FANDOM

As we've reached the week of the Carolina vs. Duke basketball game, a lot of emotions are running through the minds of many UNC students. As seniors we are pretty much guaranteed tickets to the game, a prize we've waited four years for. And inside the Dean Dome we, as the students of UNC, play a certain role. We're the fans. We line up hours before the game starts, in the snow, just to have a chance at standing in the risers and cheering on our Tarheels as loud we can. As the current students, we are the biggest fans there.

Fandom is an interesting concept to me. A fan is defined as an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport or other matter. By that definition I would certainly consider the hundreds of students who line up in the snow waiting to enter the game to be quite the fans. Their enthusiasm and love for Carolina Basketball is far greater than any amount of snow that could fall while they wait in line. But these aren't the only fans of Carolina Basketball. Fans are everyone at home that tune in to watch every basketball game, beer in hand, following each and every play as if they're right there with them. Fans are reliable and loyal to their team, no matter what.

On a different note, what does it mean to be a fan of a brand? I question how similar the enthusiasm is for a blue jean brand, for example, as compared to a National Championship basketball team. With that being said, I think it is possible for brands to gain followers, very similar to fans in the sense that they build a loyalty to the brand. If I found one brand of blue jeans in high school that I really liked, I'm probably going to continue to buy that same brand the next time I need jeans. This loyalty can grow to a point where no other brand is up to par, and you completely rule out the others.

In that sense, creating fans of brands sounds pretty ideal. If you took all of the followers of a certain brand and turned them into fans, imagine what this would do to that brand. By supplying those who are already interested in the brand with a sense of enthusiasm and devotion to the brand, you're adding an overall sense of energy. And energy means momentum, which is always good for a brand.

In short, one thing I've come across while crafting this post is that brands should really be trying to gain fans, not just followers. Their loyalty to the brand is supplemented with enthusiasm that is all and all better for the brand.