Superfandom
Congratulations to ITP adjunct professor and alumna Zoe Fraade-Blanar on the release of her new book, Superfandom.
SUPERFANDOM: How Our Obsessions are Changing What We Buy and Who We Are
Announcing the release of a new book by ITP faculty member Zoe
Fraade-Blanar and co-author Aaron M. Glazer. Available in Hardcover,
eBook, and audiobook from W. W. Norton.
From the publisher:
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 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.
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.
On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393249956
Official Website: http://www.superfandombook.com
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Advance praise for Superfandom!
"Superfandom is the ultimate guide to making the most of the new
fan-based economy."
-Jonah Berger, professor at The Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania and best-selling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch
On
"[A]n insightful and entertaining look at the culture of fandom…Well
reasoned and engagingly written…Fascinating and more than a little
frightening."
-David Pitt, Booklist
"…no one understands how fans tick and what they can mean for a
business better than Zoe and Aaron."
-Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing
Without Organizations
"Recommended for companies who seek to create a successful brand, as
well as readers interested in the nature of fan culture."
–Barrie Olmstead, Library Journal
"Superfandom provocatively explores this evolving relationship―with a
dazzling number of examples―and describes what happens when fans don’t
just consume something but influence it as well."
-Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and
Popular Culture at Syracuse University