2016-17 NYTF, SDCC, Celebration and HASCON

Before the world caught on fire…

I took a job with Hasbro in 2016. My role was to ideate, design and execute events for The Action Brands Portfolio of Hasbro Brands. This included Transformers, StarWars, Marvel, Beyblade, Yokai Watch,GI Joe, Power Rangers, Stretch Armstrong, Mighty Mugs and more.

I was hired to execute HASCON, Hasbro’s first ever companywide convention (think Disney D23 or SDCC). My team and I executed approximately 40% of the show floor. To accomplish this, every event in 2017 had to ratchet up and be reused and repurposed to fill the show space. We coordinated a lot of moving parts, and made it up as we went along. Every prop created or sourced, every wall printed, every fixture used needed to fit together with no duplication. Each space was designed to tell a cohesive story from disparate parts.

2017 was a crash course in event design.

NYTF

CELEBRATION

SDCC

Here’s an example of how we were designing events at this time.

HASCON

I wish I had been better and took more during the con, but it was pretty overwhelming.

Oooooooooooh behind the scenes photos…

Beyblade

The exception to this reuse and repurpose execution was Beyblade, a smaller brand with little con exposure that ended up having an oversized presence at Hascon. We created a game plan that elevated the brand from a collectible toy line to a sport. Our execution included multiple battle areas and multiple tournaments every day, this format is still used today.

Not my video but, here’s a high speed walkthrough of the entire convention floor.

Oh yeah, I got to meet Stan Lee at Hascon and thank him for Marvel Comics. So that was pretty damn cool.