let’s look at some average scores:
9.1 on having a varied program.
9.1 on being a professionally run convention.
9.6 on being an inclusive convention.
9 on the ease of finding the information you needed.
9.2 on listening to what the community wants.
9.6 on the quality of our SoMe content.
9.3 on being a safe convention to attend.
9.2 on being a good influence on the community.
Let’s see what the Art Stands think:
7 on getting the information they needed before applying.
8.6 on the selection process.
7.2 on the communication after being selected.
9.5 on fair pricing
95% were able to turn a profit.
8.7 on the marketing Magicon did on behalf of the Art Stands.
95% wants to have an Art Stand at a future Magicon Convention.
Next up, our Invited Guests:
9.3 on the information they received before Elevation.
9.2 on the planning phase.
9.8 on how quickly we replied to any questions they may have had.
9.7 on how we handled concerns or requests.
9.7 on how likely they would be to work with us again.
9.8 on if Magicon is a good influence on the Norwegian cosplay community.
Now, importantly: what does our crew think?
8.6 on how well the recruitment process was.
8.2 on how clear each crew member’s roles and tasks were.
9.4 on how well they worked with their Chief.
9.2 on if they considered their Chief good at their role.
9.6 on the workload before Elevation.
9.3 on the workload during Elevation.
9.5 on if Magicon is a good influence on the Norwegian cosplay community.
9.3 on feeling pride in the work they do for Magicon.
9.1 on feeling like their opinions are being taken seriously.
9 on the selection of food and drinks for the crew.
9.4 on if Magicon is an inclusive organisation.
100% would like to be a part of the crew in the future.
98% feels like Magicon gives enough back to the crew.
We are happy to see that so many people had such a great time, it makes all the hard work worthwhile. Not to worry, we will always work on improving and we have plans in place for ratifying some stuff already.
Picture: Crew portrait by Katrix media
For those interested, further reading with comments from the Producer.
Hired guard personnel:
First of all I’d like to address an issue that was unacceptable. The venue required us to hire “professional” guards through them. A number of these were anything but professional by being on their phones, not paying attention, being rude to our guests, not helping out when needed and even sleeping on the job. Our crew did a great job documenting and reporting on this, letting us create a case against them after the fact. This is still ongoing, but some of these people will likely lose their jobs and that company will never be used at this venue again. On behalf of the venue and Magicon, we’re sorry some of our visitors had a bad experience with these “guards”.
Art Stand Placement & Cosplay Classic/Catwalk:
There’s been mixed feedback about the placement of the art stands, with some absolutely loving it and some hating it, with the main issue being the noise. For 30-40min on each of the days, this noise came from the Cosplay Classic/Catwalks, for the remainder 90% of the time, it came from visitors. There’s a delicate balance between letting people enjoy the Con and asking them to lower their volume. We’ll look into what can be done in this regard.
The main reason we placed the Classic and Catwalk in Betong was because of having too few crewmembers to cover all stages at all times. However, with 100% of those who joined us this year wanting to return, and hopefully more wanting to join Evolution, we’ll be able to host it on the main stage next year. I’d like to point out that several of the Catwalk attendees appreciated getting to do their Catwalk on a smaller stage as it was less intimidating. Something to keep in mind.
Catwalk judged on accuracy:
This was a communication error on our side. We listed the intended requirements on our webpage, which does not include cosplay accuracy. This was not clearly communicated to the judges. Our bad, won’t happen again!
I’ll do a quick fire round on comments we got 3-5 times:
Magical Backstreets were hard to find:
Yep, they are. We’ll put up bigger and better signs on the doors next year. The doors will still have to be closed for fire safety reasons.
You had Tech issues:
Thank you for letting us know. If you or someone you know is competent in this area and would like to volunteer, please consider joining our crew.
Bag Check:
For this venue it is not optional, and we’re happy to see that there’s more people who see the value in doing this than the ones who didn’t.
Photo Competition could have been done better:
Yes, and we will.
You should have put up warnings about flashing lights:
Yes we should, and we will next year.
There should have been more food options:
That’d be nice. We contacted over 130 food trucks but all of them were busy. With Tons of Rock being the weekend after us in 2024, there’s a better chance we can book some.
Spacing out the Brocons presentations:
There was a significant number of visitors who felt like the Brocons presentations at Magicon Origins (and at some other conventions) were too long when grouped together. We tried this solution this year and the general feedback is much better.
General statement about doing things a little different:
We get some comments here and there about not doing things exactly like every other Norwegian Con. We will continue to try new things, new takes, new solutions. So far it has been received with massive praise from the majority of the visitors, but with heavy opposition from a few strong voices. We believe the Norwegian Cosplay Community has room and is in need for some fresh takes. At the same time we cheer every other Con on and wholeheartedly wish for their success.
I’ll do a quick fire round on comments we got 1-2 times:
It was hot.
Yes.
I hate the venue:
We’re sorry to hear that, I’ll let them know.
You’re overworking your crew:
They disagree. I’ll add this though, one crewmember loves jogging and did so for much of the Con, not really thinking about how it looked to others. We’ll ask them to keep this in mind for next year.
Picture: Idol Show at Magicon Elevation by Juju in the Box
Conclusion
Although I (the producer), so far, have talked about what needs to be adjusted for next year, the reality is that Magicon Elevation was all in all a massive success. Work on Elevation started back in September of 2022 and a rough estimate of 8000 work hours were put down to make it happen. We set some ambitious goals for ourselves and were able to reach almost all of them. Moving to a new venue is always a challenge, and although not perfect for what we’re doing, it worked out pretty well and the majority of our guests felt the same way.
Getting volunteers is always a challenge, with the common denominator being: “I’d rather be a visitor”, which I can understand. I’m relieved to see that the crew is so positive when reporting their experience. These are people who most likely have no experience in what they’re set to do, spend their free time over 9 months to create a two day event, for people they’ve never met who are unlikely to ever acknowledge their work. For free. Not all heroes wear capes am I right? These people deserve so much more praise than they are getting, and Magicon will continue to find ways to give them more value for contributing.
I would like to give a shout out to all the new members of the Community. Over 30% had their first Cosplay Convention at Magicon Origins, and another 10% joined in this year. I have noticed that these people are extremely supportive of our work, they engage us in several channels and are very vocal about what they like. This is so valuable to us both in keeping motivations up, but also helping us manoeuvre in the right direction. Thank you!
That’s it for me this time. Thank you to the entire crew, all the people who want to work with us, our sponsors and of course all our guests. I’ll be back in late August with the financial report so you can see how Magicon is spending your money.
Christopher Helland – Producer, Magicon Elevation
Katrix Media