Are you a fan? If so, how do you express your fandom? Have you traveled to see your favorite team or artist? Do you follow your favorite brand’s social channels, or even contribute to their products?
In this issue of Tandemonium, we’re looking at the dynamics of fandom: How consumers behave as fans, how brands are connecting with fans, even how to be a fan of yourself.
Also in this issue:
Is sitting on the couch all weekend watching football a big waste of time? Maybe not. A Japanese study tells us that regular sports viewing can re-work our brains in positive ways, and not just a reason to devour chicken wings? As brands look to build their fandoms, live communal viewing experiences are key moments of joy for consumers.
According to some younger consumers, the answer is “no.” Financial outlets widely cover the underconsumption-core trend as a warning to brands with partnership strategies on the platform, but there’s also the hint of opportunity. As Gen-Z users seek to tune out the wall-to-wall shilling, TikTok tells us that brands can win if they connect with consumers’ yearning for joy. Strategies like “brandship,” “glimmers” and “newstalgia” can all activate joy.
Die-hard fans have always traveled to concerts or followed their teams on the road. But with fandom increasingly becoming a part of our personal identity, Skift notes how sports travel is driving a serious growth opportunity for the travel industry. As people seek out communal gatherings – and as Taylor Swift single-handedly boosts local economies – fans have become a key segment for travel and hospitality brands.
For years, brands have asked consumers to weigh in on product choices or even co-create experiences. But with the absurd, and sometimes helpful, hand of generative AI, consumers have unprecedented opportunities to create products, build mash-ups and share ideas on how brands can serve their customers. Our advice? Take a page from KFC Philippines and consider making some of your fans’ wildest dreams come true.
How KFC co-created fan concoctions
Last football season, we shared the glaring opportunity that brands have to connect with tailgaters. After all, the tailgate is the fan’s opportunity to participate; it’s the game before the game. And one of the main players is the food. A recent study from Chicory reveals how personal those food choices can be. More than 60% of respondents prefer to serve homemade dishes at their tailgate or “homegate” party.
Marketing during the football season is a given for many brands, but truly innovative approaches play off fan behavior in a unique way.
Overwhelming workloads are one ingredient in the wave of burnout in American offices. But disconnection from your purpose can be even more defeating to managers. In a recent essay in Harvard Business Review, Daisy Auger-Domínguez suggests strategies for managers to reconnect with themselves and bring joy to their workplaces in the process.
She breaks it down to four points:
Read her whole perspective in HBR
We asked self-described fanatics about their preferences, and overwhelmingly, home, sweet home is the preferred place to watch a game.
Our favorite explanation? “I have no hesitation running around my yard with my shirt off screaming ‘Who Dat?!’ after we smash the Cowboys. I can go nuts freely in a way I can’t in public.”
Learn more about the reasons that, for football, there’s no place like home.
How Joy Turns Fans Into Brand Superfans.
Where does fan joy come from? Watch our case study to discover the joyful truth about fandom.
How Joy Turns Fans Into Brand Superfans.
Where does fan joy come from? Watch our case study to discover the joyful truth about fandom.
Turning Travel and Experiences Into Unforgettable Brand Stories
Discover how to transform travel and experiences into powerful brand stories that captivate audiences and create lasting emotional connections.
Turning Travel and Experiences Into Unforgettable Brand Stories
Discover how to transform travel and experiences into powerful brand stories that captivate audiences and create lasting emotional connections.
Brand Strategy for Underdogs: Outshine the Competition
When building a brand strategy, underdog brands have to do a bit more legwork to resonate with their target audience, but taking the right steps can pay big dividends.
Brand Strategy for Underdogs: Outshine the Competition
When building a brand strategy, underdog brands have to do a bit more legwork to resonate with their target audience, but taking the right steps can pay big dividends.
