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myFanPark transforming the way fans connect with celebrities – an African first!

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In a first for Africa, myFanPark is transforming the way fans can connect with celebrities. This is made possible through an online or mobile platform which allows them to request and purchase personalised, video-recorded shout-out messages.

The gifting possibilities for these videos are endless whether it’s for special occasions; or big announcements; or for words of encouragement; the list is endless. All of these memorable moments instantly become a social currency that fuels dinner table conversations, creates envious content for social media platforms and more importantly establishes a meaningful connection with the fan.

myFanPark officially opened to the public in May 2019 with top South African celebrities across key categories such as Sport, TV & Movies, Music, Radio and Comedy. The brand’s first order was from a dad who bought a video from Faf de Klerk for his son who was studying for his upcoming exams. Not only was the video a hit in the family, but the proud dad posted it on his LinkedIn profile and received over 6000 views!

With the continued growth of social media, celeb culture has been amplified exponentially and is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. “Creation of content is where the future lies in any mobile entertainment solution. We have created myFanPark to add a new and exciting opportunity within this space – for brands, fans and celebrities – to reach and engage with audiences in a powerful way. We are enormously excited about the ability to reshape the landscape in SA as well as even bigger African markets. Says myFanPark co-founder Joy Des Fountain.

Competitor Edge:
While there is no similar offering on the continent, the brand’s ambition is to disrupt the gifting category and occasion space. When you think I need a gift or something special for someone, the brand wants people to think of a myFanPark video. That being said, there is one USA competitor (www.cameo.com) that launched two years ago and achieved tremendous success in their operating regions, further confirming the immense appetite for this sort of offering.

The Immediate Plan:
Right now the brand is investing heavily in a scalable and exciting tech solution to unlock opportunities within Africa and beyond. These opportunities will also unlock new streams of revenue for both the brand and the celebs. The brand is also in the process of establishing partnerships in key growth markets on the African continent

The Plan Beyond:
The happiness equation is a simple one: Happiness = smiles – frowns. The main aim is to generate millions of smiles every day through messages of love, hope, respect, motivation, inspiration and joy. Imagine, thousands of idols, heroes, celebrities and admired people making such a positive difference in someone’s life! And why limit this to South Africa only when the brand could build a solution that can be introduced to the rest of Africa and the world.

Direct Approach
In an age where influencers and celebs are monetising their social media platforms through paid for advertising, the brand is not here to compete with paid advertising and opportunities that brands bring to the table to A-list celebrities. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, myFanPark will be able to bring new, interesting and quite novel brand opportunities to celebrities via the platform.

More importantly – myFanPark allows for a very different opportunity for a celeb to engage with a fan (and vice versa). It’s so much more than a shout-out video. It generates incredibly valuable and authentic content that advertising can’t buy. See for instance this fan reaction video that Brendan Peyper posted on his Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2YqjYCly-1/

In a few short hours, he gained over 20,000 views and it gave him incredible content to use for his social channels. On his post, he wrote “If people ask me if I enjoy what I do, this is exactly why I do what I do. There’s something satisfying to means something to someone and to make a difference in someone’s day/week/year/life.” Paid advertising can never give him that emotional reward. We hope to be a business partner that makes a massive difference to our celebrity partners, by unlocking a new revenue opportunity that provides so much more than just the money.

Earning Potential:
During September the brand trialled a new business partnership, which saw one of the celebs earning over R25,000 in one week for doing less than an hours work to record shout-out videos to fans. The team is hugely excited about the partnerships currently being solidified with various brands and corporates who are keen to use the platform as an innovative and novel way to engage with audiences. The brand is seeing an average of 700%+ increase in bookings when talent lets their fans know that they’re on myFanPark.
Celebrities charge a fee to generate the personalised shout-out videos and determine their own price. Prices start at R200 and go up to R1000 depending on the celeb. Some proceeds from every video go to either the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation or Red Cross Children’s Hospital Trust – turning every fan into a fan for good as well. Some celebs even donate 100% of their proceeds to one of the chosen charities.
Wider appeal:
Anyone who inspires others, who is admired and respected and ultimately, have “fans”, are welcome on the platform. myFanPark is actively looking to expand beyond the standard “traditional” and expected categories. There’s no reason why a respected and admired journalist, or artist, entrepreneur or top CEO’s can’t be part of myFanPark. The brand will continue to work ahead of the curve and adapt to a continually changing consumer market.

Bespoke Special Occasion Messaging:
Another core focus will be around creating an offering in the gifting category and occasion space.
The team believes that any gifting opportunity is an opportunity for a shout-out video – be it matric results or graduation, valentines day or mother’s day. Special occasions provide for the perfect opportunity to offer something unique, novel and talk-factor. Why deliver chocolates or flowers when you can send a personalised video message – it has far more impact, is truly memorable and makes for fantastic shareable content on social media.

In preparation for the festive season, even Santa Claus can be booked on myFanPark to create a real build-up ahead of the festive season by telling kids how much he looks forward to visiting them and leaving something special under the tree – but only if they behave of course.

myFanPark was founded by entrepreneurs Wouter Lombard, Dylan and Joy Des Fountain and former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers. The team launched myFanPark in 2019, after realising that there is a massive gap in the market.

The myFanPark website already features over 110 celebrities, ranging from sports stars like Springbok Jesse Kriel and EFC fighter Demarte Pena, to musicians like Ard Matthews, Francois van Coke, Gigi Lamayne, Bok van Blerk, Elvis Blue and Brendan Peyper. Fans can also connect with their favourite soapie stars from shows such as 7de Laan, Rhythm City, Getroud met Rugby or Suidooster.

How it works:

• Request a video: Choose your favourite celeb from sports stars to trendsetters and entertainment icons. Complete a booking form and tell the star why you want a video, who it’s for and what you’d like them to say.
• Quick payment: Payment is super easy. Once you book, your request will be sent to the celebrity, who will record the video within 7 days.
• Your peace of mind: Each celebrity reserves the right to decline a request. So keep it clean. If the celeb rejects your request or fails to record your video within 7 days, you will be refunded.
• Get your video: Your famous favourite will record the video as per your instructions and we will then WhatsApp it to you. It’s that simple!

You can find out more by visiting www.myfanpark.com or by following them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using @myfanpark to see what’s happening.

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