For the second year in a row, Brock has a significant presence at the four-day convention that runs from Friday until Sunday in Toronto. Similar to ComicCon, Fan Expo Canada appeals to fans of comics, sci-fi, horror, anime and gaming.

The vast majority of show-goers are high school or early post-secondary-aged people — exactly the target audience for Brock.

“The Brock University brand is built on exceptional student experiences. Participating in Fan Expo is a great opportunity to engage a larger audience with the Brock brand, outside of Niagara,” said Gord Hunchak, the University’s Interim Associate Vice-President, External Relations.

“It’s a big prospective student market,” said Joseph Gottli, multimedia web specialist in Recruitment and Liaison Services. “It’s early in the cycle for choosing a university, so it’s a good way for us to get our name out there and to get them thinking about Brock.”

Brock University’s marketing efforts are once again visible in Toronto’s Union Station and the surrounding walkways.

The show takes place in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, but the massive crowds — many of whom arrive in full costume — take over much of the downtown core. This year’s Fan Expo Canada includes appearances by Tim Curry, Norman Reedus, Kathleen Turner, Kristin Kreuk and many other celebrities.

Brock has a booth in the MTCC’s south building, where it will be in a high-traffic area close to Universal Studios, Cartoon Network and Showcase. The 20×20 booth includes two large video screens.

The recruitment team has designed both a twelve-page comic book that tells the Brock story, as well as Cube Pals, three-dimensional paper figures of Isaac Brock and Boomer the Badger, plus a set of accessories for both.

“The comic was designed with a 1960s comic esthetic in mind, and outlines the top reasons why you should choose Brock University, such as the location, exceptional student experience, the programs that would be of most interest to the attendees, and our dedication to co-op and experiential learning,” Gottli said.

The focus will be on the programs and departments at Brock that would appeal to typical Fan Expo goers the most, such as the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Communication, Pop Culture and Film, Computer Science and the new programs in Game Design and Game Programming.

“There’s a great fit between the Fan Expo Canada target market and the programs we offer at Brock University,” Gottli said.

Fan Expo Canada is the first of two major recruiting events in Toronto for Brock. The Ontario Universities’ Fair will also be held at MTCC Sept. 22-24 and is a hugely important event that draws all 21 Ontario universities.

To increase Brock’s presence during and between both events, Marketing and Communications is again launching a major advertising campaign that will see Brock branding dominating the Skywalk between Union Station, the MTCC and Rogers Centre.