The “cons” are an opportunity for fans of a particular film, TV series, comic book, actor or genre to meet experts and actors, hear speakers, meet other fans and dress up like Klingons, anime characters or superheroes (called cosplay). Like any convention, there are plenty of booths with exhibitors hawking all sorts of wares. More than 1,200 exhibitors were at the New York event.

These exhibitors aren't there because they think it's fun to dress up like Darth Vader–and their motives are not solely to sell product. Rather, they view comic conventions as a way to take the pulse of a very coveted demographic: the male 18-to-34 age bracket with a good amount of buying power. The show's manager refers to the event as a “geek prom” and “a massive, 115,000-people focus group.”

In case you haven't noticed, geek culture has been on the ascendency for quite a while. In pop culture, geeky TV programs (“The Big Bang Theory,” “Game of Thrones“) and movies (anything featuring Marvel characters) abound. Bill Gates is a geek; so was Steve Jobs; so is Mark Zuckerberg.

Marketers like going to the source to meet geeks at events like comic cons because they're usually on the cutting edge of pop culture and technology. They're the early adopters of the latest bells and whistles who are actively involved in social media and whose tweets or Facebook posts can make or break a product.

In case you also haven't noticed, insurance still isn't doing too well in the public perception department. Just this week, delegates at the BrokersLink global conference in Madrid were warned that they need to recognize the importance of their junior staff and graduates if they want to retain their competitive edge. Gen Y talent demands “attractive employer characteristics and industries,” said Pedro Gonzalo, international HR project manager – talent management & people development at Sociéte Générale Corporate & Investment Banking in Paris.

And although this certainly isn't news to our industry, we don't really seem to be moving the needle on the public perception of insurance as boring.

According to a recent Millennial focus group conducted at the annual CPCU meeting, when it comes to insurance:

• “People think it is just selling or cold calling, but they have no clue about the other job functions such as claims, underwriting, and risk management that make insurance so interesting.”
• “People don't understand insurance and that it is actually about helping people when they are in need.”
• “Students who take risk management courses often switch into that career because they find it so interesting once they get exposed to it.”
• “When people ask me what I do, I describe my job as kind of like the show 'House' except with insurance issues – where we work together with a lot of critical thinking as a team to solve problems for our clients.”

I think that last quote says it all. Insurance as “House“? Where do I sign up?

I know that comic con attendees aren't dressing up as cranky, drug-addicted, cane-wielding doctors (or maybe they are!), but perhaps pop culture could be a pathway to extolling the joys of insurance to a manga-and-anime, tech-savvy younger generation.

So strap on that Iron Man mask (you know you want to) and head on down to a comic con near you and mingle with the geeks. After all, what could be geekier than insurance?