And now, for the strangest sentence I have ever written: This past weekend, I saw a Stormtrooper from Star Wars playing a game of Yahtzee with a masked super villain, Spider-Man, a character from Game of Thrones and a human-sized raccoon.

On Labor Day weekend, thousands of nerds and geeks alike descended upon Atlanta to attend Dragon Con, one of the biggest multi-genre conventions in the country. As one of those nerds, I realized two things this year that painted Dragon Con as something bigger than a giant gathering of people in costumes.

Everything/everyone is a commodity.
I lost count of the hours I stood in line to experience exhibits or meet celebrity guests. However, I could easily count on one hand how many times I did something for free at Dragon Con. My badge only allowed access to hotels where the convention took place. We could venture down the “Walk of Fame,” but anything beyond looking cost money.

The attractions at Dragon Con are not filled with good-hearted, entertainment people spending a holiday weekend trying to please their fans. They are there as a business venture, selling autographs and selfies. (And trust me when I say, do not snap your own picture, or a volunteer will ask for the image to be deleted from your phone.) Why do they do this? Because it works.

I purchased several autographs and a few pictures this weekend. After all, I might never get another chance to meet the cast of CW’s The Flash, or an actor who played a dwarf in the Hobbit trilogy. This is the kind of mentality one must have at Dragon Con.

Dragon Con is a promotional tool.
The real appeal for super fans is that Dragon Con is a place where like-minded people can meet and interact—to feel like part of a community. To most brands, this defined consumer audience makes Dragon Con the perfect platform to promote merchandise—retro action figures, costuming materials, prop replicas and even screen-accurate lightsabers.

In addition to selling physical merchandise, Dragon Con is growing as an outlet for television programs to advertise. And, as this convention grows in scale, so does the various panels that are presented…which are often followed by never-before-seen trailers for upcoming seasons. To fans, it feels like the production is saying, “We love you so much…you get to see this first.”

In simple advertising terms, everything at Dragon Con is a product, and nobody seems to mind. Attendees are either fans, who are happy to be around other fans of their favorite brand, or brands that are happy to receive free publicity. It’s a win for everyone.