Understanding Fans vs. Fanatics

Fans = Percent of all participants that indicated they were a fan of a brand.

Fanatics = Represent the percent of fans of that brand that indicated it was a top 5 favorite. This loyalty score is an indication of the strength of the fanship audience.

Fanship – Entertainment

• Based on a survey of 8,893 Americans across 92 entertainment brands Spider-Man earned the top spot in America’s hearts as the brand with the largest fanbase.
• Shrek, achieves the #2 spot without even having a major release in 2019, reinforcing its relevance in American pop culture and entertainment.
• Iron Man comes in at #3, which puts Disney and Marvel in an interesting position to see how they will continue to support one of America’s top brands with fresh new content.
• Super Mario is the only video game to achieve a spot in the top #10 among all entertainment brands.
• Half of America’s top 10 brands are based on superheroes.
• Miraculous, Apex, PUBG, Counter-Strike, and Roblox round out the bottom of the list (bottom performers not shown in graph).

Fanatics – Entertainment

• Fanatics represent the percent of fans of that brand that indicated it was a top 5 favorite. This loyalty score is an indication of the strength of the fanship audience.
• It’s long been argued who has the more passionate fanbase. The loyal base of the Game of Thrones brand cannot be stopped as it has the highest percentage of loyal fans among any entertainment brand. Certainly, being a year that saw record viewership for its final season played a factor. Will 2020 be the same?
• Harry Potter comes in at #2 without any major brand releases in 2019.
• The Star Wars vs. Star Trek debate is finally over as Star Wars fans proved victorious with a 9% point difference between the two.
• Tyler Perry proved to be an incredibly strong brand coming in with the 4th highest brand loyalty among all entertainment brands.
• Call of Duty was the only video game brand to make the top 10 list.
• Hulk, Tomb Raider, Madagascar, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and surprisingly Joker, were among the brands with the lowest amount of loyal fans (bottom performers not shown in graph).

Fans – Video Games

• Based on a survey of 8,893 Americans across 92 entertainment brands, Super Mario was ranked #1 with over 44% of Americans indicating they are fans of the Super Mario brand.
• Super Mario did see a release in 2019 on the Switch with Super Mario Maker 2, along with the successful mobile launch of Mario Kart Tour, which has achieved over 100 million downloads.
• Rounding out the list is a classic “who’s who” of video games with all the brands ranked in the top 10 being at least 7 years or older, and in most cases over 15 years old.
• Some of the lowest-ranking titles, Apex Legends, PUBG, Counter-Strike, Roblox, and Gears of War, have not been able to solidify a strong fanship base, despite all being relatively well-known.

Fanatics – Video Games

• Fanatics represent the percent of fans of that brand that indicated it was a top 5 favorite. This loyalty score is an indication of the strength of the fanship audience.
• Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Grand Theft Auto rank among the brands with the most loyal fanbase. These are three brands you definitely do not want to face when new updates or releases are made.
• Fortnite is the youngest brand to make the list, clocking in at barely two years old.
• Candy Crush is the only mobile-focused brand on the list validating the rising power of the casual game audience.
• Brands ranking the lowest, regardless of size, are Tomb Raider, Gran Turismo, Street Fighter, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Gears of War.
• Tomb Raider and Sonic the Hedgehog ranked among those with a high fanship (29% of Americans), but when asked if either brand was among their top 5 favorites, less than 10% of their fan base said yes.

Methodology

Survey
Interpret surveys 9,000 Americans between the ages of 13 to 65 every quarter as part of its New Media Measure program. The survey covers a wide variety of topics including: demographics, behaviors, shopping, entertainment, movies, television, music, and video games. Responses are then weighted to the American population.

This survey was conducted from June through September 2019.

Measuring Fanship
As part of the New Media Measure survey, participants were asked “For each franchise below, please pick the statement that fits best.”

The statements available were:

1. Never heard of this franchise
2. Aware, but not familiar
3. Familiar but not a fan
4. A fan

Participants who selected 4 are recorded as being fans of that brand.

Measuring Fanatics
After participants selected all the brands they were fans of, they were asked “Which of the following do you love the most? Rank up to 5, with ‘1’ being your favorite franchise, ‘2’ your second-favorite franchise, and so on.”

Participants who selected a brand among their top 5 are considered “Fanatics” of that brand.

Fanatics are measured by percent of people that respond to a brand as a top 5 favorite compared to all favorited brands on their list. It is considered a loyalty score and an indication of the strength of the fanship audience. These are fans that will drop everything to engage with their favorite brand.

Brand List

Determining Brand List
The best efforts were made to determine what should or should not be included as a brand on the list. We understand that it is a subjective process, but the following rules of thumb were used.

1. Is the brand still or has recently been active or marketed?
2. Does the brand have transmedia presence?
3. Has the brand influenced American entertainment culture?
4. Does it NOT have multiple popular sub-brands that themselves are stand-alone brands (i.e. Marvel, Disney, Fox, Electronic Arts, etc.)
5. Some video  game brands were included, even if they are relatively new or not active.

Some brands were included if they demonstrated strong brand potential, while other popular potential brands were excluded as being brands that would only exist in its current state with little to no transmedia potential.