Anime Los Angeles 8 Attendance

I have been attending anime conventions for close to ten years, one of my favorite conventions is a medium-sized convention that happens every January, Anime Los Angeles. If you have read my report on the convention this year, I write ebulliently on how well the convention was run and how Anime LA was able to differentiate itself from the  many conventions out there. Thanks to the great leadership of ALA and the staff that ran the convention, my convention experience was a great experience that I will continue to visit. In my report, I noted that the convention got really packed and that later on it became very difficult to move around the pool deck. The reason was simple, because Anime Los Angeles smashed its 2011 attendance records.

• Anime Los Angeles 2010 - 3,209 unique attendance
• Anime Los Angeles 2011 - 3,598 unique attendance (12.1% yoy)
• Anime Los Angeles 2012 - 4,211 unique attendance (17.0% yoy)

As you can see with the numbers, the attendance for this year's Anime Los Angeles was 4,211 people. That is a an increase of 613 people over last year's convention. That is a lot of growth for the convention and at the rate it is growing the convention will transition from a medium-sized convention to a large anime convention. The growth of Anime Los Angeles can be attributed to strong word of mouth, strong differentiation from other local anime conventions, and a strong focus on customer service. Assuming that ALA grows at a constant 10% rate it can reach the magical 5,000 number in around two years and it can hit the 6,000 number in four years. The problem is the size of the venue and the potential for crowding on Saturdays, since the Institute of Specialized Learning (the nonprofit behind ALA) has just signed a three year contract for the current venue.

With an impressive attendance increase for 2012, a congratulations is in order to Chaz and his great ALA team. I hope that the organization can find creative ways to deal with potential future increases in attendance.

Source: Chaz Boston Baden, Chair of ALA