Mattel's consumer shift

Mattel's president, chief marketing and brand officer Roberto Stanichi called 'consumer' a 'dirty word' versus fans who co-create and engage with brands.

“‘Consumer’ indicates that you have a transactional relationship with people that are buying something, versus fans who really want to join a brand, participate, co-create, and engage as ambassadors of your brand”

Fandom-first marketing rise

Marketers are building fandoms instead of reaching shoppers, operating like entertainment companies to engage and entertain first.

Mattel's fandom initiatives

Mattel launched the 2023 Barbie movie, UNO Social Clubs, and a BBC Studios partnership for Bluey across five major brands.

McDonald's fan focus

McDonald's global chief marketing officer Morgan Flatley said fans are the foundation of their new marketing model, amplifying campaigns through trusted voices.

“Fans are the foundation of our new marketing model”

Gap's entertainment push

Gap's chief entertainment officer Pam Kaufman launched a partnership with boy band Just Your Type for a docuseries, mall tour, capsule collection, and social content.

Crocs' fan focus

Crocs chief brand officer Terence Reilly called 2027 the 'Year of the Fan' as they prepare to meet digitally native consumers with unordinary storytelling.

“Crocs must tell stories in the most wonderfully unordinary ways in unordinary places”

Long-term team changes

Brands will need to recruit talent from journalism, production, and content creation to build fandoms, requiring organizational and process shifts.