When we were looking around for examples of fandom,
one of the things that was just massive is NASA.
NASA, oh my gosh.
You see people walking down the street with NASA t-shirts
all the time.
Everyone knows about NASA.
By the way, they're a government agency
that has 32 million Twitter followers, that has
48 million Instagram followers.
How crazy is that?
We had an opportunity to interview Jim Bridenstine.
He's the director of NASA.
He runs the entire place out of Washington DC,
and we spoke with him about how he and NASA builds fans.
I think it starts with the Apollo program,
with the idea that we sent people to the moon.
And that legacy lives on today in really significant ways
to the point where, I mean, even today
people are wearing NASA shirts.
We've got professional athletes that
have their own branded shoes with the NASA logo.
So I would say it seems like the brand is coming back
in a big way right now.
And I think a lot of it stems from social media and Facebook
and Twitter and YouTube, and so many other ways
that we reach the public as an agency.
But it also stems from, and this is I think,
the most important thing, it stems
from stunning achievements.
So for example, back in November of 2018,
we landed inside on Mars.
Well that was the eighth time in human history
that we've landed a spacecraft on Mars, softly,
in a way that the spacecraft can actually
operate as a robot or a Rover.
In this case, in sight was just a Lander.
But the important thing is that's only
been done eight times in human history.
It's always been done by NASA.
Nobody else has been able to achieve it.
I think it's a tool of national power
that helps change the perception of young people
all over the world towards the United States of America,
and I think it's recognized.
It is, it's absolutely recognized all over the world.
Oh it absolutely is.
And just the outward manifestations of what I call
fanocracy , people wearing t-shirts with the logo on it,
and the fact that National Air and Space Museum is like one
of the most popular museums on the planet.
Yeah.
Tell me, how would you advise the CEO of any kind
of organization, it could be a nonprofit, it could
be a company, to use the tools of social media
to project an image and a message to grow fans in the way
that NASA has done such a terrific job doing?
So I think you have to have two things.
Number one, you have to have a group of people that
is starting with, that are interested in what you're
trying to achieve, and then you have
to achieve something significant.
In fact, in the case of NASA, something magnificent.
And so I would say, NASA is quite frankly unique
in the sense that we are constantly
doing very stunning things that captures
the imagination of a very enthusiastic fan base.
But it all comes back to, look we
can do really amazing things.
If we're not communicating about it, nobody cares.
Right.
But yeah, you have to constantly be sharing your victories,
and NASA is really good at sharing its victories.
It just so happens that our victories
are quite magnificent.
They're amazing.
My final question, when you were in Congress,
before you became administrator, were you a fan of NASA?
Absolutely.
I've been a big fan of just space exploration and space
activities for a long time.
So you have the ideal job and the whole world now?
Without question, I do think that this is probably
the best job in the world.
Thank you so much, Jim.
Thank you.
You've heard a lot about fanocracy so far.
And hopefully, you've learned that one
of the best things about fanocracy
is that any business can tap into the power of its audience.
It doesn't matter if you're NASA and have obviously
magnificent achievements to share,
or if you're Hagerty Insurance in an industry everyone hates.
At the beginning of the course, I
told you you would be exploring three themes from David
and Reiko's book, Fanocracy.
How you can get closer than usual to your audience?
How to let go of your creations and give your fans control?
And, how to develop employees who are fans?
Exploring these themes will help you start thinking about
a strategy to build your own fandom,
whether you're a B2B company or B2C company,
whether you sell tangible goods or services,
or if your industry is easily understood and well-loved
or if it isn't.
The point is, with a little creativity and with a focus
on who your customers are and what
they want, any business can enjoy
the same fandom as Hagerty Insurance, and, yes, even NASA.
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