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Let’s Talk

Book a session

Get a straight answer about your fandom.

You've got a decision to make about a fan community, a partnership or a collaboration, and nobody inside your business can say with any confidence whether it'll work. That's fixable in an hour.

Not sure yet? Free 15 minute intro call

Need a workshop or project? See consulting

Calvin Innes speaking on stage
25 yrsin brand and creative
300+brands worked on
70+keynotes and workshops
30+countries
Authorof Fandom Power

TEDx speaker. Cannes Lions and D&AD juror. Golden Drum Jury President. And a lifetime inside these communities rather than a career studying them from outside. Sneakerhead, ex-skater, gamer, lifelong comics and film nerd.

Brands I've worked with
  • Sony
  • HBO
  • Pokémon
  • Xbox
  • Adidas
  • Paramount
  • Bandai Namco
  • FIFAe
  • MINI
  • Pringles
  • Dove

The sessions

Pick the one that matches your situation, not your budget.

A question this week

The Fandom Power Hour

£950plus VAT

60 minutes, on Google Meet or Zoom

Best for
One specific question you want a proper answer to this week.
Typical questions
Should we sign this partnership? Will this collaboration land? What do we do with the community that's grown around us?
How it works
Send me the deck, terms or brief at least 24 hours before. I go through it first, so the hour goes on what I'd actually do.
You leave with
The recording, and a written recap within two working days: what I'd do, and what I'd do first.

Usually about a week's wait

Book the Power Hour
A decision this quarterRecommended

The Fandom Programme

£3,950plus VAT

Four 60 minute sessions over 8 to 10 weeks, up to 3 people

Includes the Opportunity Map, time to think between calls, and three of your team can attend.

Best for
A direction rather than one decision, and a plan you can act on.
The four sessions
  1. How fandom works. Why communities reward some brands and reject others.
  2. Where your opportunity is. The communities already close to you.
  3. How to actually do it. Getting in and earning a place.
  4. The plan. All of it, written down.
You leave with
The Fandom Opportunity Map. Where the opportunity sits, the routes in, and what to do first, written to forward to people who weren't on the calls.

Two teams at a time. All four dates set when you book.

Book the Programme
Start small without losing the money Book a programme, workshop or project within 60 days of a Power Hour and the £950 comes off. The Programme works the same way against a retainer or project, within 60 days of your last session.
Not sure which one you need?Fifteen minutes, free. I'll tell you honestly what it would take, and whether I'm the right person. Limited slots each week.
Book a free intro call

All prices exclude VAT. Sessions run in UK hours, with early and late slots for teams in other time zones. Workshops and project work are on the consulting page.

Why it's hard to call

You already know which decision this is about

The partnership with a deadline on it. The community nobody planned for. The collaboration everyone likes, that one person called cringe, and now you have doubts. The safe option wins by default, and it's the one these communities ignore.

Everyone's a fan of something, so everyone has a view

Personal taste gets mistaken for insight, and the biggest fan in the room ends up steering.

Research tells you how many, not how it works

It won't tell you who's respected inside a community, what it reacts badly to, what it'll defend you over, or whether it wants a brand there at all. Those four things decide the outcome.

Your agency is pitching something it can make

That's how agencies work. Whether the community will accept the idea sits outside the brief, so nobody asks until the replies start.

Proof

What this looks like when it works

Unilever brought me in to run a session on limited editions for Dove, across their EU business.

Limited editions in beauty had been safe and stale for years, scent based and seasonal. The session led to braver thinking: culturally relevant, unexpected partnerships leaning into entertainment, fashion, longevity and food, and a shift towards building the world around a limited edition rather than just the product on shelf.

The workshop was interactive, energising and commercially useful.

Alissa MartensDove Masterbrand Lead EU, Unilever

“His knowledge of what makes fans tick, and how brands can interact with them, is second to none.”

Erik Londre, CEO and Founder, Karta

After you book

What happens next

  1. 1Pick a slot and payFor the Programme, we set all four dates in one go so it doesn't drift.
  2. 2Send your materialThe deck, the terms, the brief. At least 24 hours ahead, so the time goes on the answer.
  3. 3Talk, then get it in writingA recording, plus a written recap or the Opportunity Map to take into the room.

Fair questions

Things people ask before they book

Anything else, ask on a free intro call.

Couldn't I just read the book?

You should, and it'll make you better at this. What a book can't do is look at your category, your brand's history with this community and the specific thing you're about to sign. Knowing how fandoms work in general is cheap now. The gap that costs money is between that and knowing what yours will do about this, in November, at that price.

Can you sign an NDA?

Yes, and before you send anything over if you'd rather. Most of my work sits under one, which is why I don't go into detail on specific client projects. It doesn't change what I'll tell you on the call.

What if you tell me something I already know?

Then you've spent £950 finding out you were right, and you can stop second-guessing yourself and get on with it. That's worth the money on a decision of any real size. It's also not usually what happens.

We're not really a fandom brand.

Most people say that first. Fandom isn't only comics and games. It's anyone with people who care more than they strictly need to, which covers sport, music, cars, skincare, food, running clubs and plenty more. Working out whether that's true of you is often the first useful thing we do.

How soon can we talk?

Most of my week goes to consulting clients, writing and the stage, so I hold a set number of session slots each month. A Power Hour is usually about a week away, and the Programme runs with two teams at a time. If your timing is tight, say so when you book and I'll tell you honestly whether it's possible rather than squeezing you in and doing it badly.

Where to start

Bring the decision you're stuck on

One hour, a straight answer, and a written recap you can take into the room.

Book the Power Hour Free intro call

Earlier than that? Get the weekly newsletter

Rather check a collaboration yourself? See Fandom Pre-Flight

Training a team? See workshops

The Fandom Power Hour£950, one hour, written recap

See the Programme Book the Power Hour