Published June 24
If this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is any indication, it’s becoming clear to marketers that “fandom” is core to Gen Z’s their identity — and that it can inform the marketing strategies and partnerships that create brand devotion.
As Matt Strauss, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, said onstage: “Something I’ve noticed this Cannes is that no matter what industry, the conversation always seems to come back to culture.”
It was a sentiment echoed by the likes of Dentsu, video game company Square Enix, The Traitors host Alan Cumming and musician Questlove.
It’s also born out in the data: An Ogilvy Consulting report noted that half of Gen Z say that their fandoms “help them make sense of the world.” And 81% of Gen Z and Gen Alpha said that they prefer to be identified by their interests, from movies and music to sports and internet culture.
Fandoms tend to coalesce around storytelling that endure the test of time. Whether it’s the sprawling, interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the resurgence of The New York Knicks after a decades-long drought, nearly any brand can learn a thing or two from the way enduring narratives shape identity. But that’s also more difficult at a time when attention is so fragmented.
Jiro Murayama, creative producer at Dentsu, put it simply during a Cannes presentation this week: “When you design it well, even a minute becomes something people want to return to.”
He pointed to Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket as an example, a mobile app version of the Pokémon card game that he said has been downloaded over 200 million times in 18 months.
He later put a finer point on it: “It’s not about what we create, it’s about how we enrich the moment.”
Fandom rises as AI trust dips
As their sense of fandom has intensified, so too has Gen Z’s negative feelings toward AI in the last year, according to a recent Gallup study.
Coincidence? Maybe. But fandom demands authenticity, perhaps even more so in the age of AI. It’s why Lee Warner, head of branded content at City Football Group, previously wrote for The Current that brands should be careful not to “chase” fans.
“Fans don’t connect with logos or performance stats, they connect through culture. They want to see the human side of brands and the shared passions they can unlock,” Warner wrote in an op-ed.
“Music, gaming or fashion, for example, can be more powerful points of connection than traditional endorsements. Brands should ask how they can authentically align with the cultural worlds their fans care about… But always be mindful of not crashing the party with content that feels inauthentic or try-hard — audiences will see it coming a mile off.”
Making authentic connections
Of course, “authenticity” is easier said than done.
During SEG3 last week in London — another conference, specifically about the intersection of sports, entertainment and gaming — Dentsu’s Yoshi Nakano said that marketers should consider questions like: Which intellectual property (IP) fits your brand and audience? Which fan communities will reward authentic engagement?
To help answer those, he noted that brands should keep three things in mind about cultural relevance: How visible an IP is; how deeply it connects to fans’ values; and its ability to set cultural trends.
“For brands trying to reach audiences who actively shape taste, acknowledging that distinction is the whole game,” SEG3 wrote in a blog post after the event.
It’s admittedly a lot for brands to adapt to. But ultimately, NBCU’s Strauss may have put it best at Cannes Lions: “Audiences today don’t just want to watch; they want to participate.”
