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San Diego Comic-Con Málaga - Iván Fernández Lobo Interview
We caught up with the event's co-director and senior director of strategy for an in-depth conversation ahead of its debut outside the U.S., covering everything from licensing and content to expectations, reactions, partners, and more as we approach the September date.
Audio transcription
"Hi friends, the other day we learned about the San Diego Comic-Con Málaga, which is going to happen in September, at the presentation event, but we had some more questions about it."
"And now we are lucky to be at Iván's office, you are SVP of strategy and co-director of the event, to fill in the blanks of what we learned the other day.
So thank you so much for joining us."
"Thank you so much for coming.
First of all, tell us how it came to be, because we got some info from both the license owners in Málaga, and also the part of the team, but perhaps you can tell us a little bit more about the story of how this came to be."
"Okay, it's very easy. It was exciting, right?
This story starts in 2022.
We just got the opportunity to meet the San Diego Comic-Con team and the IMG team, and we just kind of randomly started talking about their plans and their ambition to get the message of San Diego Comic-Con out of the United States, even more globally, getting closer to other communities around the world."
"And then we started exchanging ideas about that, and we tried to understand what would be their minds, the San Diego Comic-Con minds, about this expansion.
And very naturally, we understood that, well, there is actually a place in the world that is exactly, in our opinion, matching with all those things that they were telling us."
"And we just dropped the names and said, hey, I mean, you should probably consider some places in Spain, and there's one place in Spain, especially in Málaga, that has a strategy that fits exactly with what you are saying."
"And also, the city itself and the region itself is very similar in many things to San Diego, right?
And there is a region and a city in the south of the country, it's a frontier city, there is a very special cultural vibe and life in the city.
The weather is quite similar."
"So everything started to sound like, wow, this could be an opportunity.
Málaga could be a candidate for that, right?
And things evolved from that in the following months, and Málaga became a candidate, and we finally..."
"Yeah, I was precisely going to ask you about Málaga, specifically.
They are also tech savvy, it's full of tech startups.
They're also into animation and cinema for a long time.
So what would you say set the deal for it to be Málaga?
Of all European countries and cities, for it to be Málaga other than what you just said?
Yeah, and actually it wasn't only Europe, it was like a kind of, you know, like San Diego Comic-Con could have landed in any other city."
"Like leaving the States.
Yeah, outside the States, but anywhere in the world, right?
And I think it's all the things that I was mentioning, right?
It's not just one precise thing, but I think also what's very important, the partner that they would be getting, that is in this case Dentsu, right?
It's like a very trustable partner, and that was clear from the very beginning."
"But also the vision of the country, of the region, aligns with what they expected, right?
It's a vision of seeing entertainment, and seeing in a very not niche way, right?
Not vertical way, but the region is looking at all kinds of cultural visions that are both classical, but also aligns with the pop culture that San Diego Comic-Con promotes."
"So I think the vision of the region and the partners was very key to get this deal done.
Let's talk content.
I know you cannot tell me much so far, but at the presentation event we were promised 300 hours of exclusive content."
"What does that mean?
What can you tell me beforehand?
What can fans expect to be doing and attending at the San Diego Comic-Con Malaga panels?
You know, talks, meet and greets, special events, guest stars?
I think we fall a little bit short on the 300 hours."
"Okay.
I think the ambition is even bigger, right?
And you have to consider that this will be the first edition of the event.
It's not the first edition of San Diego Comic-Con, but it will be the first edition of San Diego Comic-Con outside of the States."
"So there are a lot of challenges, right?
But the vision is very clear.
We want to offer the best quality content and the best quality experience for fans in the world, right?
That's ambition."
"We are not dreaming small.
We know that this is the first event, but we want to build a truly global event in Malaga that complements and aligns with San Diego, but also renews in many ways and serves as an innovation lab for San Diego Comic-Con in many ways, right?
And when we talk about content, we talk about many different things."
"But we have, I'm very proud of the team that we're building with deep understanding of what I call the emotions industry, right?
I call it the emotions industry because we are, either if we're talking about comics or TV or movies or video games or even other formats that are taking shape in our society, like a lot of content is being created around these brands, these creations of artists or of companies."
"There is a lot of space for connecting with the emotions of the fans in different formats, and we want to explore them all, right?
And we will, of course, have panels.
We will have workshops."
"We will have contests.
We will have all the classics formats of San Diego Comic-Con in our own way many times.
But putting also at the same level the different types of art, right?
The types of creators."
"So we're trying to elevate comics and movies and TV and video games and cosplay and miniatures and all those things at the highest possible stage.
Our intention is to be very diverse in content and with all the respect putting all those different formats at the same level of importance at the event."
"Okay, you mentioned two things that are interesting to us specifically.
One is video games and another one is what we can expect in terms of this being another stop for the San Diego Comic-Con concept globally.
So second first, can we expect announcements as well, you know, from movie labels, from video game publishers?
Can we expect this to be marked red in the calendar because we can be looking forward to announcements there?
This is exactly what we are working for."
"We want to create a platform, to create a place where we connect with those emotions of the fans.
So big announcements, surprises, all kinds of things can happen here.
We need to enter as a new event, even though we are backed by the San Diego Comic-Con brand, but it's a new event."
"But we are setting the ambition so high on that and all the conversations with all the studios, platforms, publishers.
They have started, right?
They have started."
"They started not with the announcement.
They started several months before.
And we're trying to build the right stage so they can trust in the event and they can see the ambition is set so they can shine and they can trust the event to be that platform for their announcements and their surprises, big surprises."
"Those announcements will get the repercussion being there and for us, it will be more interesting, of course, to also be there and to cover the event.
And the other thing you mentioned is video games.
Of course, we are Gamereactor."
"We are all about, you know, all sorts of entertainment as well, but our core still is and will be video games.
So, you know, we go back some way, you know, a long way, and we knew you from Gamelab, being a founder and director of Gamelab, where we had a really interesting experience for many years getting to, you know, to talk with speakers and to be part of that event."
"What can you tell me about video games with that experience, with that background, at the San Diego Comic-Con Málaga?
This is one of my challenges.
I would say more one of my obsessions, right?
With my background, I've been 20 years building up a brand, Gamelab, that is staged for the biggest talent in the world, right?
We were having this show in Barcelona for over two decades, right?
I'm bringing that ambition."
"That stage will shine again, in a way, in San Diego Comic-Con.
So the plan is that San Diego Comic-Con Malaga, starting from 2025, becomes the most relevant edition of San Diego Comic-Con in the history for games.
All right. That's a headline right there."
"I think that there is, I would say, a debt, in a way, with video games at San Diego Comic-Con.
I think we all agree in both organizations, right, that we need to put video games in the place they deserve in regards of the pop culture, right?
And we're trying to elevate that stage for video games, having the best video game talent in the world in San Diego Comic-Con Malaga and putting video games at the same level of importance of other creative and cultural industries, like movies or TV or comics."
"We are going to seat all those different formats in the same table.
And I think that is exactly aligning with the moment we are living.
If you want to do a show, an entertainment show, a show for the fans, focusing on the emotion of those fans, and you don't put video games at the same level of other formats, you're making a mistake, right?
And so this is what we're going to do."
"San Diego Comic-Con Malaga will be the biggest stage for games ever at San Diego Comic-Con.
Crazy. So we can expect, same as you said, at the same level, you know, panels, publishers, presence at very different levels in the event."
"Okay, you mentioned 2025, but this, as we learned the other day, is a three-year deal.
So they announced that they expect 60,000 people to come this year, try and double that figure for next year, and then it will be 2027 is the last year for now."
"So what can you tell me, being SVP of strategy, what can you tell me of the roadmap or the strategy for three years going forward, starting in September, but then the plans and how you guys are strategizing the content, the growth, because you're going to be double the size next year already."
"Well, first thing that I would say is that I cannot share information, detailed information about this.
We will share it probably in the near future, but ever since we announced the event less than a week ago, I think, or some days ago, the reception of the event has been enormous."
"The number of people that are already lining up to attend San Diego Comic-Con Malaga or to exhibit the companies that are looking to exhibit at San Diego Comic-Con Malaga.
You're answering the next question about partners, but that's interesting to hear."
"Totally surpassed our expectations.
So it's like we are very happy about that because we see those emotions that we're talking about are there.
So we don't want to fail them in a way."
"We have more responsibility now that we see it clearly with that welcoming of the event.
I think that when we talk about numbers, when we talk about 60,000 people, it's clearly for us a matter of not going too fast, right?
I mean, those emotions are there, and there are many more people that want to attend, and we could dream of a bigger event because Malaga is a hub for lots of people around Europe, right?
But we need to keep that growth step by step, right?
The ultimate vision is that this event is not an event that happens for the fans and goes away."
"We're establishing an office in Malaga.
We are connected with all the cultural, educational institutions, with the ecosystem in the widest possible way that you can draw an ecosystem."
"And the ultimate intention is that the event is transformative for Malaga, for Andalusia, and for Spain, right?
Aligning with the Spanish audiovisual hub.
We want to be this, has like a similar or even bigger impact in the society, culture, economy of the country as other successful shows like Mobile World Congress had in the past."
"So it's not an event that is just happening for the joy of the people.
It's an event that is being drawn in a way.
When we're talking about San Diego Comic Con Malaga, we see it as a way of transforming, of accelerating the transformation or supporting the vision of the region to bring all sorts of creative industries, opportunities, pushing talent, pushing all sorts of things that go around the pure joy of the event."
"Of course, it will be like a very fun event for the fans, right?
I wanted to ask you about partners.
You mentioned them briefly and the reaction or the excitement from partners.
From the talks you guys have had so far and the partners that have been interested, can you give us, I know you cannot announce partners so far, but what can you tell us about that reception and perhaps any reaction that you would like to share from them?
Very clearly, and I'm not going to be shy about it, it's like once again the reception has been fantastic to the point that we are having negotiations, meetings."
"We are working with all the actors that you can imagine, right?
It's not only the big entertainment brands, of course, or the studios or the publishers, whatever, but also the small companies, communities, and we are finding a lot of enthusiasm."
"We didn't start a conversation with someone or a company or an entity that hasn't seen that enthusiasm.
It's like everyone wants to participate.
We're trying to shape it in the small box that we have, maybe for this year."
"We're trying to secure the best possible experience for the fans, to make sure that we do the best possible curation, that we have open doors for everyone that wants to participate.
So it's more a matter of how we fit all that enthusiasm in the current platform that we have than convincing anyone, because it seems, for our surprise, we expected something good, but we are overwhelmed in a way on how they are reacting and how much the teams of even amazing companies that you would dream of having by your side."
"We have all the teams involved looking to how we can create an experience that is authentic for the fans, that is significant, and the ambition is high for all of them.
All right, closing one, so far so serious."
"We've been talking very seriously about business, industry, culture, expectations, numbers, but something that I found very cute from Santiago Segura during his presentation is that he acknowledged himself and everyone in the room as geeks or nerds or collecting figures, being into action heroes."
"So any final message that you would like to share in this regard?
We, of course, have to relax.
We are all about enjoying this passion and all about these characters, these brands, these IPs, these franchises."
"So anything, I don't know, more geeky that comes to your mind?
I think we will.
I mean, one of the objectives of San Diego Comic-Con is to demonstrate, to show that everyone, like all of us, we are geeks in a way, right?
And proud."
"And proud.
But it's fantastic to see, like now I have two kids, myself, seven, eight years old, and it's fantastic how I'm connecting with them by being the geek that I didn't know I was, right?
It's like there are things created around this, what you call geek culture or pop culture, whatever, that connects people, connects families, connect generations, right?
And one of our objectives is to enjoy that, no?
And to have the most extreme geeks that want, no, I like this in particular, and I'm going to give a lot of value to this particular piece or this particular moment."
"This niche or whatever.
Because it's my passion, and I can share it safely in that environment.
But also those families that come together, those people that work together, and all of a sudden they understand how much they are connected around those emotions that I mentioned at the beginning."
"It would be nice for that message to also be brought to Europe and to Spain and for us to be proud about that message and to be as big as it is in the States.
Culture is also very important.
Okay, thank you so much for your time, Ivan."
"You have a really nice office, and we're looking forward to attending.
I'm a freak, so I have a bunch of creatures around.
Thank you so much for coming all the way, and it was a big pleasure continuing talking to you because we've been talking for so many years."
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