Troika | Fans Rule!

We’re here today to talk about brands, fans, and fandom.
But, ﬁrst, I have a confession to make. I’m in love.

I’m not in love with a person – at least, not one person. I’m in love with Supernatural. It may sound strange for a middle-aged woman to be declaring her love for a TV show, especially one seemingly made for a much younger audience. But I can’t help it. I’m a fan.
I became a fan about two years ago when my 13 year-old daughter and her friends discovered the show on Netﬂix. At that time, my daughter had entered her difﬁcult early teen years. She rolled her eyes so frequently that I found myself googling “ocular damage due to eye rolling.” She barely offered me more than “yes” or “no” answers – unless she was
talking to me about Supernatural. And then she would describe the episodes in excruciating detail. Finally, she asked me to watch the pilot with her so I could just understand the basics. I did. And I was hooked. Since then, my daughter and I have watched every episode together – all 13 seasons. We’ve watched our favorite episodes over and over again.

We’ve been to a convention and have tickets to another one this fall. We’ve shared countless memes and videos with one another.

We’ve bought matching phone cases and T-shirts. We’ve baked sigil cookies. Mostly, sharing our love for Supernatural has given us a way to connect at a time when our previous modes were failing us. And it would be easy to pass this off as just a way to navigate my daughter’s teen years, but the truth is, I’d love the show even if she wasn’t interested. I’d
still feel my heart freeze when one of the boys die (which they do with considerable regularity), and I’d still tear up when I hear “Carry On My Wayward Son” kick off the last episode of each season.

So, I copped to my middle-aged Supernatural fandom. And now I have a question for you. Are you, or have you ever been, a fan of anything?

Now, I want you think about the most emotionally intense moment you’ve ever felt as a fan. Try to recall that feeling. Do you have a sense for it?

It may be intensely positive. It may also be intensely negative. But, if you are – or were – a fan, chances are, you can recall the intensity with which fandom can make you feel.

That’s what we are here to talk about today: why fandom makes us feel so deeply and care so much…and what it means to be building our businesses upon such intense emotional terrain.

As an anthropologist working in the entertainment industry, I’ve had the privilege over the last number of years to study many speciﬁc types of fans on behalf of clients. And now, at Troika, we have embarked on a year-long study of fandom, learning about it through a variety of research methods. We are about three months in, so we’re still at the beginning,
but we are beginning to see some patterns emerging.

85% of people 18+ years of age consider themselves to be a fan of something – and that something can take many forms.

...even a product. Yes, it’s true. There are fans of candles. They even have a name: “Fandles.”

We call the thing that someone is a fan of an “OOF”: an object of fandom.
It’s an object of affection – like any other we might have.

Just like there are different OOFs, there are also different ways to be a fan.

Some fans are “affirmational.” These fans thrive on knowledge acquisition and fiercely respect the authority and sanctity of the original story.
If you are an affirmational fan, you likely know as much as you possibly can about your OOF. In fact, you probably can’t stand NOT to know something about your OOF and hate feeling blocked from relevant information about it.
Affirmational fans are the ones using satellite imagery to try to figure out the shooting location of the next season of Survivor (shout out to Fandom scholar Henry Jenkins).

Afﬁrmational fans set up Wiki pages and keep them current.

They will argue about the exactitude of what happens in the original story and what it means. Departures from the original can seem like heresy.

Transformational fans, on the other hand, thrive on imagination, using the original story as a mere starting point for their own interpretations and explorations.

They make fan art and fan works. They edit existing footage to re-envision the relationships and events offered in the original.

These are intensely creative and fearless fans, who use the stories they love to explore ideas that often can’t be explored safely in real life, especially in the context of imagined relationships (or “ships”) between characters or people.

Nothing is too mundane or taboo for transformational fandom.

Despite differences between these two modes of fandom, any given fan can demonstrate both afﬁrmational and transformational tendencies.

There are also fans whose behavior and mode of fandom is more difﬁcult to identify, in part, because it leaves a less pronounced digital footprint. As a result, we sometimes hear these fans referred to as “casual” fans, but I would caution all of us on using that deﬁnition.
Assuming that someone is a casual fan – or cares less deeply – because they don’t express their fandom as prominently online can be a dangerous move. Just because a fan doesn’t participate in the online conversation or fan community doesn’t necessarily mean they care any less about their OOF. They might just experience and express their feelings
less outwardly.

No matter what form fandom takes, it consistently reﬂects one thing – love. Whether we rattle off a favorite team’s stats, write stories about a favorite “ship,” or look forward to a favorite show at the end of a long day, the nature of the connection is the same. We love the things we are fans of.

But the thing about love is, it’s hard for it to be unidirectional. We want it to feel mutual.
Before the internet, it was difﬁcult, although not impossible, for fans to establish a connection with the creators of shows and stories of which they were fans. Not anymore. Now that fans can communicate directly with creators, their desire for a mutual relationship has come to the fore.

So, what we are talking about here is a relationship. A relationship between fans and those responsible for creating the things they love.

Fans call these people “The Powers That Be” (TPTB). They use “TPTB” to refer to, most likely, many of you in the audience.

So what kind of relationship is this?
It’s more than a one night stand.

Ideally, It’s an enduring bond – one born of mutual love for the OOF.

It’s a bit like the relationship between two people who have a child together.
The creator is like the parent who gives birth to the child and brings it into the world. The fan is like that other parent who looks at the newborn, sees him/herself reﬂected in it, and devotes him/herself to helping that baby thrive.
Fans may not have given birth, but they take care of that baby, showering it with affection, sharing baby pictures with anyone who will look, and defending it from anyone who says “your baby is ugly” or, worse yet, threatens to hurt it.

Now, both parents love their child and want what’s best for the child, but they don’t always agree on how to achieve that success. That relationship between the parents takes work.

Obviously, I love a metaphor, but this goes far beyond a conceptual device. Understanding that we, as shepherds of stories and brands that fans care so much about, are in a relationship with our fans is incredibly important.

Far too often, it feels like we are at each other’s throats, rather than working toward the common goal of success for that thing we both care so much about. But for those of you who are, or have been, dealing with a contentious fan relationship, I would remind you of this: the opposite of love is not hate; it’s indifference. Even that urge to ﬁght – ugly as it may
get – reﬂects fans’ depth of connection. And in today’s media landscape, forging deep bonds that can mobilize fans from one show to the next, one platform to the next, seems essential. In a landscape of choice, viewers have to care. So, how do we build and maintain a healthy relationship with fans – and stay out of divorce court?

Every good relationship starts with understanding. And understanding requires some work.

For example, Cosmopolitan negotiated a year-long content partnership with Magic Mike. Their brands are aligned in so many ways that the pairing seems like a no-brainer...

Yet, brand alignment alone wasn't enough. The brands reached out directly to fans, asking them about their fantasies. With such personal information, they won't go wrong in building their content.

Next, it takes time to build trust, but it's worth it.

The basis of trust isn't just high quality content—though that's important. It's the little things. Disney is attentive to every detail of its presentation. It’s consistent, and consistency builds trust.

Even key art can begin building that trust. The Gilmore Girls revival was exciting but also scary to fans: would the show be "updated" in ways they didn't want?
Netﬂix has been careful to communicate that the reboot will be the same Gilmore Girls that fans loved.

Fans and TPTB have different relationships to the OOF, but that doesn't mean they can't mutually respect each other. This clip comes from an episode of Supernatural where the lead character, Dean, encounters a fan who's written a musical about his exploits...

That clip is also a good example of healthy communication, which, as we all know, is kind of the bedrock of a relationship.

MTV's Teen Wolf runs its Twitter like a person would. It is operational 365 days a year, and TPTB engage with fans directly and personally.

The Teen Wolf Twitter isn’t always perfect—sometimes it errs on the side of tactics, not strategy—but the show is doing its part to form a community on Twitter.

Now, in good relationships you can't just give someone roses on Valentine's Day, and then expect him/her to do your laundry and cook you dinner all year round. Fans are aware of the exploitative ways TPTB engage them, and they want you to show your appreciation in valuable ways.

TPTB at Outlander show fans the love by posting annotated scripts and storyboards to the show’s website. Fans normally never get to see these items, and, in this case, they take on extra signiﬁcance because the Outlander fandom is speciﬁcally interested in them.

Taking another tack, the Hannibal Tumblr constantly reblogs beautiful fanart.

By supporting this very active part of Hannibal fandom, TPTB keep the ﬁre burning for Hannibal even now, years after its cancellation. I'm betting it comes back soon.

Of course, the sky's the limit when it comes to declarations of love. At last year's Comic-Con, Star Wars could have been lazy. The franchise had a big panel at Hall H, and all it needed to do was trot out some Force Awakens clips to make everyone happy. But TPTB outdid themselves by leading the entire hall outside for a concert and ﬁreworks show. The
surprise was everything.

It's really important that whatever you do is fun – for both you and the fans. Nobody wants to be in a relationship that isn't fun.

For instance, FOX crossed over Sleepy Hollow and Bones one night. It was hilarious, and as a Sleepy Hollow fan, I was thrilled. I had recently ﬁnished writing a Sleepy Hollow/Elementary crossover fanﬁc novel—not kidding—and here the shows were, playing with the same ideas!

Behind-the-scenes can get silly and fun, too. For instance, think about the Ham4Ham shows that Lin-Manuel Miranda puts on for Hamilton.
(PLAY LMM VINE(S).)

Teeny little clips like this one show fans that Lin-Manuel is thinking of them, and they've gotta be a blast to ﬁlm.

So, If we think we have a future together, what kind of future will it be?

How will source content (IP) and marketing change as fans take on an even bigger role as co-creators?

Fans are already taking franchises into their own hands. For instance Star Trek Axanar is a new, fan-funded chapter of the venerable brand. These professional fans were hoping for $10,000 in Kickstarter funding and ended up getting nearly $100,000.

How can we, as marketers and branders, leverage fandom for long-term success?
Here are two ways we can start…

We need to retool our marketing strategies with fans in mind, beginning with the briefs.

Currently, too many briefs tread lightly on truly understanding audiences and focus more heavily on the “whats” than the “whys.”

Too often, briefs emphasize age, location, or other “code words.”

Useful briefs respect the full dimension of fandom with less emphasis on demographics (like age, race, gender)...

...and more emphasis on mutual respect and understanding, fans’ complexities, and why they love their OOFs.

Another way we can share the love is by creating brand assets.
Imagine that, instead of marketing tools, we create fan toolkits that encourage fan creativity...

..by using the assets we all create anyway.
This Magic the Gathering fan kit includes everything from mutli-lingual logos...

...to character key art and source matte paintings.

So whether they are afﬁrmational...

...fans can use images and logos – which they are going to grab anyway. Why not help them out with authentic imagery?

As we leave here today, keep in mind a few things…
Today, entertainment marketing and branding is less transactional and more emotionally driven than ever.
We are in a relationship together with our fans.
Our success depends on each other.

Imagine fans helping us in our lives the way we help them in theirs.
Together, we can build a beautiful and rewarding relationship.

So come on…What are we so afraid of?
Because Fans Rule.
Thank You!!

Troika | Fans Rule!

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