Calvin Innes

Fandom & Pop Culture Creative Strategist. Consulting Creative Director. Advising brands and agencies. Keynote Speaker. Founder: Innes Agency & The Forge

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

At WorldBuilder Summit, I'll be talking to myself….

Well, I'll be talking to a future version of myself. The Fandom Professor beams in from 2036 to help me look at where
The creator economy, gaming, fandom, entertainment, multi platform reach, we'll look at it all…

#fandom

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

New York Advertising Week and New York Comic Con were amazing. Loved speaking about fandom at them both, and New York is one of my favourite cities in the world! #fandom

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

One week back from New York Comic Con. And I'm heading back to London Comic Con and the Popcultr Summit. Let's gooooooo!!!! #fandom
@MCMComicCon

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@nightstar1201 Jin gives Laneige a launch spike, but “first-ever” gives fans something they can say they were part of. That's so important for fandoms, BUT the real test is whether they’re still there when that moment has passed. Or it's just another throw away collab.

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@Chaosxsilencer Unfinished stories pretty much hammer any trust fans have. Do it often enough and fans stop treating every new clue as meaningful. The speculation and chat that carry the franchise between series or films, just does a Yoda, and kinda dies.

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@PrismSportsInt @LFC Well, there was that one thing..... oh wait, no there wasn't! 😆

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@Sci_Fi_Classics There isn’t one Star Wars fandom anymore. Different groups care about very different parts of it. Each film is judged against the Star Wars they grew up with or how they discovered it, so trying to create broad appeal will (almost) never work.

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@LanceWade AI removes the production barrier, but it doesn't create taste. Fans already hknow the stories, know the things that matter and have a way better understanding of the lore. Now some of them have the tools to make those ideas visible it's ace to see the worlds being built this way

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@0x_Agency Calling a discount code an NFT doesn’t make it fan engagement. It just gives the discount code a wallet to live in... and a way more complicated login.

Utility only matters if people still want the relationship without the token.

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@AIForReal0101 K-pop’s production model makes AI adoption look natural, but fans don’t embrace tools just because labels do. They're a trickier beast. The fault line will be consent: whose voice, face and hard work was the output built from, and who gets credited?

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@chimiyene I’ve seen fan communities get much stronger when people stop comparing everything with the bigger group. They start doing things their own way, and people keep showing up.

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@fateof12tracks Her real advantage is that her fans do part of the distribution. Every clue she drops becomes theory, content and conversation between fans before paid media has to do much at all. That kind of participation has to be earned and she's done a pretty amazing job of earning it.

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@Variety @SpotifyAds How they found it really matters. But what they do next tells you far more about them as a fan. Saving a song is one thing. Fans go further... they make their own edits, organise screenings with mates and bring their friends into the world. They invest.

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@afaqs Scores create habit, but habit on its own isn’t fandom. The real value comes when people actually want to stay, and debate with each other, and create things and when they keep coming back, again and again between matches... even when there’s nothing immediate for them to check.

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

@MrsStonerHobbit Nothing builds community quite like asking fans for ideas, carefully filing them in the bin, then carrying on with what you'd already planned.

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

Join 15,000 other people and follow me on Linkedin for fandom insights, strategy and all things fandom, and culture marketing.

https://t.co/fOAsPDlUtt

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

Fandom doesn’t stop at Pokémon, gaming or entertainment.

It can form around sourdough bread making, gardening, philanthropy or charity.

If people shape their identity, and invest time, energy and money into something, the conditions for fandom are already there.

#fandom

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

The first invitation stays with you https://t.co/v4bA22UI5S

[Calvin Innes @CalvinInnes]

I'm heading to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to speak at SMART Conference 2026 on September 28.

SMART from Mongolian Marketing Association is Mongolia's biggest annual creative and marketing conference.

My keynote is called From Audience to Fandom: Stop Renting Attention.