Part of our success as a manufacturer in the collectibles space is our ability to meet with our customers at the beginning of every year to reveal new product lines, advancements in technology, and new product concepts to give customers an exclusive glimpse of where we're heading (while also remembering where we’ve been). Trade shows and summits are where we have historically done that. Until Covid-19 and the global pandemic.

As a result, we leaned into our creativity and ingenuity that you love about the products we make and rose to the occasion. In 2020, we created Q-Con in order to bring a little normality to the collectors space and bring our fans nerdy content to fill the void of cancelled conventions worldwide. With Mark Robben, our Director of Marketing, at the helm, we created a brilliant way to have good fun with creative content and engaging panels.

With the success of both of our end consumer virtual Q-Con events in 2020, we heard from our retail partners that you wanted to be more involved in our Q-Con content. You, too, loved the virtual experiences we created. And we heard you. We adopted a similar model for our Q-Con Pro, an invitation only virtual summit where we shared exclusive content with our customers in the privacy of their own homes. But we didn't stop there. We took it to the next level by delving deeper into content that our own Specialty Retail Program publishes in every newsletter: Successes, challenges and how one can advance their business model to survive a changing and challenging marketplace. 

We began our event with our product calendar and overview, and then hosted engaging panels on how to build an online presence with effective social media strategies, and even building out a Facebook and Instagram store in real-time. We delved into informative panels about key brand focuses for us in 2021, and also shared the encouraging success stories of Curtis Wilson from Pink a la Mode, and Cliff Lee from Lost4Toys. They not only have survived in this market, but have flourished! Lastly, we explored the world of operations, where we covered the basics of our shipping methods and explained the differences between EXW & FOB.  

With the advent of these panels, we have been overwhelmed by questions and positive feedback from customers. Some missed our sessions due to other commitments but desperately wanted to attend. The need for our content was much greater than we imagined, as we tapped into something special --- partnering with our customers to ensure success in a changing marketplace. Needless to say, our first Q-Con Pro was a huge success! 

We thank each and everyone of you who participated in Q-Con Pro as you played a huge role in the success of the event. We are ready to host another Q-Con Pro, so please fill out the survey we sent your way. Your feedback is helpful so we can continue to make this event a success. And be sure to attend Q-Con III on April 30 - May 2. As always, we are featuring special guests, panels, trivia, giveaways and more. Mark your calendars now!