Who runs the world? FANS! Entertainment experiences and events are all about the fans, or at least they should be.  For brands, it’s not as simple as saying “We want to create a trending event.” Brands have to lean into what fandoms want, how they would dream up their ideal experience, and execute it perfectly. That’s why they hire us: experiential marketers. Professionals in crafting one-of-a-kind fan experiences, destined for human connection and rooted in entertainment. To avoid major event faux pas, experiential agencies dive deep into the world of Stans - or face the wrath of online haters. (Shall we remind you of a certain candy factory-themed movie event that marketed itself as an immersive experience and how quickly fans went to social media to share their unfiltered opinions? Or how about the mention of a certain music festival that served “cheese sandwiches” in styrofoam to-go containers?) 

Fans invest their time and money in these events and expect a return on the experience, so it’s our job to provide. “Stan Culture” fuels the entertainment industry, driving pop culture trends and flooding our social media pages. Thinking like a Stan is crucial for creating successful IRL fan experiences.  

We embrace the obsessed. We amplify our passions. We go all in, heart-eyed emoji, brain-exploding, and become the fanatical fan (if we aren’t one already, of course). 

We lean in hard on tools that most use to waste time. Social Media becomes our bible. We watch countless YouTube videos, share TikToks, create our own project-related Pinterest boards, and read deep into the throws of “X” to make sure we are thinking like authentic fans. Call it the method-acting version of designing experiences and events.

Recently, when creating an invite-only super-fan experience for YouTube and Olivia Rodrigo’s music video premiere of “Vampire”, we followed her fanbase online and their professional-level sleuthing. Her followers were quickly at work, trying to “decode” the meaning behind the new single. The conspiracy theories were already flying and we ate it all up! Because of the song title and knowing that Olivia herself was a Twilight movie superfan, fans online quickly got back into the Twi-Hard fandom like it was 2008.

The “Livies” social postings gave us genuine insights and inspired most of our easter egg moments throughout the live experience. Having the Fandom knowledge we gained from our research, we knew what specific colors were a huge part of the GUTS brand, how important it was to lean into the Twilight lore, and that Olivia herself, was heavily influenced by 90’s nostalgia. Combining all of these things with our event targets, we were able to develop the Stan-approved recipe for success.

But our experiences aren’t always curated to one entertainer, fandom, or genre. We often create spaces that live at festivals like Coachella or conventions like VidCon, where fans and influencers flock to see and be seen.  Each client presents the ever-familiar boundary of designing the most memorable spaces without blowing out oversaturated trends. Trends can be fleeting - and superfans can affect the swinging pendulum of what is cool and what isn’t in the blink of an eye. 

Stan culture is the invisible string that ties us all together. Whether you realize it or not, something in you is a Stan. Our fandoms are what we rely on to help us take a blank space and make it an enchanted activation. They are also where our own individual passions lie. We are the superfans of artists, games, and brands we get to design for – allowing us to fall even more in love with the work that we do. As fans of the event world, we are fearless in our pursuit to make every experience a labyrinth of memories. We know all too well that fans are the masterminds behind us living out our wildest dreams. And frankly, if you can’t read between these lines, then you’re on your own, kid. Because the stan culture is bigger than the whole sky.