How big is the fandom market?

92% of people identify as a fan of something, and half of U.S. consumers say they've bought from a brand for the first time because it partnered with a fandom they already belonged to. That's most of the addressable market for any consumer brand.

At Hasbro, we gave Star Wars and Marvel fans a way to keep participating in a story they already loved. We built the same logic into the Madden and NCAA Football franchises at EA SPORTS: the fandom around football already existed, and our role was to let them experience it.

New research from Publicis Media Data Intelligence backs up what that experience taught me: exclusivity, early access and VIP treatment now drive more purchase behavior than discounts and points. Acquisition still matters. You need new customers finding the brand for the first time. But most consumer companies fund top-of-funnel reach far out of proportion to what they put behind the fans already invested in them.

I run Superfan Brands, a fractional CMO practice helping consumer product companies turn casual buyers into passionate, repeat customers by building the fan loyalty that drives lifetime value. Reach out if you want to learn more about turning your existing fans into your biggest growth lever.