Howdy and Konnichiwa: Anime Frontier Rides into Cowtown
When Anime Frontier brought North Texas the ultimate anime experience, they needed a PR team ready to level up and J.O. Agency was game. With cosplay, voice actor interviews and a media room to command, J.O. transformed strategy into storytelling magic.
The Challenge
Since 2021, Anime Frontier has called Fort Worth home, bringing North Texas’ largest anime convention to life with three days of anime premieres, voice actor panels, special performances, a bustling expo hall and unforgettable cosplay. An event of this scale demands strong media and press support. In August 2024, convention organizers brought on J.O. Agency to serve as the public and media relations team for the December 2024 event, with a budget of $13,500 spanning six months.
Objectives
J.O. set out to grow media coverage year over year and create a smooth, well-run press room experience for media and speaking guests.
J.O.’s Strategic Vision
- Open with a discovery meeting to understand the convention’s flow, past performance and areas for improvement
- Define the full scope of work across press release strategy, media badge management, onsite press support, guest interview coordination and post-event reporting
- Set a clear goal to grow media coverage year over year while creating a smoother experience
- Recognize the need to build a dedicated media list from the ground up, since one didn’t previously exist
- Map a monthly communications calendar to keep updates and reminders flowing to media on a consistent cadence
- Prioritize organization and responsiveness as the foundation for managing media relationships and interview logistics at scale
- Built and maintained a press list of 36 outlets spanning local and statewide media, niche anime and podcast outlets, and national anime and convention press
- Vetted 55 total outlets and reporters, ultimately approving 36 for media badges
- Created templated email workflows to keep communication organized and consistent, from badge vetting to interview scheduling
- Used a shared tracking system to collect interview requests and questions from approved media, organize them by voice actor, and route them to agents and publishing partners for approval
- Approved and scheduled 21 of 51 individual interview requests
- Rolled out a six-part press release and pitch schedule from early October through event week, covering the general announcement, price increase, guest speaker reveals, and event week highlights, each paired with an updated media kit
- Conducted a press room walk-through the day before the convention and identified gaps in the existing setup
- Reorganized the press room and brought in chairs, a small table and power strips from J.O.’s office to create a more functional interview area
- Managed press check-in and monitored the press room throughout the event
- Sat in on interviews to ensure approved questions were followed
- Coordinated closely with guest handlers and media outlets to keep interviews on schedule
IMPLEMENTATION
RESULTS & METRICS
- 36 media outlets approved for badges and in attendance at the convention
- 21 individual interviews completed with voice actor guests
- 102 pieces of coverage earned, a 60% increase over 2023
- 1.08M estimated views
- 54.5K social engagements
Media partners and Anime Frontier staff both praised the improved flow of the press room. The client rehired the J.O. to run press relations for the 2025 convention. This work earned J.O. Agency an Award of Achievement at the 2025 Worthy Awards.