“Fans display creative flexibility that a brand’s internal teams cannot”
I cannot tell you how many times my friends (who are fans) send me links to merch that just absolutely sucks. WHY? Try harder! Hire fans!
From Ana’s Substack, “Fans are their own first and best customer. They display creative flexibility that a brand’s internal teams cannot, and cultivate a following that guarantees continuity of output and a price premium on it. Brands’ job is to adopt fan behavior (be their own biggest fans!), and not to manage fans as a segment.”
Agreed.
”If Harry Styles came into the shop and apologized, would you accept it?”
I randomly bookmarked this post a couple months ago. It reports on the fact that there have been months-long pop-up lines in the East Village for Harry Styles’ concert in New York. A local bookshop owner, Bonnie, felt fed up and disrespected by the line management team and ended up getting arrested. The comments are quite divided. They ultimately come down to, “The Harry Styles pop-up and its line are obnoxious and unfair to the neighborhood and Bonnie crossed a line in the confrontation.”
Just another reminder that those who facilitate and plan for fans (line/event managers), aren’t the fan object themselves (Harry Styles) or anyone close to them. The article ends with Bonnie answering the question, “I would be interested in receiving an apology. Yes. But it wouldn't make my day. It wouldn't make my life.”
“I’m the biggest fan girl of all time”
My client, Caroline, sent this to me awhile ago and I kept forgetting to share my screenshots! My goal is that you all think of me and this newsletter when you see fan girl behavior out in the wild.
MYHA’LA x THERAPUSS with JAKE SHANE.
PS If there are typos or grammatical errors, my apologies. I am not a professional writer and I don’t use AI to write Huge Fan!
