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Streaming titles including “Stranger Things,” “Emily in Paris” and “Wednesday” outperform the average across all entertainment IP tested by 30% when it comes to converting fans into buyers, according to new research
from Dentsu Sports & Entertainment released at the SEG3 conference in London.
The findings come as dentsu expands its Fandom Intelligence platform – a tool for matching brands with fan communities based on behavior, values and purchase intent – from Japan, where it has operated since 2020, to the U.S., the U.K., India and the Greater China market.
The December 2025 study behind the platform drew on more than 21,000 online interviews across the four new markets, measuring awareness, likeability and purchase intent for approximately 200 titles spanning anime, gaming, film, television, sports, music and creators. Nakano Yoshi, general manager of dentsu’s Entertainment Business Center in Tokyo, said the platform tracks more than 400 IPs.
Broader findings from the research show that entertainment IP – across superhero properties, action-adventure franchises, kids’ animation and classic character brands – converts fans to buyers at two to four times the rate of major sports teams and events. In the U.S., anime now ranks alongside the NFL on cultural relevance among Gen Z consumers; in Taiwan, it is the most culturally relevant entertainment category among adults.
Nakano 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.”
In a presentation at SEG3, Nakano framed the underlying partnership philosophy: “Don’t let the IP pull you – get the IP to come to your core value. Short-term purchase spikes are a welcome force, but we need to translate it into long-term fandom.” On the attention economy, he added: “IP collaboration is a way to utilize what the audience is already interested in – it’s almost like using the algorithm to bring the message to them.”
Ishihara Yoshiki, chief new ventures officer at dentsu, said: “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.”
The Entertainment Business Center in Tokyo manages more than 100 brand-IP collaborations annually and holds investment positions in more than 60 anime titles. It will remain the center of expertise for Japanese IP, with regional delivery handled by local teams in New York, London, Mumbai and Shanghai.
Fandom Intelligence is available to dentsu clients in all new launch markets now.
