Thought Leader: Fuelling Fandom – Why IRL Experiences Rule

By Christopher Booker, New Business and Marketing Director, TRO

Manage to get Oasis tickets? Make it to a Taylor Swift gig? Fandoms have been very much front and centre in the news this summer, but nowadays, they extend way beyond the traditional territories of music and sport.

From Disney diehards to Air Max collectors, SKIMS to Fenty, the stans are taking over. The Amazon fan engagement report noted that 70% of people surveyed said their fandom and fan community are part of their everyday life. Helping people explore more of what they love is big business for brands, as long as they truly contribute – nearly two-thirds of surveyed fans (62%) feel positively toward brands that have been involved with their fandoms for extended periods of time.

It’s a phenomenon we’ve seen spread into the brand experience world. Just look at last summer’s proliferation of pink pop-ups and partnership activations off the back of the Barbie film. Netflix regularly create real-world experiences around their latest releases. In a hyper-connected world where doomscrolling is king, live experiences present an opportunity to create some cut-through, with real-life touchpoints helping fans extend and deepen their engagement.

At TRO, we’ve long helped football fans explore their passion for the sport around the big UEFA finals, working with brands like Pepsi and Just Eat; we know petrolheads inside-out, from years of auto experience at the big events like Goodwood; whatever the category, creating reasons for audiences to get off their sofa and get involved is in our DNA.

And those big moments are increasingly what brands are looking towards, aligning budgets for maximum impact. Summer might be over, but the opportunities keep coming. Halloween is becoming more and more commercial, with brands such as Fanta associating themselves more closely over the past few years. From there it’s straight into Christmas, which is a hive of live activity – from seasonal NPDs (Baileys pralines anyone?) to PR-able pop-ups, such as Branston’s Pickle Post and Cadbury’s Secret Santa Postal Service, the ability of experiential to drive talkability and business impact is huge.

Getting it right requires the right combination of creative, location, timing and talent to produce something that will really resonate. But crack the code and your experience can fuel social feeds and fandoms long after the event has finished.

I can’t wait to see what Q4 brings. Just don’t mention the Oasis tickets yet, not that I’m bitter or anything…