UNRVLD Breakfast highlights strategies for creating superfans for brands

Held on 15 June at Soho Ivy Brasserie, the event brought together industry leaders within the B2C space and UNRVLD digital experts to share strategies, insights, and success stories. Brands such as AllSaints, hmv and Decathlon were all in attendance to discuss their experiences.

The event commenced with an opening keynote from Tom Dougherty, UNRVLD CGO, covering UNRVLD’s unique Formula for building Fandom. Tom emphasised the transformative impact superfans can have on a business and provided attendees with actionable, fan-orientated strategies to consider for their future roadmaps. It set the tone for a morning filled with valuable discussion.

Over breakfast, attendees discussed the various methodologies and techniques their brands use to identify and segment superfans effectively. We covered a range of topics, including embedding a robust data strategy, customer segmentation, experimentation, social listening, customer journey mapping, and personalised marketing campaigns.

When asked how they effectively segment and identify their customers into their most valued superfans, attendees shared similar methods of consumer modelling to build a 1-1 conversation with their individual customers. All attendees expressed the desire to evolve the personalisation journey further by assigning value and propensity to each customer interaction, enabling them to target superfans with personalised marketing campaigns, exclusive offers and unique experiences that resonate with their specific interests and preferences.

The wide range of businesses in attendance, from independent fashion brands to retailers stocking a variety of branded products, meant we also uncovered differing approaches to identifying superfans depending on the access point to the customer. While independent brands have the advantage of full control over their brand narrative and customer experience, retailers discussed the opportunity to leverage the reputation and pre-existing communities of established brands to attract a wider range of customers. As a result, retailers must enlist a sophisticated method of customer segmentation to identify customers who are superfans of a specific brand whilst increasing their own brand equity.

The event also highlighted the significance of ongoing engagement and measurement. Industry leaders shared their insights on implementing effective experimentation strategies to gauge fan sentiments accurately and make improvements based on this intel. By experimenting with different digital design elements, content variations, call-to-action placements and user flows, businesses can identify what resonates with their audience and tailor the digital experience accordingly. A continual refinement and optimisation of the digital experience based on these data-driven insights enables brands to create a more engaging and personalised website for fans, ultimately extending the lifetime value of their customers.

We also discussed the topic of leveraging brand ambassadors to present a brand to new audiences and target markets. This resonated especially well with the newer brands in the room. They discussed fostering an understanding of their brand by tapping into existing communities to promote their products. As well as this, the importance of establishing proximity with your customer base was highlighted. Within superfan relationships especially, it is important to explore a variety of ways to recognise fan value rather than only focusing on traditional means such as exclusive discounts. This can be achieved by rewarding VIP customers with local events that bring the community together in a physical setting to acknowledge their contribution to the brand’s success.

The event served as a powerful reminder of the untapped potential lying within every business' most passionate fans. It was great to facilitate the conversation between some of today’s most established brands and hear their tools and strategies to harness the power of fandom. By understanding fans better, organisations can cultivate connected communities and drive long-term success in today’s competitive marketplace.