How brands can turn passive audiences into fandoms, according to The Sims, Oreo and more

AI permeated through this year’s Advertising Week New York, despite a theme that urged attendees to “Give AI a Break” — as in, step away from the tech for a bit to embrace the people at the center of the industry.  

That people mantra was evident in the topic of “fandoms,” as gaming, sports and music brand leaders discussed how to convert passive audiences into real, committed consumers. 

“A lot of brands assume they have fans, but if the brand is leading the conversation, that’s not a fandom, that’s a passive audience,” said Calvin Innes, consultant strategy director for Innes Consulting, during a Monday panel. “An audience wants to consume something, but a fandom consumes together.” 

 “Togetherness” is what brands can harness, experts said. It’s not just about consuming, but also creating together as a community: “People want a sense of belonging and that’s what fandoms provide,” said Jon Hickey, director of product marketing of Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast, makers of the Magic: The Gathering card game. 

Tiara Puglisi, head of global brand marketing at Electronic Arts for The Sims, has learned to take a back seat rather than try to manage the games’ community of fans. She said what the fans create is six times more than what her team delivers — it’s essentially a vast marketing team.  

“The big shift for The Sims was empowering fans to create with us,” she said. “We went from a place of community management to understanding their motivations and enabling them to create alongside us.” 

Hickey echoed that sentiment during a separate panel: “It’s easy to think that we sell cards, but we sell everything around the cards: immersion into the worlds, collecting, community. Half the fun is the gameplay; half is telling people about the experience. So the creator ecosystem has exploded in gaming, and we’re supporting that.”  

Nostalgia and authenticity are also key to understanding fandoms. For the former, it’s not something that can be easily faked, said David Palmer, executive creative director at Thinkingbox, on the same panel with Hickey.  

“In gaming and entertainment, fans are open to taking risks if it’s something that they connect with on a deep level, like a deep cut,” he said.   

As for authenticity, it’s not just about sponsoring an event or creator, or slapping a logo on a product. Oreo understood this when it partnered with the Korean band BTS. 

“From the first meeting, we said this wouldn’t be a brand endorsement, it wouldn’t be conventional,” said Eugenia Zalis, global brand and marketing vice president at Oreo, on another panel on Monday. “Everything was developed in a way that wasn’t about putting content out in the world, but putting experiences out that fans could engage with.” 

That said, nearly half of music listeners view a brand more favorably if they sponsor a music event, especially if there is a benefit like a giveaway involved, according to Luminate data shared during that panel. 

The Luminate report defined music “super fans” as the 20% of music listeners that engage with music in over five different ways. Further, 2% of an artist’s monthly listeners on Spotify drive 18% of streams, according to Luminate — showing just how powerful a super fandom is for an artist. 

“If you’re tapping into a super fandom, you have to do it in a way that adds value,” said Molly Bailin, senior vice president of music marketing for The Team, during the same panel. “It’s a value exchange.”