J-Con,

About the event

J-Con is one of the UK's largest Cosplay conventions in the UK. It's shortened from 'Japanese Convention' as a lot of the themes that run through J-Con can have their origins traced back to Japan.

Every year, the two-day event attracts fans of Japanese Culture (such as Manga, Anime and Cosplay), Video Games, Trading Cards, Internet Culture and Comics. Since it's inception in 2008, J-Con has grown from 300 attendees to 1600 attendees in 2014. The warm, family friendly atmosphere, lighthearted tone and mix of unique events mean the repeat attendance hits over 70% year on year. J-Con is growing in reputation and we are now offering corporate opportunities to help push J-Con even further in what we can offer the fan base and what we can give back to the community. Our long term aim is to help people affected with mental illness and autism.

Every year J-Con runs in September (normally over two days, sometimes one depending on set-up). The event comprises of lots of things happening, with up to 4 events running at the same time. Competitions, Games, Live Music, Gaming, Mini-events, Guest appearances, Traders and Audience-interactive events are all timetabled to try and keep the attendees interested but not overwhelmed. To do this, a team of up to 30 people, mostly volunteers, oversee the event. This team has been kept as stable as possible over the years, with most of them now being veterans of how the event runs. J-Con also owns a fair-sized amount of gaming hardware. TV's set up with concoles, DDR machines and Aracde Machines run every year at J-Con alongside food vendors and entertainers to fill the gaps between events.  St. John's Ambulance stand every year at J-Con to offer a full level of protection.

J-Con's market breaks down in the following rough demographics for last years J-Con:

Attendance: 1648
Age Range:
0-12 10%
12-18 50%
18-30 25%
30-50 10%
50+ 5%

Average value (how much we estimate each person brings to spend at J-Con):
£50.00

This means J-Con had the potential to generate approx. £82,000 in trade in 2014. This includes buying tickets, buying from vendors and paying for in-house mini events.

J-Con is suited to, and mostly aimed at teenagers. A significant portion (approx. 15%) of this age group who attend suffer some form of autism, mental illness or life-affecting emotional needs. These can range from anxiety issues and phobias to high level autism that requires a carer to be present with the individual. We have found J-Con offers a friendly, welcoming atmosphere to such people, allowing them to enjoy themselves in a safe environment, meeting like-minded peers with similar problems.

Most teenagers who attend do so for similar reasons. J-Con prides itself on being an event to make friends who have similar interests. Lots of teenagers who attend J-Con do so in small groups. We often actively target our events to encourage friendship making and socializing (an often neglected area for J-Con attending teenagers outside of J-Con).

The 0-12/30-50 age groups tend to be families. Often the children are similar to the teenagers and are just discovering their interests in J-Con themes. Sometimes these children show similar social, mental or emotional concerns as we might see in the teenagers and their parents bring them along to help them develop their social/public skills. It's been said by more than one parent how thankful they are for J-Con, how it gives their child something to look forward to every year.

The 18-30 age group tends to be made up of enthusiasts of J-Con themes. Fans of anime, manga, cosplay and gaming often attend our events purely out of sheer enthusiasm for the content. These people always tend to be highly intelligent, introverts with 'collector' personalities.

J-Con attracts people from all over the country and even further afield. Every J-Con has people from almost every county in the UK attend, with most nearby counties having the highest numbers (East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire). We have large communities in Cumbria, Northumbria and Hertfordshire too. J-con has attracted people from Hawaii, Estonia and France too. A lot of people attend from further afield for the cosplay aspect  (Cosplay: Dressing up as a character from media such as films, comics, video games etc). The cosplay market is very popular, allowing fans to show their creative skills and/or a form of escapism.

J-Con is now in a position where famous people of interest (voice actors, internet celebrities etc) are interested in appearing at J-Con. Last year J-Con made national coverage for the first time, with the event appearing in both the Sun and Mirror newspapers. With the right sponsorship, J-Con will have the financial ability to reach a national audience and increase attendance significantly. This year J-Con will be welcoming Savlonic, electro band of internet celebrity Weebl (who recently worked with Queen's Brian May on the Badger Cull protest song). 

J-Con has many avenues of potential for Corporate Sponsorship. Aside the name and events, J-Con runs it's own low-level merchandise set up. T-Shirts, Fan Packs, Badges, Stickers and Booklets have all been produced and given/sold to the attendees over the eyars. We have a e-mailing list of over 4000 past and current J-Con attendees along with their addresses. J-Con has 3 Facebook pages and a Twitter feed as well as it's website. J-Con also has it's own mascot, Johnny Reaper. This mascot is played by his creator, who acts as an ambassador to J-Con. Often Johnny Reaper will film himself interacting with J-Con attendees as well as promote J-Con at other events. This allows J-Con to have a Youtube channel with a direct connection to it's audience.

J-Con also has several plans it can only bring into production with Corporate sponsorship. Mailing promotions to everyone on the mailing list, a J-Con fan club with monthly updates and promotions. Further promotion in publications such as Neo Magazine and NME. Press coverage, both local and national and a more sustained scale. We can also do more charity work, with our aim being to help increase awareness and help for mental illness and autism, two areas that affect so many J-Con attendees.

The potential for J-Con is huge. J-Con is often cited as unique it both it's approach and set-up. J-Con is a social event for the unsociable, a safe place for the vulnerable, not confident or frail young people who just want to have fun and indulge their passion for J-Con related themes.

We are looking for sponsors who wish to have their input into how their money is used. We want your brand to benefit greatly from working with J-Con and for both of parties to grow successfully.

Why should you sponsor?

J-Con Derby

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