The Fandom Force: How to Create a Fan-First Social Approach
Summary
Fandoms are powerful, passionate groups that drive culture and conversion. New Deloitte Digital research found that 75% of surveyed U.S. adults consider themselves part of a fandom, proving there’s ample opportunity for brands to connect with truly devoted fans. In this session, Kenny Gold, Deloitte Digital’s Head of Social, Content and Influencer will be joined by Colie Edison, SVP & Chief Growth Officer of the WNBA, to explore how social-first brands can engage online fandoms, capitalize on their loyalty and build lasting relationships that go beyond the algorithm.
- Format: Presentation
- Category: Presentation
- Event Type: panel
- Presented By: n/a
Contributors
- Kenny Gold
- Colie Edison
Raw Event JSON
Large nested arrays are compacted for page readability. Full payload remains in dataset files.
Open JSON payload
{
"id": "PP1162434",
"track": "Sports & Gaming",
"focus_area": null,
"category": "Presentation",
"event_id": "PP1162434",
"event_type": "panel",
"format": "Presentation",
"genre": null,
"subgenre": null,
"name": "The Fandom Force: How to Create a Fan-First Social Approach",
"presented_by": null,
"publish_at": "2025-11-04T12:35:00.000-06:00",
"reservable": true,
"reservable_id": "PP1162434",
"reserved": false,
"date": "2026-03-13",
"end_time": "2026-03-13T11:00:00.000-05:00",
"start_time": "2026-03-13T10:00:00.000-05:00",
"message": null,
"image": null,
"credentials": [
{
"name": "Platinum Badge",
"type": "platinum"
},
{
"name": "Innovation Badge",
"type": "innovation"
}
],
"contributors": [
{
"id": 78947,
"company": "Deloitte Digital",
"credential_types": [
"innovation"
],
"entity_id": 2239923,
"name": "Kenny Gold",
"speaker_types": [],
"title": "Managing Director, Head of Social, Content and Influencer",
"image": {
"alt_text": "pcid-740289",
"credit": null,
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/Kbr0lsFCPwF5gLrtZnnxLnYEa0k=/0x0:120x120/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/3f86332f-115b-5a92-b828-24ca36e456f1/pcid-740289"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Kenny joined Deloitte Digital in 2021 as a managing director and head of social, content and influencer. In this role he helps Deloitte Digital’s clients meet their business goals through best-in-class social media strategies and activations.\n\nPrior to his time at Deloitte Digital, Kenny was Executive Director of Social Media at Grey Group NA. In this role, he led agency-wide efforts to deliver social content and activations – acting as the creative agency’s liaison with all social platforms. His leadership and hybrid talent reflected the agency’s expanding set of skills, better connecting creativity, technology, and human insight for the betterment of brands.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
},
{
"id": 78946,
"company": "WNBA",
"credential_types": [
"innovation"
],
"entity_id": 2239922,
"name": "Colie Edison",
"speaker_types": [],
"title": "Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer",
"image": null,
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Colie Edison serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). A strategic leader and transformative marketer, Edison became the league’s first-ever Chief Growth Officer in January 2022. She is charged with league business and strategy functions and leads efforts on all league and team revenue-generating opportunities. \n\n\nRecognized by Sports Business Journal in its Game Changers class of 2021, Edison graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Communications from Tulane University and is also the recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award from Tulane University's School of Liberal Arts. Edison was named as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Sports Franchise\" by Adweek’s Champions of Change in June 2024.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
}
],
"venue": {
"accessible": false,
"age_policy": null,
"floor": null,
"id": "V2050",
"indoor_outdoor": null,
"name": "Waller Ballroom D",
"parent_id": "V2024",
"parent_venue_name": "Austin Marriott Downtown",
"venue_entry_info": null,
"formats": null,
"location": {
"address": "304 E Cesar Chavez St.",
"lat_lon": [
30.2628298,
-97.74157
],
"city": "Austin",
"postal_code": "78701",
"state": "TX",
"name": "Austin Marriott Downtown"
},
"root": {
"accessible": null,
"age_policy": null,
"floor": null,
"id": "V2024",
"indoor_outdoor": null,
"name": "Austin Marriott Downtown",
"parent_id": null,
"parent_venue_name": null,
"venue_entry_info": null,
"formats": null
},
"events": "[omitted 5 venue events]"
},
"description": "Fandoms are powerful, passionate groups that drive culture and conversion. New Deloitte Digital research found that 75% of surveyed U.S. adults consider themselves part of a fandom, proving there’s ample opportunity for brands to connect with truly devoted fans. \n\nIn this session, Kenny Gold, Deloitte Digital’s Head of Social, Content and Influencer will be joined by Colie Edison, SVP & Chief Growth Officer of the WNBA, to explore how social-first brands can engage online fandoms, capitalize on their loyalty and build lasting relationships that go beyond the algorithm.",
"experience_level": "Advanced",
"accessibility": [],
"accessible_venue": false,
"add_bcl_url": false,
"add_slido": false,
"age_policy": null,
"american_sign_language": false,
"apple_url": null,
"audio_description": false,
"caption_url": null,
"closed_captioned": false,
"cpe_credit": false,
"has_subtitles": false,
"hash_tags": [],
"high_sensory_experience": false,
"live": false,
"long_description": "Fandoms are powerful, passionate groups that drive culture and conversion. New Deloitte Digital research found that 75% of surveyed U.S. adults consider themselves part of a fandom, proving there’s ample opportunity for brands to connect with truly devoted fans. \n\nIn this session, Kenny Gold, Deloitte Digital’s Head of Social, Content and Influencer will be joined by Colie Edison, SVP & Chief Growth Officer of the WNBA, to explore how social-first brands can engage online fandoms, capitalize on their loyalty and build lasting relationships that go beyond the algorithm.",
"meeting_url": null,
"meeting_url_live": false,
"mentorly_url": null,
"mobile_audio_url": null,
"open_captioned": false,
"playlist_tag": null,
"rebroadcast": false,
"recommended_ids": [],
"search_conversions": null,
"short_program": false,
"slido_url": null,
"sort": "FANDOM FORCE: HOW TO CREATE A FAN-FIRST SOCIAL APPROACH",
"source": "Official",
"squad_up_url": null,
"stream_embed": null,
"stream_id": null,
"stream_url": null,
"strobe_warning": false,
"subdiscipline": null,
"summit": null,
"summit_display_name": null,
"tags": [],
"talent_attending": null,
"title_only": false,
"track_display_name": "Sports & Gaming",
"trailer_id": null,
"trailer_url": null,
"video_on_demand": null,
"vimeo_id": null,
"vod": false,
"xr_project_type": null,
"youtube_id": null,
"related_sales_client": null
}