Platform, first created in 2020, combines Japanese fandom data with new proprietary research across the US, UK, India and the Greater China market, covering 200 entertainment titles and more than 21,000 fans

Key new insights include:

• Entertainment tie-ups convert fans to buyers at rates 2-4 times that of the biggest sports teams and events
• Popular streaming properties such as Stranger Things and Emily in Paris outperform the average of all IP tested by 30%, with high awareness and strong favorability
• Among US Gen Z consumers, Japanese anime ranks alongside the NFL on cultural relevance, and outperforms major live-action film categories

Dentsu Sports & Entertainment today announced the global launch of Fandom Intelligence, its proprietary solution combining cultural relevance research and entertainment strategy to help brands and rights-holders identify, shape and grow high-value partnerships in entertainment.

At the heart of dentsu’s entertainment business is a simple ambition: helping brands make forever fans. Fandom Intelligence is the tool that helps turn that ambition into action.

The platform answers four questions for clients: Which IP is the best fit for a given brand and audience? Which fan communities will reward authentic engagement? What creative territory will land with the fan base? How should a partnership evolve to sustain fan value over time?

Outputs feed directly into cross-market strategy, brand briefs, IP shortlisting, partnership design and creative platform development.

Fandom Intelligence has operated in Japan since 2020 and is now available to dentsu clients and teams in the United States, the United Kingdom, India and the Greater China market via operational hubs in Tokyo, London and New York.

The offer is designed to help clients understand how fandom moves across markets, including the growing influence of Japanese and other Asian entertainment IP in global culture.

The launch comes as brands continue to invest more in IP collaborations, at a time when proving true authenticity and value-exchange is more challenging than ever. In-game skins, capsule product drops, limited-edition collaborations and co-developed content are challenging traditional licensing as the dominant format. Engaging new, younger growth audiences in particular, requires deeper fan insight to execute well.

Dentsu’s research indicates that fan rejection of inauthentic partnerships poses a measurable risk to brand equity in entertainment categories.

Fandom Intelligence is designed to help global brands identify which partnerships will generate measurable commercial returns by matching brands with fan communities based on behavior, values and purchase intent. It addresses a growing client need for strategic, evidence-led decision making in a category where partnership budgets have increased but failure rates remain high.

The platform was developed inside dentsu’s Entertainment Business Center (EBC) in Tokyo, the team responsible for more than 100 brand and IP collaborations a year and investment in over 60 anime titles. The EBC will continue to act as the center of expertise for Japanese IP, while local market teams in New York, London, Mumbai and Shanghai will deliver the platform to regional clients.

The expansion is underpinned by dentsu’s annual Fandom Intelligence Study, most recently fielded in December 2025. The study comprised 21,139 online interviews across the United States, the United Kingdom, the Greater China market, and India, and measured awareness, likeability, viewership and likelihood to purchase collaboration merchandise across approximately 200 titles and properties in anime, gaming, film, television, sports, music and creators. Survey results are fused with existing proprietary dentsu audience data to provide full audience profiling.

The data confirms the rising commercial relevance of entertainment IP, and in particular the extent to which super hero properties (e.g. Spider Man, Super Man), action adventure series (e.g. Star Wars, Harry Potter), kids animation (e.g. Toy Story, Bluey, Paw Patrol), and classic/cute characters (e.g. Snoopy, Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty) can convert fans to buyers at rates that are 2-4x that of the biggest sports teams and events (e.g. Yankees, Patriots, FIFA).   

This research also found that Japanese IP in particular was particularly effective in the US among Gen Z, as anime now ranks alongside the National Football League (NFL) on Cultural Relevance, and outperforms major live action film categories. In Taiwan, anime is the most culturally relevant form of entertainment among adults.

Results also show particular strength for streaming properties (e.g. Stranger Things, Wednesday & Emily in Paris), which outperform the average across all IP tested by 30%. These properties tend to have higher awareness than other IP tested, strong favorability ratings, and offer multiple touchpoints for engagement through episodic television.  

Yoshi Nakano, General Manager, Entertainment Business Center at dentsu, said: “Since 2020, Fandom Intelligence has given our teams in Japan an unfair advantage in IP partnership planning, and that advantage is now available to global brands. The expansion is not simply an export of Japanese data. We have built new data sets in each of the launch markets and combined them with our long-standing fandom expertise. The result is a single global platform that helps brands invest in the partnerships most likely to generate sustained fan value, and avoid those that will not.”

Yoshiki Ishihara, Chief New Ventures Officer, dentsu, commented:
“We believe that marketing success comes from identifying where cultural momentum is being created and turning that passion into sustainable brand growth. Today, fandom has become one of the most reliable predictors of long-term brand value, providing a powerful foundation for more effective investments that meet our clients’ evolving expectations.

By bringing Fandom Intelligence to markets around the world, dentsu will be able to deliver high-quality strategic planning across a broader range of markets and better address growing client demand. What sets us apart is the combination of years of behavioral data accumulated through IP collaborations and new fandom research conducted across markets worldwide.”

Fandom Intelligence is available to dentsu clients in all new launch markets from today.