Finding your own people: What do fans think?

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In a world where bad news seems to stack up daily, people are turning towards fandoms for solace, meaning and joy. These are places where people feel free to be themselves and pursue the things that make them feel good. Fandoms are nothing short of happiness factories.

What is a fandom, exactly? Put simply, it’s a subculture of fans characterised by feelings of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest.

As fandoms grow in size and power, learning more about and understanding their rules is key if brands are to engage authentically and additively. What better way to connect with an audience than through something they love?

BAMM conducted a global study to comprehend fandoms fully and help our clients engage effectively without detracting from the fan experience.

Our research approach was multifaceted, incorporating culture scraping, online conversation analysis of internet fandoms, expert interviews, ethnography ( 14 in-depth interviews and four groups across the US, UK and Spain), and a quantitative nationally representative survey of 1,000 fans, from across the US and UK.

We found a rich space in which people can pursue their interests without fear of judgement, experience belonging, and find meaning and joy. We began this project assuming that fandom was a new phenomenon, but our research quickly revealed otherwise. One of the first sci-fi conventions, Philcon (the Philadelphia Science Fiction Conference), was held in 1936. Fan behaviour – as we know it – is almost 100 years old, but, really, this behaviour is universal. Is coming together to celebrate your love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer really that different from any other pilgrimage?

Fandoms are often found almost by accident; 69% of fans came across fandom through a person in their life. While not everyone remains in every fandom they join, those who do stay often do so for the social aspect of it: one in two fans we surveyed said that fandoms provide them with a sense of community and belonging.

Shared histories and norms

Armed with this thinking, we delved further in our qualitative research, uncovering key commonalities across fandoms, regardless of their fan object.

All fandoms incorporate rituals (think of Liverpool Football Club singing You’ll never walk alone), have their own language (Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters), connect via quite subtle symbols (modes of dress), and have a shared history (‘growing up’ with Justin Bieber).

Each fandom has a doxa – a guiding set of principles that evolve as any other cultural rules do. This creates intricate rules and expectations that fans may not be able to easily write down as a set of commandments – which makes for shaky ground when brands want to engage. Consider the Ultimate Fight Championship, known for no-holds-barred fighting in metal cages, introducing the idea of slap fighting as a new sport – their fans were turned off entirely.

Of course, this can lead to toxicity within fandoms, which has been accelerated by online platforms.

While social media has enabled fandoms to flourish and grow faster than before, they also expose fans to much more negativity and toxicity, at scale.

Differences between the US and UK were subtle, but notable. Our US ethnographies were more emotionally open, with fans willing to share more.

They pointed out that fandoms were more open and accepting, and while some US fans considered themselves ‘outcasts’ as a result of their fandom, they leaned into this and celebrated it. They made it part of their personality and identity. As it was so linked to their sense of self, they were more critical of their fan object and probably more likely to leave a fandom if something didn’t align with their values.

In the UK, fans were more reserved. Despite being interviewed in veritable fan shrines, many felt they weren’t ‘true’ superfans, compared with the other people they knew.

There’s that self-deprecation!

As fandom in the UK seems to be more of an online pursuit, with fewer real-world events compared with the US, fans were a little less overtly enthusiastic.

Feeling more distant from their fandom, they were less likely to leave if something they didn’t like occurred, as their sense of self wasn’t closely tied to it.

Don’t veer off course

Our qual team faced some interesting challenges when it came to engaging with fans. We considered two approaches.

• Go into each interaction ‘knowing nothing’ and encourage people to share their knowledge with you.
• Do enough background research about a fandom to have at least a basic conversation and prove your worthiness.

On balance, both approaches worked, and the team was nimble enough to decide when to use what approach.

Another difficulty we encountered was how tough it can be to interview someone about something of which you’re already a fan. As a fellow fan, the natural inclination is to veer off course and start discussing minutiae and your own interests. More than once, the team had to rein themselves in to ensure we were able to find what we needed.

So where does that leave us? Fandoms are only growing stronger and more connected over time. For brands seeking to engage people in an inherently joyous space, nothing is better than fandom.

Those brands that choose to do so will need to ensure they do their research before entering.

Seeking to exploit a fandom without participating in it and adding to it authentically will be found out quickly, and punished severely.

Paul White is strategy director at BAMM.

This article was originally published in the October issue of Impact.