A good product will win you customers, but it takes a lot more to create, cultivate, and keep true, actual fans. The magic word for most is community, and the brands here, being honored as part of Brands That Matter 2022, have found ways to foster and excite growing communities around them.

Decades-old brands, including Fender guitars and Magic: The Gathering, are using new content to stay relevant. For Fender, this past year was about building a content hub full of tools for the millions of new people who started to play over the past few years as a COVID-19-lockdown-induced new hobby. Magic: The Gathering has leaned into celebrating a more diverse set of players with its direct-to-consumer platform, Secret Lair. Meanwhile, three-year-old wrestling upstart All Elite Wrestling has taken on a Goliath by showing a different side of its diverse lineup of stars.

CRUNCHYROLL

More than 15 years after launching as a streaming service, Crunchyroll has evolved into “a home for all things anime,” says company president Rahul Purini, offering anime fans everything from theatrical releases and games to manga and consumer products. Acquired by Sony in 2021, Crunchyroll merged with anime distributor Funimation in March and now offers a catalog of more than 40,000 anime episodes to millions of fans. Crunchyroll has released 10 of the top 20 anime theatrical films, and it partners with such celebs as Lady Gaga and Megan Thee Stallion, releasing anime-inspired streetwear that lets enthusiasts “wear their fandom on their sleeve, literally,” Purini says. —Jay Woodruff

Read the full article, and see the other featured brands HERE

Credit: Jeff Beer, October 25 2022, The Fast Company