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| Image courtesy of Pixabay |
The ultimate fan is an immortal fan!
This past weekend, I attended the Good is the New Cool event in Los Angeles, an event that is based on the book by the same name. It was such an inspirational event with a lot of great speakers sharing stories of how they’re making an impact and fighting for change in a variety of social arenas, including child slavery, mental health, gun violence, bullying, the water shortage, plastic in the oceans, recidivism, and more. The stories were all emotional and amazing, but one that stood out for me, given the work I do, showcased the power of supporting your brand and being the ultimate fan.
I’ve written about raving fans before, starting with this post about the customer experience lifecycle, in which the ultimate experience yields raving fans. Other posts include:
Is Yours a Cult Brand?
Employees Can Be Raving Fans, Too!
Customer Experience: Marketing without Marketing
Why Bother Giving Great Service?
Do You Have a 12th Man Advantage?
Raving Fans vs. Fairweather Fans
What is the CX End Game?
Raving fans…
- want to see the brand succeed and grow
- are happy to provide feedback, good or bad, to ensure that happens
- are less price sensitive and can withstand price increases
- choose your brand over the competition
- can’t live without the brand, accept no substitutes
- are advocates; no, stronger: they are evangelists, happy to spread the word about your brand
- wear your brand, and want to show that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Tattoos, anyone?
- openly recruit new members to the community
- care about each other, want to help each other
- feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves (think “tribe”)
- require less support because they are more familiar with your products
- are more likely to be using several of your products/services, not just one
- wait in line – long lines, early morning lines – to buy your products
- elevate your brand, earning favorable placement in stores and more
The tattoos and the wearing of the brand were on my mind as I sat through a talk by Paco and Beto of social change agency Activista. They are the brains behind a movement called Immortal Fans, a campaign they created in 2013 for Sport Club Recife in Brazil. We all know that soccer fans are passionate, fanatical, and rabid. But they’ve gone beyond raving fans to becoming immortal fans. They are the ultimate fans. They are committed to being fans in life and in death. Forever fans.
Sport Club Recife wanted to use its power to do more, to do good. They asked fans to become what was coined “immortal fans,” to sign up to be organ donors and donate organs after they die so that their love of the club could live on in someone else’s body. What was at stake was a transplant wait list that saw only five or six patients getting much-needed organs per year. With this campaign, they increased organ donors by 54%; 66,000 fans had signed up to donate by the end of the second year of the campaign. As a result, the wait list dropped to almost zero; the following year, 28 patients received transplants.
I can’t do this justice. The video explains it best.
What an incredible movement!
Think your employees, customers, or fans would die to live for your brand?
Inspiration x Innovation = Impact. -Good is the New Cool
