Study of Fans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Study of Fans - Essay Example Similar fan frenzy was visible when the latest book of Harry Potter series, 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' was launched in the first week of December 2008. What is quite amazing is, this fan frenzy is not limited to just one country or one region, but it crosses all boundaries from Europe to Asia. Angela Cerda, a resident of Temecula, Southwest California, was in seventh grade when she first started reading Harry Potter books and she still continues to enjoy reading this series while in third year of college. Cerda says2, "I read the first four books in the series in four nights, then I had to wait three years for the fifth one to come out, It's so strange to think that now I'm waiting for the last one." Similar loyalty or love is expressed by the fans of television serials, when they make sure that in order to watch their favourite television serial, they get their meetings postponed. Football is the game played by a large number of nations around the world. But the situation becomes quite different during the European cup and sometimes during the world cups etc. The intense rivalry leaves the fans to fight it out amongst themselves. Similarly, though cricket is played by a few nations around the world, yet the intense competition has developed a large number of fans, who often make it a point that they travel with their favourite team, wherever the team goes for their matches. This includes visits within the country or abroad. Often, team managements too encourages such fans and try to sponsor their visits abroad. The commitment of fans to their favourite personalities or products is indeed commendable and provides encouragement. But, it is equally true that such tactics are being used by marketing gurus to reach out to the maximum number of people around the world. Today we are living in a world of globalisation and liberalisation, which is marked by competition in almost all sectors. Therefore, in order to reach out to the maximum number of people or audience, the marketing department tries to explore all possible means to spread the word about the product. This includes highlighting special features of the product, comparisons with the existing reputed brands, and the devotion shown by the die-hard fans. If we take a look at the world around us, we can easily figure out the distinctive emphasis on advertising techniques in reaching out to the customer. The marketing communication department is often entrusted with the task of coming out with the strategies which helps the customer in relating to the famous celebrities. While on the one hand the competition helps the consumer in getting worth of the spending, and consumer has a range of alternatives to chose from, companies too have come out with innovative ideas to reach out to the consumer with their products and brands. Marketing people try to come out with strategies which instil a brand with personality traits resulting in anthropomorphizing, personification and creation of user imagery (Aaker, 1997). Human beings tend to identify themselves with such traits which give them a distinct identity called fans. The fan community shares a set of common interests and hobbies. While identifying the community as fandom, Fiske (1992) state d that, "fans are active