Global entertainment platform Fandom brings on former Condé Nast EVP

This week, global entertainment platform Fandom announced it brought on Stephanie Fried, Former Condé Nast EVP as their new Chief Marketing Officer. “I’m confident that under Stephanie’s leadership, Fandom will succeed in growing its brand recognition and global footprint,” explained CEO Perkins Miller.

Fried, who’s first day was Monday 16 September, will bring her 20 years of marketing experience, deep roots in data, analytics and insights, to the Fandom team. Fried will help Fandom increase its brand recognition and global footprint. “What Stephanie brings to the table is deep expertise in research and user behaviour, helping us drive deeper engagement across all of these efforts through data-driven recommendations and personalisation, delivering the content that visitors want when they want it,” Miller said. “Through a deep understanding of consumer needs, market trends, and the competitive landscape, Stephanie will uncover, test, and prove new and exciting paths to growth for Fandom.”

Fried served as Condé Nast’s EVP Marketing, Research and Analytics since April 2017, across a portfolio of brands including Wired, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. Prior to that role, Fried held various leadership positions at Discovery Communications, VEVO, and NBC Universal, according to a release.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the amazing team at Fandom, a company that celebrates all things pop culture and provides a place for fans to connect and share their interests and passions through deeply engaging wikis, original content, and communities,” said Fried. “I’m excited to lead global branding and marketing efforts at Fandom. I look forward to combining a deep understanding of consumer needs with Fandom’s rich fan data and insights to develop new experiences that bring even more value to the fans and marketing partners we serve.” 

Fandom’s brand vision has always been to provide fans with content tailor-made to their passions and interests, including engaging original video experiences and fan-generated content, along with scaled distribution that drives discovery, Miller said. Fried will lead Fandom’s brand vision, including consumer and sales marketing, research, events, and communications. Fried’s appointment to CMO will strengthen Fandom’s vision by leveraging data to increase audience engagement and bringing audience-driven insights to advertising partners.

“It’s a team effort to drive audience growth and engagement, a combination of efforts to partner with studios and game developers and publishers to create official wikis for fan-favorite properties (e.g., Lionsgate’s John Wick, Netflix’s Dark Crystal),” Miller explained. “We also drive audience engagement through our original content on and off-site through our Screen Junkies and content teams and work hard continuously to optimize the site and app to reduce user friction.”

Fandom is a go-to hub for enthusiasts of pop culture, covering all facets of the entertainment universe, including TV, movies, video games, anime, books, and more, explained Miller. “Fandom is a premium platform that empowers viewers, gamers, and entertainment aficionados to indulge in what they care about most,” he said.

“Fandom has a global audience of more than 200 million monthly users and our platform has more than 400,000 communities,” Miller said. “Our audience is extremely young and influential: It’s #1 in reach among teens, young adults, and millennials according to the comScore Top 100. Fandom has the unique ability to bring these various high-value demographic groups together and offer a platform to make their voices heard and to connect them with valuable marketing messages in a premium, trusted environment.”

Fandom regularly publishes to three channels: Fandom Entertainment, Fandom Games, and Screen Junkies, which is home to Honest Trailers which has driven over two billion views as a franchise, he said.

“Our content strategy is to provide fans with platforms that allow them to engage in their passions and create a community with like-minded fans,” Miller said. “Fandom celebrates fan culture through its docu-short series like Fandom Uncovered, provides the official digital tool set and game companion to Dungeons and Dragons fans with D&D Beyond, and produces pop culture parodies, original series, and thoughtful commentary through Screen Junkies. Fans today desire an inclusive culture where they can identify, learn, and celebrate all types of entertainment and pop culture.”

Into the rest of 2019, Fandom plans, “to explore how we can continue to super-serve fans through the unique fandom lens which could include new content offerings, product enhancements, and events and experiences,” Miller said. “Data, insights, and a strong consumer-driven vision will guide our strategy development over the next few months.”