Recreating Fantasy: Fan culture in fan-made merchandise and advertising on Chinese social media

Abstract

Fandom has long been recognized as a dynamic and participatory culture. In the context of Chinese social media Weibo, this study investigates the fan-made merchandise and advertising landscape within the pop culture fan community, and explores how fan producers and consumers interact in the creation, promotion, and acquisition of fan-made merchandise by delving into the intricacies of product design, advertisement composition and its impact on audience feedback. With data collected from text analysis, the result of regression and statistic results show that fan producers exhibit a strong preference for merchandise featuring specific character images, emphasizing the ornamental aspects of their creations. Advertisement posts on social media serve as platforms for artistic self-expression, while the consumers prioritize concise product information. This dynamic interaction fosters collaborative value creation in the modern fan community, offering participants a chance to modify and add onto the original content as well as construct their own identity.