Cultivating Fandoms as an Entertainment Business Practice

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

Fandoms tend to be a thing when we're talking about franchises which tend to be what we find mostly in entertainment. Doesn't really matter the media be they books, music, comics, TV shows, movies, video games and even toys (that includes board games and trading card games). 

 

Regardless of what the target audience is, it's almost inconceivable not to imagine there being a community or some sort of collective of people who are loyal or have a stronger attachment to the franchise than the rest of the consumer or target demographic. 

 

Fandoms clearly are a boon to franchises since fans don't really need to be advertised to in order grab hold of the franchise's next iteration. Though some put more attention into their fanbases than others and some do better at reaping the benefits of having a fanbase than others. 

 

Here's where it can get interesting. You see, in theory, if a franchise were to somehow influence its fanbase to grow not only large but also robust -- and by robust I mean stable enough not to easily collapse in on itself when something goes wrong -- that should mean a greater number of clients at just the baseline. That's very much why I used the word "cultivate" in the title. You see, if there's a solid fanbase, there wouldn't be as much need to constantly advertise even if your focus is trying to get your consumer base to grow which can save a significant amount of money, can't it?

 

However, larger communities tend to be more unstable and I think the MLP Forums staff can attest to this so I do wonder how franchises have been getting involved with their fanbases to make sure they stay large instead of collapsing but also make it easier for new fans to settle in to ensure further growth? I think this is something that already happens to some extent but I just don't hear much of this getting talked about.

[I used to be a stranger 7,994]

Stability of a fan base is really a freak-coincidental balancing act between the creators and community that are formed around the product. There are a plethora of examples to examine.

 

Star Wars, Dr. Who, Harry Potter, Final Fantasy [square Enix], Twilight [stephanie Meyer's] and My Little Pony all fall in the same category to my mind, in that they all have fandoms which exist in enjoying and celebrating the work of Franchises which were created, but then incorporated (or were created by companies to begin with), and the "relationship" between the creator and the fan is very asymmetrical, in terms of population, and creative input power. This varies widely for being a good or bad thing.

 

Many web-originals (MS Paint Adventures, any Ask blog/tumblr, some Machinima series', Flash animation makers, etc.) have a much tighter communicative loop between creator and fans, but due to the lack of immense commercial and financial resources that these things lack, their community size is inextricably smaller than the former.

 

It is every author's dream-come-true to have fans who enjoy their work, are loyal to its creation process, and are willing to pay for it. But cultivating it? Well, that's the million dollar dilemma isn't it? If there was a scientific or practical method by which one could just generate reliable fandoms, Hollywood would steal to get it, and porn industries would likely kill to do the same. But as time has shown over and over again, there are a few things creators can always bank on: Audiences will always complain, their opinions are fickle, attention spans are short and impatient, and tastes always change. But for you reading this, don't take it personally.

 

"A person is smart. People are dumb, crazy, dangerous animals." - K, Men in Black.

Edited December 20, 2013 by Blue

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

 

 

It is every author's dream-come-true to have fans who enjoy their work, are loyal to its creation process, and are willing to pay for it. But cultivating it? Well, that's the million dollar dilemma isn't it? If there was a scientific or practical method by which one could just generate reliable fandoms, Hollywood would steal to get it, and porn industries would likely kill to do the same

Which gets me wondering, have any attempts at fandom cultivation in a scientific way been made by now? If so, are there any studies and such that can be accessed?

 

Communicating with any collective is a difficult thing. That'd be the equivalent to reading a person's every single thought -- even the subconscious ones, in fact. Yet somehow individuals normally talk to one another with adequate coherence. So far I have one idea as to how one might get an idea about what a fandom's or demographic's spirit might be like. Look at the artwork -- that is, the artwork that gets the highest levels of approval. Keep in mind, however, where you're looking because demographics tend to vary by place. DeviantArt, for example, has a different brony demographic than, say, Bronibooru.

 

So yeah, the starting point to thinking about cultivating a fandom would be to think about how to ensure a positive net growth of the fanbase over time and to do so reliably would require that the fanbase doesn't tear itself apart as it grows bigger and bigger. That's just what comes to my mind. Getting new people on board is a pretty well-established process by now, I'm sure but what about making sure people stay?

 

What I think helps is leadership in communities. Those who can't align themselves on their own can choose someone to align to and if there is good leadership, there should be less disarray. It's definitely not a silver bullet because should one leader kind-of-person were to get into a conflict with another, that could definitely spark a brawl. Question is... just who would these leaders be...?

[I used to be a stranger 7,994]

What you're sort of getting towards is Civil Theory and the foundations by which society exists. I'm going to take a wild stab and say you'd probably enjoy anthropology. (The scientific field, not the fan-fiction.)

 

The problem with trying to scientifically cultivate (generate, create, etc. In this instance, they would all be synonymous.) a fandom, is the fact that fandoms exist because of fans. Fans exist because various people have various tastes, which may or may not overlap with each other, forming a network of friendships or similar relationships and acquaintances, with various colors of a like-mind towards the things which they have taste for.

 

Due to the fact that these opinions [or tastes,] will vary widely depending upon the gender, nationality, age, social background, favorite colour etc. of the people in question, it's probably theoretically impossible to scientifically examine the phenomena of how fandoms come into being by virtue of the fact that the circumstances from which they come are not repeatable. (Not unlike miracles.)

 

When people work hard at making something people will enjoy and use scientific data to make people do something, believe something, want something or think about something, this is either known as Advertising, or Propaganda.

[Freewave 1,145]

Gravity Falls and Adventure Time are 2 shows where i think there's ample devout support for both shows but i highly doubt that the fannon is there to sustain and allow the creative endeavors that it takes to make a fandom large and self-sustaining.

 

But the fannon is really what makes MLP an amazing and unique fandom. FimFiction is massive. So is the art, meme's, and we have a dedicated larger rule 34 community bigger then just about any american series. We have plenty of social presence on tumblr via Ask blogs and fan comics and a massive 1000+ musician scene (with only about 170 people over 1,000 ytube subs to be fair). We have bronycons all over the map now, loads of merchandise, crossover with anime and furries, and a laissez-faire relationship with hasbro to directly sample the show that gives us a lot of special advantages that other fannons don't necessarily have.
.

It's this creative use of fannon in our community in all aspects that makes us unique and really on par with Star Wars, Star Trek, and Touhou even if our population numbers don't necessarily match. If MLP can continue to grow (get new people as people get bored and leave) then that's really the decider of it this fades away or continues to flourish.

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

What you're sort of getting towards is Civil Theory and the foundations by which society exists. I'm going to take a wild stab and say you'd probably enjoy anthropology. (The scientific field, not the fan-fiction.)

I know what anthropology is

The fanfic is only something I've heard about by name.

The thing is, in my own words, I'm looking at human behavior and I think about certain things in the context of what I've picked up so far which isn't too much; a bunch of articles on Swarm Theory, the material presented by Dr. Gabor Maté, developmental psychologist Gordon Neufeld and biology professor Robert Sapolsky in lectures found freely on youtube.

 

This is something kinda on the sidelines to my main career path which is in electrical power engineering.

 

The problem with trying to scientifically cultivate (generate, create, etc. In this instance, they would all be synonymous.) a fandom, is the fact that fandoms exist because of fans. Fans exist because various people have various tastes, which may or may not overlap with each other, forming a network of friendships or similar relationships and acquaintances, with various colors of a like-mind towards the things which they have taste for.

 

Due to the fact that these opinions [or tastes,] will vary widely depending upon the gender, nationality, age, social background, favorite colour etc. of the people in question, it's probably theoretically impossible to scientifically examine the phenomena of how fandoms come into being by virtue of the fact that the circumstances from which they come are not repeatable. (Not unlike miracles.)

You're right about people coming from innumerably different environments which makes analyzing the birth of a fandom, especially in the context of the persons involved, just impractical. However, this isn't how I've been framing it. My attention hasn't been going into how fandoms can be created as I assume that is something that happens naturally. Instead, my attention has been going into how fandoms can be sustained. That's the real goal; sustainability.

 

In my last post, I mentioned leadership as a means of maintaining cohesion. It's not meant to happen forcefully by any means of course but instead through attachment or cohesion. As long as those people stay within the fandom then probably they will continue to be loyal to what is it the fandom is about. As for how cohesion is achieved, I've been thinking about it in terms of meeting certain human needs. Needs such as belonging, mattering, significance...

 

When people work hard at making something people will enjoy and use scientific data to make people do something, believe something, want something or think about something, this is either known as Advertising, or Propaganda.

Hm, that's the caveat, isn't it? This could indeed turn into a form of enslavement. Like with those skinner boxes in video games (MMOs especially). Pathological attachments can form... I don't see that being pretty.

[Scootalove 10,689]

I think when you put a lot of effort into something, it will start to expand and grow to the point of a large community being formed in which they are centered around the one thing that they enjoy and have a common interest with other people. I think the fandoms can generate a lot of attention from the product that they enjoy a lot, and they can learn from each other on welcoming new members if they share the same interest. They generate a lot of money especially with the company of the said product.

[I used to be a stranger 7,994]

This post has been redacted by the author.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Blue