Fandom isn't a noun, it's a verb. Fans create; they engage; they discuss. From comics to clothing, boundaries between fans and creators are blurring, and in this new fandom-based economy, it's clear: consumers may buy a product, but it is fans who can make or break it. An essential guide to the fan-fuelled future, Superfandom explores the explosion of fandom and its transformative impact on culture and business. In chapters centred on illuminating case studies, experts Zoe Fraade-Blanar and Aaron Glazer delve into the history, sociology and psychology of fan culture, and how it can change the way business works. With them we visit Disneyland, drink Frida Kahlo branded margaritas, meet the fans who rebelled when Polaroid discontinued its film, and find out how fan-modding of Grand Theft Auto adds value to the game. The internet allows direct access to this world: businesses can talk directly to their fans, hear their needs and desires, and react in real time. But while the benefits of this relationship can be huge, businesses that exploit or ignore fan bases do so at their peril. It can be very easy to get fan engagement wrong - as IKEA found out when it tried to shut down a fan site. Practical, investigative and reflective, Superfandom is a compelling and convincing exploration of the subject, and an indispensable guide to the brave new world of tech-fuelled fandom.

As fandom sheds its longtime stigmas of geekiness and hysteria, fans are demanding more from the celebrities and brands they love. Digital tools have given organizations—from traditional businesses to tech startups—direct, real-time access to their most devoted consumers, and it’s easy to forget that this access flows both ways. This is the new “fandom-based economy�: a convergence of brand owner and brand consumer. Fan pressures hold more clout than ever before as audiences demand a say in shaping the future of the things they love. In Superfandom, Zoe Fraade-Blanar and Aaron M. Glazer explain this new era of symbiosis. For producers, it can mean a golden opportunity: brands such as Polaroid and Surge, preserved by the passion of a handful of nostalgic fans, can now count on an articulate, creative, and, above all, loyal audience. Yet, the new economy has its own risks—it’s also easier than ever for companies to lose their audience’s trust, as Valve did when it tried to introduce a paid mod system for its Skyrim video game. Examining key cases that span a wide range of consumer markets, Fraade-Blanar and Glazer explain why some kinds of engagement with fans succeed and some backfire. Throughout, the authors probe fandom’s history, sociology, and psychology. From the nineteenth-century American Alice Drake, who bribed her way into the houses of her favorite European composers, to Hatsune Miku, the Japanese virtual celebrity whose songs are composed entirely by fans, the dynamics of fandom—the activities we perform to show we belong to a group of people with common interests—may be as old as culture itself. For groupies of financier Warren Buffet and enthusiasts of Cards Against Humanity alike, the consumer relationship has been transformed. Superfandom is an essential guide for those who care about, contribute to, and live in our rapidly expanding fan-driven economy.