Events & Conferencing Company news South Africa

SA's first 'fan-building' conference for clever marketers

South Africa's first ever virtual 'fan-building' conference takes place online on 3 November.
SA's first 'fan-building' conference for clever marketers

Curated by HaveYouHeard’s head of Culture and editor of Snacks and @thisisin__, Brett Rogers, @thisisin__’s Fans webinar will provide clever marketers, entertainers and brand builders with the insights they need to adopt their strategies to future-proof their brands by tapping into engaged communities of brand fans.

Its quick-fire two-hour format features nine local and international speakers including Lauren Dallas from Future Females, Ryan McFadyen from HaveYouHeard, Bill Milhench from Treble UK, Angelique Kuiper from Resonance International, Mbali Ndhlovu, Martín Dueñas from LaLiga Tech, Ninel Lara Musson from Vth Season and Paul Machin from RedmenTV.

Among others, topics include ‘Brands need purpose’, ‘Turning fans into a community’, ‘Creating impactful brand/talent partnerships’, and ‘Generating ROI from technology through personalised fan experiences’.

There are a limited number of free tickets for Bizcom Fans. To gain access to these tickets click this link: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/191962-thisisin-fan-conference/#/, click 'Tickets' and enter the promo code BizComFans, for your 100% discount.

According to Rogers, in a few years from now, the strongest and most resilient brands will be those that have a fan base – not a customer base, not a consumer segment and not a demographic target sector.

“The paradigm shift brands need to make to thrive in the years ahead of them is from customer to fan, because the drivers of consumer behaviour are very different from the drivers of fan behaviour,” said Rogers.

“When a consumer needs a product, they will make their selection based on a reason that other competing brands can emulate. For example, the product they reach for may be the cheapest, or contains the highest percentage of natural ingredients, or it has attractive packaging, or is placed on the shelf where they don’t have to bend or rise on tiptoes to grab it.

“If those parameters change, or a competing product offers a lower price, more natural ingredients, more attractive packaging, or pays to be on that middle shelf, the consumer will switch brands.

“Not so with a fan. As Ben Milhench, one of our speakers, says: ‘Fans forgive, customers don’t’. A fan resonates with the brand, they care deeply about that brand and its wellbeing. A fan is loyal, and – even if the product behind the brand is more difficult to get or more expensive – they will buy that product because they love the brand and they want it to succeed.”

More importantly, according to Rogers, a fan is a part of a community – a consumer is not. This means that a fan will help you build the brand.

“A consumer or customer is only interested in the product, but a fan is interested in becoming a natural influencer for you, an organic influencer, a person who is trying to help the brand by converting other people into fans of the brand.

“The fact that a fan wants to belong to the brand community and will actively strive to grow that community not only means that brand building budgets go that much further with the fan doing a lot of the work for you, it means a more stable base of users who will ignore competitor attempts to convert them,” he said.

HaveYouHeard
HaveYouHeard is a communications agency immersed in culture to influence it. With 11 years' trading experience and offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and London, it uncovers unique insights to create innovative ideas that influence the audience by bringing the brands it partners with to the center of culture.
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