Fan Base Research Articles

Boundary Objects at Play in the World's Greenest Football Club

ABSTRACTIn the face of increasing environmental and societal pressures, organizations are gradually moving away from merely reducing their detrimental effects toward making positive impacts. One sizeable sector of economic activity, that is frequently overlooked, is that of sport, of which football is the largest in terms of economic value, fan base and global cultural influence. It is only relatively recently that outliers in the football industry have transitioned from being purely profit‐motivated to being both socially and environmentally aware. This transition is challenging since it is being undertaken within the often aggressively masculine environment, as well as the deep‐seated socio‐historical origins and contexts of the individual clubs and the sport as a whole. One such outlying football club is Forest Green Rovers which appears to have navigated this journey successfully. However, research has yet to understand “how” this has been achieved. This study addresses this gap through a 4‐year examination of the social and environmental initiatives of Forest Green Rovers. This lower‐league “club on the hill” is globally recognized for its novel approaches and solutions. Through examining the various Boundary Objects that aid in uniting disparate social groups in order to effect considerable changes to the “match day experience” and to stakeholders' consumption behaviors, it explains how their pragmatic, syntactic, and semantic functions combine to create an accepted suite of socially and environmentally beneficial initiatives.

How do celebrities enhance their image through luxury brand endorsements in the era of fan economy? Taking Jackson Wang as an example for LV

With the popularity of social media and the Internet, fan economy has gradually become an important force to promote the development of the entertainment industry and luxury market, playing an important role in celebrity endorsement of luxury brands. As public figures, celebrities have a highly contagious image and influence among their fan base. The love and support of fans bring considerable market returns to the brand, while also deepening fans' love and recognition of celebrities. This emotional connection based interaction further consolidates the celebrity's position in the hearts of fans, enhances their overall image, and makes endorsements more persuasive. Luxury brands are a symbol of status and a guarantee of quality, attracting the attention of global consumers with their unique brand value, exquisite craftsmanship, and high-end positioning. The selection of their spokespersons is particularly crucial. Celebrity endorsement of luxury brands is undoubtedly a win-win choice. When partnering with luxury brands, not only can it bring increased exposure and market share to the brand, but it can also further enhance the image and status of celebrities, laying a more solid foundation for their future development.

PROMOTION OF INDONESIAN WOMEN JAZZ MUSICIANS WITH E-ZINES: STRATEGIES AND BEST PRACTICES

Apart from being an education city, Malang City is famous for educational tourism. The city of Malang has an interesting place that can be a reference for studying the history, development and variety of music in the country, namely the Indonesian Music Museum (MMI) which is located which holds a collection of more than 26,000 musical works. This museum is the only music museum in the country. The obstacle encountered by MMI as a service partner is the limited museum promotional content uploaded on digital platforms. So far, the content usually produced is limited to museum collections, such as collections of cassettes, vinyl, and books about musicians as well as photos of activities. This paper explores the use of e-zines as a strategic tool for promoting Indonesian women jazz musicians, focusing on effective strategies and best practices for maximizing their impact. The study examines how e-zines, leveraging their multimedia capabilities and interactive features, can provide a dynamic platform for showcasing the talent and achievements of these artists. By analyzing various case studies and successful examples, the paper identifies key strategies such as engaging storytelling, high-quality content production, and targeted audience outreach. These strategies are crucial for enhancing visibility, building a dedicated fan base, and fostering greater appreciation for Indonesian women in the jazz genre. In addition to outlining effective promotional tactics, the paper delves into best practices for e-zine development and distribution. It emphasizes the importance of consistent content updates, professional presentation, and integration with social media channels to maximize reach and engagement. The findings offer valuable insights for e-zine creators, music promoters, and the artists themselves, providing a comprehensive framework for leveraging digital platforms to support and elevate the profiles of Indonesian women jazz musicians. This approach not only aids in the individual advancement of these artists but also contributes to the broader recognition and growth of Indonesia’s jazz scene on the global stage.

Analyzing the Impact of Social Media on Sports Marketing

The study's findings demonstrate the substantial social media's effects on sports marketing strategies. First of all, by enabling direct and instantaneous communication between sports teams and their fan base, social media networks have entirely transformed fan involvement. Sports marketers may use tools like live streaming, fan forums, and social media campaigns to foster a sense of community, encourage fan participation, and create unique experiences that boost fan loyalty are now powerful instruments for brand-building in sports marketing. Sports companies may showcase their principles, improve their brand messaging, and create interesting material that appeals to their target audience by utilising Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

NEV Marketing Strategy – Take Xiaomi Automobile as An Example

The Xiaomi SU7 has emerged as one of the most renowned technological products over the past few months. Xiaomi's success is not only confined to the digital realm; it has also achieved significant market penetration. This is undoubtedly attributed to Xiaomi's strategic approach; however, there seems to be a dearth of analysis pertaining to these strategies and recommendations. Therefore, through the perusal of relevant documents, this paper aims to elucidate how Xiaomi has captured the market and summarize the potential lessons they could learn from companies such as Tesla. The research reveals that Xiaomi excels in leveraging its fan base while employing a scarcity marketing strategy. Another noteworthy aspect is Xiaomi's maintenance of a favorable reputation. These strategies have enabled Xiaomi to swiftly acquire market share. Nevertheless, the Xiaomi SU7 still exhibits certain shortcomings, particularly in terms of its technology. To mitigate this, Xiaomi needs to persist in investing in technological advancements and capitalize on its strengths.

The Japanese Anime One Piece Drives Chinese Teenagers to Engage in Cross-border Consumption of Its Anime Peripherals

As One Piece has evolved into a global cultural phenomenon, particularly resonating with a strong fan base in China, it has become increasingly essential to delve into the underlying factors driving Chinese teenagers’ cross-border consumption. This exploration is particularly relevant within the broader context of globalization and the rapid growth of digital commerce. This study investigates the impact of the Japanese anime One Piece on the cross-border consumption behavior of Chinese teenagers, with a particular focus on their purchase of anime peripheral products. Through a combination of questionnaires and interviews, this study employs thematic analysis to decipher the potential factors driving this behavior. The findings suggest that Chinese adolescents are motivated to purchase One Piece by several factors, including the convenience and accessibility of international shopping, the allure of unique, rare, and collectible merchandise, and the symbolic status conferred by the high prices of cross-border products. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the cross-cultural consumption patterns prevalent among Chinese adolescents.

Marketing Strategies for Chinese Smartphone Brands to Compete with iPhone

Chinese cell phone brands face increasing competition at home and abroad, especially from the dominance of the foreign brand iPhone. The competitive pressure on these brands has intensified against the backdrop of U.S. sanctions on Chinese mobile chips. This study examines the marketing strategies of leading Chinese brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and OPPO to cope with this competitive landscape. The study examines how these brands have successfully entered and expanded into overseas markets through case studies and data analysis. The findings show that these brands have adopted strategies such as catering to specific consumer needs, utilizing low prices to attract consumers with limited budgets, increasing brand awareness, and exploring new international markets. Notably, Huawei’s patriotic marketing strategy brings both benefits and risks, while OPPO’s use of brand partnerships is also a noteworthy marketing approach. The study concludes that while the iPhone maintains a stable market share and loyal fan base in China, Chinese brands must adopt a differentiation strategy to avoid direct competition with Apple. This requires focusing on unique value propositions, such as superior affordability, innovative features, or tailored marketing approaches, to secure a more diverse and resilient market position.

Analyzing the Commercial Success of the Film Barbie

Abstract: The movie "Barbie" was released globally in 2023 and has garnered a large fan base worldwide, achieving significant artistic and commercial success. This article focuses on analyzing the reasons behind "Barbie's" commercial success, primarily covering the global influence of the Barbie IP, its alignment with current pop culture trends, the feminist core of the film, and aspects of its production, including the cast, music, set design, and scenery. Through this analysis, the article confirms Barbie's success in the global box office market. The success of "Barbie" has resonated with a wide range of social groups and has encouraged the spread of feminism. The social impact of "Barbie" is substantial enough to leave a mark on the milestone of film production for the movie and its production team. This commercially successful film with a feminist core is also set to spark a wave of thought in Hollywood and worldwide, encouraging and promoting the flourishing of feminism and feminist films.

Research On Marvel's Marketing Model: An Analysis of Digital Marketing and Synergistic Effect

Marvel Studios occupies a significant position in the global entertainment industry. Its success is attributed not only to its film content but also to its unique marketing strategies. This paper aims to analyze Marvel's digital marketing model and the synergistic effects across different media. Through case studies of Marvel Studios' marketing strategies, this paper explores its practices and achievements in social media, content marketing, and cross-platform collaboration. Furthermore, this paper examines relevant market data and user feedback, comparing Marvel's marketing model with other well-known brands through comparative analysis. The research finds that Marvel has successfully established a strong brand influence and a loyal fan base through precise digital marketing and efficient media synergy. This paper will help other enterprises understand how to use digital marketing and synergies to enhance brand value and market competitiveness, demonstrating the effectiveness of Marvel's digital marketing strategies in developing brand cohesion and achieving high returns.

Research on the Impact of Social Media on Brand Cognition and Consumer Behavior

In today's rapidly developing internet age, everyone's life is inseparable from the presence of the internet. Nowadays, social media exists as a new form of entertainment in people's lives. Through mobile phones or computers, consumers can easily obtain brand information and evaluations of new products from various self-media, forming new perceptions. This article will use a comprehensive approach to study how media attract people and change their perceptions. The final research reveals that some major manufacturers attract fan groups by releasing videos related to current hot topics, adapting to internet trends, and actively interacting with fans to build close relationships and customer loyalty. Additionally, sponsoring leagues and collaborating with internet celebrities are also important methods they use to enhance their brand image and establish their fan base. The study on the impact of social media on brand perception and consumer behavior shows that social media plays a significant role in shaping consumer perceptions of brands and influencing consumer behavior. Social media is also highly flexible, allowing for targeted reporting and introductions of specific products to achieve desired branding effects. The research also reveals how some media combine new factors to expand their fan base, providing directions for future academic research.

Winning Seats: Contingency Selling in Markets with Limited Capacity and Diverse Preferences

This paper examines an emerging pricing model, contingency selling, for markets where the product is sold in advance with attribute uncertainty and capacity constraint. A typical example is tournament ticket sales for sports events where it is uncertain whether a particular team will appear in the game. The model enables the firm to sell tickets in a contingent fashion, i.e., some tickets will be valid only if a certain team gets into the game. When consumers (fans) have sufficiently different preferences for different products (games with different teams), selling these “contingent tickets” better matches the price with the willingness-to-pay of particular consumer segments (fans of specific teams). Exploiting state-based price discrimination and belief heterogeneity, contingent tickets generate a higher margin per seat than the traditional way of selling general tickets, especially when there are supply constraints. We further show that contingency selling continues to be advantageous in the presence of secondary markets where consumers purchase tickets in advance but can trade tickets once they know which team will be in the game. We extend our model to examine the impacts of consumer optimism bias and fan base asymmetry. Finally, we compare contingency selling with alternative selling mechanisms to demonstrate the robustness of our results and illustrate the situations where this new selling model is more (or less) advantageous.

What drives crowdfunding intentions of artist-entrepreneurs? – Evidence from Norway

Crowdfunding has been proclaimed as a new fundraising channel offering multiple benefits to artist-entrepreneurs, yet its use has been surprisingly underwhelming. The study examines the determinants of artist-entrepreneurs’ intentions to use crowdfunding in fundraising for their projects. It does so by suggesting and testing a model combining classical antecedents of intentions adopted from the theory of planned behaviour (i.e., attitudes (ATT), subjective norms (SUBN), perceived behaviour control (PBC), and self-efficacy (SELE)), and aspects specific to creative and artistic work (i.e., conventionality of creative work and the size of existing fanbase (FAB)). The analysis employs survey data collected from artist-entrepreneurs in Norway. Findings show that while ATT towards crowdfunding and SUBN are positively associated with crowdfunding intentions, SELE and PBC are not. Moreover, non-conventionality of creative work and FAB are positively associated with SELE and PBC, though they are not significantly associated with ATT and SUBN. These results remain stable even when controlling for sub-sectoral affiliations of artists based on the type of creative work they do.

Maintaining Business During Covid-19 Pandemic Through Social Media: A Content Analysis of Indonesian Football Club Instagram Account

Indonesia has become the largest football industry with a huge fan base. Football continues to become a profitable brand and generates extraordinary profits, considering that football has a wide and large market share. As a brand, many football clubs have realized the power of branding in marketing clubs outside the club's local market through branding strategies carried out into content on social media. Currently, social media has become a popular and effective new media in the branding strategy of a football club. Their Instagram account has gained millions of followers in recent years, creating an effective medium for sales and promotion. Many Indonesian big brands agree to sponsor the club as a way to promote their products as well. However, the global pandemic hit from March 2020 to August 2021, and there was a long hiatus for football matches, considering the branding activity of a football club is very dependent on the passing of matches in a competition. Football matches become the 'main product' that attracts the attention of fans and sponsors. Due to this catastrophe, how can football clubs in Indonesia maintain business during the COVID-19 pandemic through Instagram content? Using a semi-structured interview with internal parties of a big football club in Indonesia, this study generates some practical summaries and implications on how to maintain business during the COVID-19 pandemic. The result shows the significant influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the content analysis of the Football Club in Indonesia through Instagram. Keywords: COVID-19, football, content analysis, social media, Instagram.

The Interplay Between Digital Artifacts and Value Creation in the Ecosystem Design

Since Satoshi Nakamoto's first publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008, blockchain based technologies has gradually permeated various aspects of our lives. From the emergence of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to the development of platforms such as Ethereum, and the rise of phenomena like NFTs and Fan Tokens, the impacts of this technology has been diverse. While speculation surrounding these innovations persists, there exist successful use cases that have breathed new life into industries and enhanced customer interaction with established brands. One such domain where this is evident is the sports industry. Historically, sports teams, particularly football clubs, have sought avenues to capitalize on their fan base, aiming to diversify revenue streams. The advent of Fan Tokens has facilitated this endeavour, allowing teams to monetize fan engagement effectively. Consequently, an exploratory study comprising multiple case analyses was undertaken to examine how digital artifacts, exemplified by Fan Tokens, contribute to value creation within an ecosystem, fostering innovation and monetization for sports enterprises. The findings of this study elucidate the correlation between the characteristics of digital artifacts and the sources of value creation within an ecosystem. Furthermore, they underscore how these characteristics catalyse the formation of such ecosystems, thus propelling innovation and revenue generation within the sports industry.

The Influence of Brand Personality, Supporter Trust, Supporter Satisfaction Against Supporter Commitment (Empirical Study: Fans of The Indonesian National Football Team)

Sport, particularly football, is a field with a vast fan base, where the loyalty and commitment of fans play a crucial role in a team's success. A football team functions much like a brand, and similar to any product or service, fans have specific criteria that drive their support and commitment to their favorite team. This research aims to analyze the factors that shape fan commitment, enabling football teams to better cater to their supporters' expectations. The study specifically examines variables such as Brand Personality, Supporter Commitment, Supporter Trust, and Supporter Satisfaction. The primary objective is to identify the key factors that are essential for building a strong commitment among football fans towards their beloved teams. The research adopts a quantitative approach, targeting a sample size of at least 100 participants. Data was collected through online questionnaires, and the analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via SmartPLS 3.0, assessing both the outer and inner models. The findings reveal that the Brand Personality of the Indonesian National Football Team has a positive and significant impact on Supporter Trust, Supporter Commitment, and Supporter Satisfaction. These results imply that by understanding and enhancing the brand personality, football teams can effectively foster greater trust, commitment, and satisfaction among their fans, leading to a stronger and more loyal supporter base.

Scholars as political influencers: celebrity, social media and political movements in Thailand

ABSTRACT The early twenty-first century witnessed a significant surge in democratisation movements against unjust dictatorships worldwide. In Thailand, political protests across the nation have captured considerable attention in recent years, primarily led by students and young people advocating for democratic reforms, with support from scholars and professionals. Despite this, studies of Thai politics have largely overlooked the role played by Thai scholar celebrities. While some critics have examined the rise of influencers in the online era, few have contextualised them within the political sphere. This article aims to address these gaps by elucidating the concept of celebrity culture within the political arena. The paper comprises three main sections. The first section delves into the notion of celebrity, celebrity culture, and, more specifically, scholar celebrities. Following this, a concise overview of the Thai socio-political landscape is provided, with particular emphasis on the ongoing political conflict dating back to 2006. The third and final section scrutinises Thai scholars as political influencers, exploring their relationship with and contribution to the Thai political movement. Additionally, it investigates the distinctive characteristics of these social media political influencers compared to traditional media influencers, particularly regarding their interactions with their fan bases. Contrary to prevailing beliefs regarding the negative ramifications of celebrity and fame, this study posits that scholar celebrities, irrespective of public agreement or dissent, serve to spotlight specific issues and instigate public discourse or national dialogue, thereby conferring a vital advantage to political movements.

Multiple Identities as Buffer or Catalyst? An Investigation of Psycho-Behavioral Effects of Sports Fans’ Exposure to Abusive Social Media Content

ABSTRACT Sports, traditionally pregnant with aggression and violence, are now a breeding ground for online abuse, where toxicity and malicious campaigns on social media have even afflicted national sports role models together with their huge fan base. Drawing on an online survey of 917 Chinese volleyball enthusiasts, this study investigated the psycho-behavioral outcomes of sports fans’ social media exposure to abusive messages about their idols through the lens of rejection-(dis)identification theory. Findings indicate that fans’ subjective frequency of negative social media exposure is significantly negatively associated with their sport-related well-being but has no direct connection with their offline sport engagement. The study particularly delves into the mediating roles of fans’ multiple identities, namely sport identity as a competitive mediator and national identity as a complementary mediator. Furthermore, with multi-group structural equation modeling and mediation analyses on gender sub-groups, gender differences were determined such that male fans, compared with female fans, were more likely to marshal their identity capital, which effectively enhanced their well-being and participation in sports. By linking classic theoretical propositions, this study offers a nuanced understanding of the sociopsychological consequences of online abuse in sports for ordinary social media users, contributing to both theoretical insights and practical implications.

Penerapan Text-To-Speech pada Aplikasi Novel Berbasis Multiplatform

The development of technology and easy access to the internet has affected reading habits, with digital novel platforms becoming popular as an alternative to reading. However, novelists face obstacles in publishing their works, due to fierce competition in the publishing industry. The proposed solution is to build a multiplatform application system as a platform for novelists to publish their works using the Laravel API. The development method used is Waterfall, which consists of five stages of development. This application will provide features that facilitate interaction between novelists and readers, such as likes, comments, and uniquely there is a feature to listen to novels via voice for users who prefer to listen rather than read, with a text-to-speech system. In addition, the app allows novelists to build a stronger fan base. This research aims to provide a practical and efficient platform for novelists to write, edit and publish their works online through the features provided in the application. System testing was carried out using the System Usability Scale (SUS) method to get a score of 79.5 including the Good category with grade scale B. The programming language used in the development of this application is Flutter, which allows the creation of multiplatform applications with responsive and consistent performance on various devices.

A Digital Archaeology of Early Hispanic Film Culture: Film Magazines and the Male Fan Reader

As a sociologically-oriented study, this project contributes to an archaeology of cinema fandom broadly, and early Spanish fan culture specifically, by spotlighting male readers of popular film magazines. Taking as an exploratory case study reader interactivity with the magazine Popular Film, analysis of correspondence and published photos of readers participating in reader contests demonstrates that the magazine’s cinema fan base was composed of a strikingly large proportion of readers who were male and that these were ardent enthusiasts of celebrity consumer culture. This is a notable contradistinction to the widely-held idea of the star-struck female movie fan. Methodologically, in conducting this study we reflect on the challenges of digital approaches to historical periodical research, where particular challenges are posed when working with magazines in a non-anglophone language, and when there are few baseline studies to rely on to guide and contextualize patterns picked up through strictly macro methods. We advocate for the affordances of a mixed macro-micro approach that combines distant reading with traditional textual studies of close reading. By adopting such a hybrid framework, digital methods provide new opportunities towards reconstructing profiles of magazine readerships and to unearth evidence of male movie fans in Spain.

ANALYSIS OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS IN SPORTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS

This paper explores key marketing strategies that have led to success in sports organizations worldwide. The focus is on analyzing the most successful marketing campaigns in sports, examining their fundamental elements and effects on branding, audience engagement, financial results, and social influence. Through thorough literature review and case studies, examples of sports campaigns that have become icons in the world of marketing have been identified. These examples span various sports disciplines and formats, from global sporting events like the Olympics to local sports teams. The analysis will focus on branding strategies, social media usage, sponsorships, as well as innovative approaches in audience interaction. Special emphasis will be placed on measurable outcomes of these campaigns, including increased fan base, sponsorship revenue, ticket and merchandise sales, and impact on social awareness and engagement. By analyzing the success data of these campaigns, the study explores how marketing strategies have influenced the transformation of sports organizations and the development of sports marketing as a key factor in sports business. Through this study, the aim is to provide deeper insights into how sports organizations can effectively use marketing strategies to achieve their goals, increase revenue, and build lasting relationships with their audience. These insights will be valuable for sports organization managers, marketing professionals, and anyone interested in sports business and marketing.