Steve Rotterdam and Ed Catto have teamed up to form the Bonfire Agency, “a new full-service advertising and marketing firm specializing in helping brands target highly influential but difficult to engage pop culture consumers. This demo, labeled by some as geek or comic culture, is comprised of incredibly passionate and highly influential fans of everything from comic books, video games and action films to underground music, sci-fi inspired television and cutting edge adult comedy.”
Rotterdam is a former Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for TimeWarner’s DC Comics. Catto is a former Senior Vice President at Reed Exhibitions and a specialist in uniting brands with pop culture icons.
Of their target demographic, Rotterdam says “We’re calling them ‘firestarters’. These are hyper-networked consumers that film studios strive to connect with through events like the San Diego Comic-Con because their endorsement of a project, especially in its early stages, can generate serious heat that can propel a film to box office success or green light a second season for a TV series on the bubble.”
Catto echoes, “They’re evangelists for everything ‘awesome’. They’re the first in line and the first to pass judgment as to whether something is authentic or not—and because of their intense, passionate engagement, they’ll go to incredible extremes to let others know exactly what they think.”
Industry figures indicate that this core group spends $400 million annually on comics, graphic novels, toys, and other pop culture collectibles. “But the degree to which they influence movies, television, gaming, music, fashion, even food, is immeasurable,” said Rotterdam.
Citing the lack of success many brands and companies have had in the past trying to engage with this critical demographic—often resulting in negative reaction from the very consumers they were seeking to connect with—Catto said “Bonfire Agency will provide strategic and executional marketing services, helping brands and companies engage with this audience in relevant ways and in an authentic voice. Not only does Bonfire Agency intimately understand this demographic, but we also have a track record of success beyond its borders, having developed marketing strategies and initiatives for classic brands ranging from Oreo to Miller Lite.”
The Bonfire Agency is also “developing an integrated ad network among independent comics publishers, a network of comic shops and pop culture specialty stores in key markets that will participate in brand sponsored promotions and events, and a core consumer research panel to serve the interests of brands, publishers, organizers and advocates.”
Rotterdam and Catto most recently worked at Eastwest Marketing Group (Rotterdam was Chief Creative Officer; Catto was Vice President-Account Director), and spun off their efforts into Bonfire, of which Eastwest has an equity stake, and will be providing support.
Rotterdam is known as a creative brand strategist. While at DC, he led the development and execution of marketing strategies, and helped implement the company’s first digital communications strategy. He’s also worked for Griffin Bacal Promotions, The Guild Group, and Saatchi & Saatchi.
Catto calls himself a “retropreneur,” always on the hunt to resurrect once-forgotten brands and introduce them to contemporary audiences. Most recently, he engineered the rebirth of the first superhero action figure, Caption Action, via comics, collectibles, and a national toy line launching this autumn. At Reed, he worked on the creation of New York Comic Con, and he’s also worked for Ogilvy’s 141 Worldwide, CSC Weston Group, Do Good Marketing, and Bigstar Entertainment.
Bonfire launched with several clients, including Bonomo Turkish Taffy (a classic candy brand being resurrected and relaunched after 25 years); the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; Reed Exhibition’s ReedPop group; and several projects for Diamond Comic Distributors.