1. Fan archeology
FAN is a term that is linked to the word «fanatic» and to the word «fanaticism», which as wikipedia very well tells us, has to do with the religious sphere from its origins. We know from the dictionary that the original term was "fanum," which in Latin means "temple." If the "fano" was the one who honors the divinity in the temple, the profane will be the one who remains outside the religious sphere. All fanaticism implies a minimum degree of religiosity, in the same way that all religiosity incorporates a certain dose of fanaticism. From this dose, we can infer, if possible, what some of them, Marx, have come to call the opium-of-the-people. Although there is infinite distance from the Afghan Taliban to the fashionable rock concert, both insist on the threshold of fanaticism.
But if we return to the etymology, we must read the Etymological Dictionary of Corominas-Pascual and understand that all "fanaticus" is one that belongs to the temple or everything related to the temple. But from the pious subject (as Plato or even the Emperor Julian would say) to the fanaticum subject there is a stretch. The fanaticum is the subject inspired and exalted by the divinity, specifically that referred to priests in honor of the goddes Belona or the great mother herself: Cybele. Are they the fanaticus, the roosters of Cibeles? to which they surrendered in a violent way in order to hysterically express their religiosity.
After reviewing the history of the term, and verifying that it is in Portuguese, Galician and Leon, where it is late, it appears with the meaning of "mutilated" or "fanado", back in the 13th century. Even later, the term "fanar" is usually found as early as the 16th century, in the sense of "circumcising, cutting, amputating". I think that this meaning of "fanar" as "circumcision and amputation", was due to the tradition of the original "fanaticum", in the sense of the "rooster priest" or priest of the temple of Cybele. Well these were also called, roosters or priests castrated voluntarily in honor of this goddess. In this sense we owe to Nietzsche, the word "fenicismo" (There is cruelty and there is religious fenicismo in that faith, demanded to a softened, complex and very spoiled conscience…).
Tradition of the roosters, but also of the Syrian priests in honor of Kumbaba, as Luciano de Samosata tells us in his work "The Syrian Goddess".
But according to my research, on the other hand, we would have a true origin of the Latin "fanaticus", in the Greek root "phanes" with which term the sacred son-god of the Orphic tradition was designated. In addition, the Greeks called “phanós” to the torches that illuminated the interior of the temples with their teas. The same ones that the followers of the temple carried in the religious processions.
2. What do we understand by fan
Once we have seen the archeology of meaning, we will understand why fanaticism is a matter of exalted passions taken to an irrational point, in which the member can also be lost in addition to the head. But the fanaticism of our day does not claim for itself any faith, or perhaps it does: faith in a person, faith in a football club, or faith in a rock ensemble… or even faith in a brand. Have brands become divinities adored by their devoted fans?
The fanatic is an individual who can "kill because of it", the fan, however, is something thought of as someone who does not incorporate as standard, at least in his semiotic vector, that component of violent force. Although both, fanatic and fan take for reality, a Manichean world in which the two constituent parts of their "fanaticity" are: mine-the best, that of others-the worst.
At the same time, he seems to be glimpsed in the situation of «fanaticity», an atmosphere of daemonic possession that can even reach demonic extremes (everyone remembers those hysterical black and white possessions, of the sixties girls with the Beatles). The fan sometimes feels possessed by his object of passion, to the point of engulfing him, his personality. Here we can understand that of "identifying with the brand, as if it were me", or "as if it were mine" that is to say: "as if it were part of my self". Others will consider that you are a fan of something when you are willing to leave only your life, yes your soul or your heart (Lovemark), before society. Either to identify with a tribe, while giving up another, usually larger, group.
In any case, being-a-fan-of, as a famous publicist says, is an attitude that "exceeds reason." And if we apply it to the sense of brands, the fan has such loyalty to them that it exceeds his own understanding. Will it be a subliminal or subconscious question? In this same sense, it is interesting to think about whether a fan renounces logical reasoning to buy a product from his brand, which is more expensive, less attractive and with less benefits, than another from the competition. It seems as if for the fan, your brand has reached the status of "more than just a brand" and the part that is every brand has sucked the whole, which is the rest of the market.
3. Viral Marketing and Evangelization
What it is about here, is the advertising virulence that all public manifestation of the fan entails. I'm talking about what many call "viral marketing". The virus must be virulent, like fan fanaticism. The virus carrier is the fan, which must spread to the rest of the environment. The fan is a transmitter of codes, it is a virus contagious, it is a communicator of promotional messages.
Some, instead of calling him "contagious," call him "ambassador." But the most appropriate thing would be to call him "evangelizer." As if he were that guy from the temple that brings the good news. The messenger, the Greek "aggelos". The fan would therefore be a "Eu-Aggelos" or messenger of good news… of salvation.
Behind all immanence hides a transcendence too. It is not just about wearing a t-shirt on the street, with the brand's logo. The professional fan is now like a missionary in the Indies: the so-called Brand Manager or Community manager. Anyway, it is something more complex than a romantic state of alienated infatuation.
4. From the customer to loyalty, to the faithful fan
The client was a consumer… consumption therefore I exist. But in our time, the existence of consumption has ceased to make sense for many reasons, perhaps because of the embryo of the senses. There is no consumption but "fansumo". Fansumming is a superior existential state, to that of the naif "consuming".
The consumers seek nothing more than to live to consume, while fans: eat to live. Your expense is the investment in your identity. Like the hooligan that sheathed in his scarf, he would suffocate if he were not allowed to go to his stadium on Sunday. The Stadium is the temple, the cathedral, as in San Mamés (first cousin of the English stadiums). Or as in Argentina, where soccer is a religion and Maradona the incarnation of God on the grass. Perhaps for this reason, there is an Argentine club called "Atlético Mineiro" that is closely related to an advertising agency called "Atlético Internacional" whose leitmotiv is "to turn the consumer into a fan."
It has been developed by marketing specialists, a whole way, as a "Bildung", on the pilgrimage of our fan to Santiago. A series of stages or phases of evolution of the consumer are described until reaching the tomb of the apostle and crowning the "holiness of the fanatic": Audience, Prospect, Consumer, Customer, and finally "Fan". The fundamental difference between Client and Fan, centers around the concept of "customer loyalty" versus "indoctrination". While the client must be loyalty, the fan must be indoctrinated in the sense of positively reinforced, since their loyalty is already achieved. Fans don't need to be seduced anymore, but reaffirmed.
But it is also true that lately, specifically on Facebook, there has been a rejection of the term «fan». Maybe 21st century fans don't like to be labeled as such. There was a rumor that Facebook modified the term "fan" to designate the followers of a certain page. The term that would replace "fan" would be "like". Perhaps the "Liker" is a more blurred and comfortable concept for fans of our century. Something like a brand "taster". This "taster-liker" would contain, in my opinion, a certain attribute of sophistication, of reflection, of exclusivity, even of refinement.
5. The fan club as a heritage asset
If today everyone looks at the real value of a company, in our time where no one knows what things are worth anymore, it would be more than ingenuity, economically accounting for the value no longer of the client portfolio or fund of trade, but also or in parallel something like the «fan book». Since today, it is part of a commercial entelechy within marketing, but there is no doubt that this "fan club" or "fan book" constitutes real added value for the company, still "intangible".
But there are already studies related to the real value of a «fan». As examples, Facebook fans have been metrically parameterized based on a calculation that says they buy "$ 71 more than the average for products of the same brand" (Syncapse, Mashable Magazine). Another study by the firm Vitrue, quantified the absolute value for a «fan», with the figure of 3.6 dollars.
Within this value of the "fan" as a business asset, we can find both the consumption potential of the consumer subject, as well as the potential for propaganda that acts as a brand communication campaign, within the social-virtual environment. For example, through Facebook or other platforms. But we must also find in it, the value of the information that the fan provides about the new product, or about the brand in general, in order to obtain a free, albeit distorted, market study (as it is exclusive to fans). Finally, the fan can contribute new ideas or concepts about future products based on their deep knowledge of the brand.
6. Institutional marketing and the fan tourist
Even government institutions make use of fan-marketing. The paradigmatic and recent case is that of the campaign launched by the Generalitat de Catalunya first, to promote tourism in the country, and second, to resonate the echo of identity nationalism. In this case, the Fan obeys two religions: the tourist and the nationalist.
The Catalan Fan campaign will spread through Tv, Facebook and web pages. This one opens with videos about characters of which the majority of Catalans and non-Catalans are admirers or fans. There is a paradox that the characters of which citizens should consider themselves fans are, at the same time, the fans who advertise the landscapes and surroundings of Catalonia. Among them stands out the "tasting fan": Ferran Adriá. The motto they communicate to us is: Become a fan of Catalonia. Recommending us all, the towns, areas or preferred environments (likers) of the main characters.
7. Resources and bibliography
Books:
- Fan Cultures. Hills, M. (1971). London; New York: Routledge.Sociological Research. 94, pp 79-103 Fanaticism and Mysticism. Menéndez, A. (2007) Mexico: Editorial Doble J. Critical-etymological dictionary Castilian-Hispanic, J.Corominas-JAPascual.
Articles:
- https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanatismohttp://www.interactividad.org/2010/07/06/yo-confieso-que-soy-fan-de/http://www.marketingdelretail.com/ general / hello-I'm-addicted-to-your-brand-meme / http: //marketingdemocratico.com/blogs/marketing-democratico/10470261-convertir-a-los-consumidores-en-fanshttp: //www.marketingdirecto. com / news / social-media-marketing / each-facebook-fan-has-value-71-dollars-according to study / http: //www.marketingdirecto.com/actualidad/social-media-marketing/el-valor- fans-of-brands / http: //www.marketingdirecto.com/actualidad/social-media-marketing/%C2%BFcual-es-el-verdadero-valor-de-un-fan-en-facebook/http: / /www.haztefandecatalunya.com/
