The San Diego Comic-Con, which ended about a week ago, has transformed from a comic book enthusiast’s party to a major Hollywood advertising vehicle in the past ten years.

Hollywood seemed to catch on to the possibility of the mainstream popularity of comic book characters when films such as the X-Men and Spider-Man trilogies became box office blockbusters.

Since then, San Diego Comic-Con has grown and transformed from a convention for the hardcore comic book fan to a massive advertising vehicle for any and all Hollywood film and TV projects. It has become a long weekend of hype-based marketing. And attendees actually look forward to it all.

It’s unusual. A subculture of people who would normally be averse to advertising actually pays to see advertising. And what’s even more unusual is that most people seem to be aware of that fact.

So, why is it so successful?

Because the studios know what the fans want and they give it to them. Be it exclusive sneak peeks at new film footage, memorabilia giveaways or even just the chance to meet celebrities, it’s enough to grab attendees’ attention.

If people know that there’s something in it for them, they will ultimately be more receptive to the messages you want to convey.

Incentive—it may seem like a simple and obvious idea, but it’s something one must always keep in mind when generating marketing ideas.

Have you ever seen a mobile ad? If you’ve ever browsed the Internet on your phone (or iPad), chances are you’ve seen them. You know, the tiny static graphic that hides near the top of the newspaper site, or the obtrusive interstitial in the middle of your Words With Friends game that leaves you searching for the “skip” button.

Yeah, those.

You’ve probably seen them, but you might not have really noticed them. That’s because until recently, mobile devices have been seen as shrunken computers.

But now people are beginning to realize that mobile devices are something completely different.

So now it’s time to stop thinking of mobile ads as display ads for a small computer. This different breed of devices needs a different breed of ad.

Luckily, innovations like iAd and HTML5 promise to turn the mobile ad into something unique. No longer will we be faced with tiny, static, boring, overlookable, and underperforming graphics. We won’t be left searching for a way to skip past the interstitial and get back to our game. Soon we will see engaging animated units that can almost act like an app within an app.

And that’s important, because mobile devices are already app loaded. Mobile users switch between these apps in much the same way that computer users switch between browser tabs.

These new developments promise a new advertising experience. In time, users will be able to interact with ads without leaving the webpage or app – just like you can currently do with some Flash-based desktop ads – all without the need to download a plug-in. That’s great, because with small screens and limited multitasking, users don’t want to leave what they’re doing if they click on an ad.

And clicking is just the beginning. Soon, mobile ads will be engaging and entertaining, traits that help break through the clutter and make an impact.

What are your thoughts on the future of mobile advertising?

In case you didn’t already know, AdEase has moved to a new location. We’re just a few blocks up the road in a nice, big office with plenty of parking. All the change makes me think about what the agency will be like in the future. Which makes me think about the future of media and advertising.

Augmented reality is just one thing we could see relatively soon. It’s pretty incredible. Just point your cell phone camera at a building, and text and images will magically appear – showing you what restaurants and offices occupy that address. This opens up plenty of new opportunities to reach your potential customers. You could display today’s coffee special at your new café, or offer professional photography services to people taking family photos on the beach.

But then there’s an even newer concept: augmented identity. A recent article in MIT’s Technology Review describes a product called Recognizr that uses facial recognition to display social media information about the people you see on your cell phone camera. Here’s a video that shows it in action.

This opens the door to a whole new set of debates and discussions ranging from privacy and boredom to coolness and marketing.

What do you think the future holds for augmented identity?

Credit: The Astonishing Tribe