Written By: BOSS Editorial
Reading Time: 4 minutes
It starts with connection and passion. It starts with telling a good story. That’s how you win fans. That’s how those fans start their own traditions around and pass those on to others. Whether you’re a multibillion-dollar corporation or a solo artist, working with century-old intellectual property like Mickey Mouse or new creations like KPop Demon Hunters, the finished product has to strike a chord with audiences. When the stories, the characters, and the traditions they love keep bringing them joy and a sense of belonging, fans will keep bringing their dollars. In a world with limited attention and limited discretionary spending, IP has to keep fans engaged.
All-Access
We’ve all seen – perhaps even made fun of – the phenomenon of the Disney adult. Who’s not laughing is the Disney Corporation, which has won the hearts and minds of superfans who became hooked as children and make pilgrimages to Disney theme parks. In the cases of those who don’t have kids, Disney has won a demographic that has extra money to spend and wouldn’t be expected to frequent attractions ostensibly made for kids. Those Disney adults with kids bring the whole family, making a Disney trip their big annual vacation.
It’s this breed of superfans who will spend up to twice as much as casual fans, but even they need new stories and new experiences to keep them engaged and coming back year after year. That includes new attractions based on recent movies, and it also includes immersive VR experiences like “Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge” and conveniences like RFID-equipped MagicBands that allow Disney World visitors to enter the parks, make purchases, and open their hotel rooms all with the tap of a wristband. It includes apps like My Disney Experience that show wait times for rides and coordinate customized itineraries.
With great storytelling IP that people love, they turn into brand ambassadors and evangelize to their personal networks. That allows for the shifting of marketing spend from acquisition to experience design, which in turn keeps fans happy and spreading the word. Every visitor becomes a media channel. It creates self-reinforcing cycles of behavior that win the next generation of fans.
Interactivity
In the era of the second screen, TV shows and movies can make a huge impact simply by getting people to pay attention to them and them alone. Even better, they can get people to stream over and over, keeping subscribers and attracting new ones.
Seeing as we do live in a multiscreen world, however, the most revenue-generating pieces of IP also translate to the smallest screen. They use interactive technology to keep fans engaged even when they’re not actively watching a movie or show. Mobile games like “Pokemon Go” or NFC-enabled collectibles like Nintendo’s Amiibo figurines take command of the phygital world.
Movie studios have drummed up excitement with limited merchandise drops that sell out quickly and become collectibles such as the “Marty Supreme” Wheaties boxes that were snapped up within hours or the limited-edition clothing that often accompanies A24 releases.
Streaming services particularly, but movie studios as well in the digital age, can do bits of fan service by testing out storylines for characters in speculative trailers and gauge fan reaction. Netflix has even experimented with letting audiences choose their own adventure, most notably with the interactive “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” that allowed viewers to pick from several endings. With the improvement of generative AI video, fans can even make their own stories, bringing fanfic into a new realm.
The Sporting Life
Perhaps nowhere is the monetization of fandom more powerful and more prevalent than the world of sports. In many places, the local team started a century or more ago and was just that, local. But now the games have gone worldwide.
The NFL’s Green Bay Packers, for example, play their home games in a city of just more than 100,000. They’re collectively owned by fans, and their name derives from the fact that they were first sponsored by a meat-packing company in 1919. Yet in the last few years, they’ve played games in London and Brazil. They’re valued at nearly $6 billion. A similar story can be told in soccer.
The English Premier League began broadcasting games in the U.S. in 2013, and now you can find fan groups for clubs big and small across America. Spain’s La Liga holds its Super Copa mini-tournament in Saudi Arabia and has been trying for years to stage a regular-season game in Miami. More than 5 million fans are expected to attend the newly expanded World Cup, which kicks off June 11 and is expected to generate around $10 billion. Fans can connect physical merchandise to NFTs in the FIFA+ Collect platform and trade memorabilia in the phygital space. FIFA is also experimenting with dynamic pricing for the tournament, with tickets to the July 19 final expected to run as high as $6,700.
Tradition, passion, and innovation all combine to make fans for life, from one generation to the next. It makes fandom into a system that compounds, keeping the revenue flowing in.
