Syfy has announced its plans for Comic-Con 2012, and they are (nearly) all about their massive promotional plans for 2013 series and MMO game Defiance. Yes there will be a panel, but it’s the ad campaign that’s so vast. Check out the plans in their press release below.

Panels have also been planned for Warehouse 13 and Alphas, but sadly and somewhat inexplicably, not for Haven (though the cast and writers will be appearing at a couple of offsite events) nor any of their unscripted shows. The cast and showrunner for Eureka will be at a Paley panel in Los Angeles tonight, but though the series finale doesn’t air until the day after Comic-Con closes, there won’t be any final Eureka panel at Comic-Con.

In fact they’re asking us to let go of Eureka and move on in one very tangible way this year. Their Hard Rock Hotel takeover diner, formerly dubbed “Cafe Diem” after the Eureka diner of the same name, will this year be known as “Defiance Cafe”.

SYFY ANNOUNCES SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2012 INITIATIVES INCLUDING PROMOTIONAL BLITZ FOR GROUNDBREAKING WORLD OF DEFIANCE

Syfy Unleashes Defiance Barrage by Land, Sea and Air!

Show Panels Include Alphas, Being Human, Defiance
and Warehouse 13

NEW YORK, NY – July 6, 2012 – From touchdown to takeoff, Syfy is planning an all-out assault in order to give fans their first introduction to the visionary transmedia experience Defiance at San Diego Comic-Con 2012. Defiance, a partnership between Syfy and Trion Worlds, unites, for the first time, a television series and a Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) game, which will debut in April 2013. In addition to Defiance, Syfy will also showcase original series Alphas, Being Human and Warehouse 13 with star-studded panels. Convention-goers will get their first “taste” of Defiance as Syfy transforms Hard Rock Hotel San Diego restaurant, Maryjane’s into Defiance Café where fans can “Watch. Play. Eat.” and completely immerse themselves in the world of the show and game.

The following are Syfy’s San Diego Comic-Con 2012 events and initiatives:

CONVENTION PANELS

Fans will have the opportunity to see their favorite Syfy stars at each of the following panels:

Friday, July 13
DEFIANCE
6:45PM – 7:45PM ROOM 6DE|

Syfy and Trion unite television and gaming with Defiance, the biggest entertainment event of 2013 which defies everything we know about traditional storytelling. Panelists to include stars Grant Bowler (Nolan), Julie Benz (Amanda Rosewater), Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), Tony Curran (Datak Tarr), Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr), Mia Kirshner (Kenya), Executive Producer Kevin Murphy, Nick Beliaeff (SVP, Development, Trion Worlds), Rob Hill (Senior Producer, Trion Worlds) and Mark Stern (President, Syfy Original Content & Co-Head of Content, Universal Cable Productions). Moderated by Los Angeles Times/Hero Complex writer Geoff Boucher.

Saturday, July 14
WAREHOUSE 13
10:00AM – 10:45AM BALLROOM 20

America’s top-secret, artifact-finding agents have landed at Comic Con. Join stars Eddie McClintock (Pete Lattimer), Joanne Kelly (Myka Bering), Saul Rubinek (Artie Nielsen), and Allison Scagliotti (Claudia Donovan) along with Executive Producer Jack Kenny for a look inside the new season of Syfy’s blockbuster series Warehouse 13.
Moderated by TV Guide magazine’s Damian Holbrook.

ALPHAS
2:00PM – 3:00PM INDIGO BALLROOM, HILTON BAYFRONT HOTEL

Alphas are among us… especially at Comic Con. Join a panel featuring the stars of Syfy’s Alphas as they discuss their super but human characters and the exciting new season premiering Monday, July 23rd. Scheduled to appear are David Strathairn (Dr. Lee Rosen), Malik Yoba (Bill Harken), Ryan Cartwright (Gary Bell), Warren Christie (Cameron Hicks), Azita Ghanizada (Rachel Pirzad) and Laura Mennell (Nina Theroux). Moderated by Los Angeles Times/Hero Complex writer Geoff Boucher.

BEING HUMAN
3:00PM – 4:00PM INDIGO BALLROOM, HILTON BAYFRONT HOTEL

This panel is a beast. Stars Sam Witwer (Aidan), Meaghan Rath (Sally), and Sam Huntington (Josh) join Executive Producer Anna Fricke to discuss the forthcoming third season of Syfy’s hit series about a vampire, ghost and werewolf – all just trying to be human. Moderated by Drusilla Moorhouse of Zap2It.com.

SYFY MARKETING INITIATIVES

From arrival to departure, visitors to Comic-Con 2012 will have every opportunity to experience Defiance.

“Syfy has never launched a media campaign of this magnitude at Comic-Con and we defy fans to miss out on Defiance,” said Michael Engleman, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Global Brand Strategy, Syfy. “Nearly four years in the making, Defiance is a groundbreaking weekly scripted television series and Massively Multiplayer Online game, converging to create a singular, interactive and epic story. Comic-Con is the largest gathering of savvy superfans and they comprise our audience of Igniters. It is the perfect platform to unleash the seismic, multi-pronged messaging behind this extraordinary program.”

Highlights of Syfy’s Defiance campaign include:

• San Diego Airport – Throughout the entire Airport, from arrivals and departures to baggage claim and security, Syfy will present special Defiance elements. This will include branded security bins, video units, spectaculars and wall wraps in Terminals 1 and 2, along with Defiance bags at all HMS retail locations.

• Rental Cars – Defiance messaging will be displayed on nearly 1,500 Hertz Never Lost navigation systems, reaching every consumer while the navigation device loads

• Defiance Café – Hard Rock Hotel San Diego restaurant Maryjane’s will be transformed into Defiance Café, the official hub for Defiance at Comic-Con inviting attendees to “Watch. Play. Eat.” For the duration of the convention, hungry fans will enjoy all things Defiance – including the opportunity for exclusive gameplay – as they take in set pieces from the show and become immersed in the rich world that will come to life in both the game and show next April. Defiance Café will also be the site of an exclusive, star-studded press event.

• TV Guide Magazine’s Yacht – The TV Guide Magazine yacht is a celebrity destination Thursday through Saturday of the convention and this year offers Defiance experiences from game play to co-branded gift bags.

• G4 – Syfy teams with G4 as a Comic-Con broadcast partner with on the ground Defiance coverage and shared interstitial content.

• WIRED Café – Syfy and Trion put Defiance directly into the hands of celebs and VIP’s with a presence at WIRED’s popular hangout.

• Mobile Billboards – Upper decker buses, to and from the airport as well as around San Diego, will serve as mobile billboards.

• Building Wrap – Syfy and Trion will partner on a massive Defiance building wrap on the Marriot Marquee hotel adjacent to the Convention Center.

• National Print Media – Syfy will have ads for Defiance in special Comic-Con issues of Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide.

• Social Media – The #DiscoverDefiance Sweepstakes will challenge Comic-Con attendees to find Defiance promotions, take a picture and upload it to Facebook or tweet it out via Twitter with #DiscoverDefiance. Participants will be entered for a chance to win a trip to the premier of Defiance in April 2013.

• Facebook – On Sunday, July 15th, Syfy will host its first ever Social Media viewing party on Facebook.com/Defiance and Facebook.com/Syfy. For four hours consumers can watch videos of Defiance panel from Comic-Con, the official Defiance television show trailer, exclusive one-on-one interviews with Defiance cast, crew and developers and Defiance coverage developed exclusively for Syfy by G4

• The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Syfy will sponsor of the 24th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – the “Oscars” of the comic book industry.

Defiance is in collaboration with Trion Worlds, with the Syfy series and Trion’s multi-platform shooter MMO poised to debut simultaneously. Defiance stars Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Fionnula Flanagan, Mia Kirshner and Oscar-nominee Graham Greene. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a completely transformed planet Earth, inhabited by the survivors of a universal war. Forced to co-habitate, the disparate group struggles to build a new society among the devastation. The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe where their respective narratives will inform one another and evolve together into one overall story. Defiance is executive produced by Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica, Hellcats) and Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica). Kevin Murphy serves as showrunner. Defiance is produced by Universal Cable Productions.

About Trion Worlds

Trion Worlds is the leading publisher and developer of premium games for the connected era. Powered by a breakthrough development and publishing platform, Trion is revolutionizing the way games are developed, played and sold. Trion’s world-class team delivers high-quality, dynamic and massively social games operated as live services across the biggest game genres and devices; including the critically acclaimed blockbuster, Rift™ and the highly-anticipated End of Nations™ and Defiance™. Trion is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., with offices in San Diego, Calif., Austin, Texas, and at Trion Worlds Europe in London, UK.

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies.
(Syfy. Imagine greater.)