Screaming Soup!

Howdy there, Scream Freaks! Boy, when we committed to finally makin’ our first official convention appearance at Mad Monster Party next month, who knew it’d be so much work?! But it’s all worth it, ’cause we ain’t simply slappin’ a bunch of photos on a table with an iPad playin’ our show for curious bystanders. No, sir! We’re aimin’ to make some big impressions with nothin’ less than a show stopper and help spread the word ’bout our show the ol’ fashion word-of-mouth kind of way for a change.

For y’all who’re curious or maybe even plannin’ to attend a con for the first time as a guest/vendor, it’s a little overwhelmin’ at first. You got the cost of the table, there’s hotel reservations, decisions on what kind of promotional materials you’ll use to advertise your booth like banners and such, and of course, figurin’ out how much you’re willin’ to spend on producin’ merch that’ll hopefully make back some of the money ya invested into the event. Luckily, we decided to do this convention months in advance and strategically pulled it all together bit by bit so our time and finances were never strained.

It’s excitin’ to watch our convention booth come together and finally see this longtime vision come true. The core of it is the saloon doors from the Howl-Inn Grub & Spirits, and it’s topped with two attached TVs playin’ Screaming Soup! with a 6′ Deadwest prop standin’ armed and ready in front of it all. We plan on attendin’ more cons in the future, so we made it versatile for differin’ event spaces with detachable banners featurin’ more promotional material that can be hung off the sides of the door. In an effort to really shoot for the sky, we even printed a light weight sign to fly as high as we need to with a balloon so folks can find us no matter where they are in the con.

As for the merch we decided to produce, this was a lot of painstakin’ research and preparation. T-shirts are just too much trouble, so we stuck with sellin’ artwork and tried slappin’ it on things we think y’all want. Namely stickers, magnets, tradin’ cards, and postcard size prints. We say “painstakin’ research,” ’cause we searched hell and high water for the most we could get for the cheapest price which got super frustratin’ at times. Especially when tryin’ to make our work meet all the different print specs so nothin’ comes out cropped off or with a bunch of white borders. For anyone interested in which services we found gives the most bang for your buck, we recommend PrintRunner for stickers, Primoprint for tradin’ cards, Staples for postcard size prints, and Zazzle for banners.

But as impressive as all this sounds, however, it’s still a stationary booth that depends on convention goers swingin’ by our corner of the room to hear ’bout the web’s #1 animated horror host show. To grab more folks’ attention beyond our designated 6’x6′ patch of carpet, we had to get creative. We first decided to go the most common route for advertisin’ at a convention and designed a stack of fliers we can dump on tables and post ’round the con. The next step we took for constant promotin’ is get a customized leather vest with Screaming Soup! printed all over it, so whether we’re walkin’ the floor or takin’ a piss, people are readin’ what we’re representin’. The best move we made, though, is makin’ contact with the coordinator of the con’s film festival and offer condensed versions of our vids for them to use as time fillers and buffers between the films that were submitted for competition. Now, filmmakers and movie buffs will get a surprise taste of our show, and hopefully follow up with us for seconds! We’re incredibly thankful for that arrangement and extend our sincerest “Yee-haw!” to the Mad Monster Party and Mutantville Productions!

That weekend is promisin’ to be a scary good time that can’t get here soon enough, and we’re especially thrilled to see the celebrities listed for appearances. This pool of talent includes horror hall of famers Kane Hodder, Doug Jones, Danielle Harris, James Jude Courtney (the newest Michael Myers), Adrienne Barbeau, Bruce Campbell, and freakin’ Ray Wise who we’re def gettin’ a picture with the booth if we can! Be there or else, Scream Freaks!

Other than that, be sure to catch up on all past Screaming Soup! Seasons, check out this week’s Howl’n Hottie, read recent reviews for the newer horror films and comics we’re checkin’ out in our blogs, R-Rated Reviews and Sequential Slime, and help us get the word out about the web’s #1 animated horror host show! Please use our social buttons in the upper right corner of the site and follow our tweets, subscribe to our video channels, like our Facebook, watch and share all our vids, and keep that fan mail comin’. You can also warm up some Screaming Soup! leftovers with reruns currently playin’ on Beta Max TV and Sluggo’s The Vortexx!

For all you fearmakers out there workin’ on your next scary feature, remember to shoot it our way as an entry in our Scream Freak Film Contest! Three winners will be reviewed in our 50th episode and promoted to all the Scream Freaks lookin’ for the next big thing Hollywood’s too scared to capitalize on. The deadline is open ’til we publish our 49th episode!

And remember to deface your calendars for Screaming Soup!’s first official convention appearance at Mad Monster Party Carolina Feb. 22-24 2019 where you can meet and greet the talents behind your favorite animated horror host show for free autographs!

See ya later, Scream Freaks!