FANDOM IS ABOUT PROXIMITY AND EMOTION MANAGEMENT

I am working with a client on writing a book about athlete branding. An incredibly interesting subject (and a very good book). Going back to the gladiators in ancient Rome and how athletes are the new marketing powerhouses. Because when you say athletes, you say fandom. Hence “Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans”. They call the act of consciously bringing people together through a shared endeavour a fanocracy: an organisation or person that honours fans and deliberately fosters meaningful connections among them.

Questions

Here are some questions:

• Have you reached a point where you expect the worst in the companies you do business with?
• Do you throw corporate statements that come in the mail out with the trash?
• Do you anticipate being taken advantage of?
• Do you ever assume that companies you do business with won’t respond quickly and that when they do, they either won’t be honest or will somehow manipulate the truth?
• Is there any company you are truly a fan of?

The experience economy

I am betting you can mention a very few. That is where the problem lies. We have moved away from only being transaction-based. When organisations set…