JurnalPost.com Anime and manga fans in Indonesia are no longer limited to just watching shows, reading comics, or discussing favorite characters. Fandom has now become a part of the creative economy, involving fans, creators, event organizers, digital platforms, and merchandise producers.
The range of available goods is increasingly diverse, from acrylic stands, keychains, photocards, art prints, stickers, apparel, doujinshi, and works by independent creators. These products are more than just souvenirs; they represent the fans' connection to the characters or stories they love.
Luo (2025) demonstrates that anime merchandise holds value beyond its physical function, acting as a bridge between fans and the fictional worlds they cherish. Therefore, purchasing fandom merchandise cannot be equated to buying ordinary consumer goods.
For marketers, the market is already formed within the community. The challenge lies in connecting that community with the right products. One compelling example of this phenomenon is Chibicon.
From Anime Event to Creator Market
Chibicon describes itself as a Japanese pop culture convention and one of the largest creator markets in East Java. Established in 2022, the event carries the mission of Creating Creators, bringing together creators, cosplayers, performers, communities, and fans in one space (Chibicon, 2026a).
At Chibicon 2024, creators did not just sell fan art. The products offered expanded to include comics, games, music, doujinshi, novels, and merchandise with local themes, such as those featuring the city of Malang (Nawala Karsa, 2024).
Thus, the event functions not only as a community meeting space but also as a creative marketplace. Interestingly, transactions and purchasing decisions can actually be formed long before visitors enter the venue.
The Market Forms Before the Doors Open
Leading up to an event, creators typically upload catalogs, booth numbers, pricing, and pre-orderinformation. Chibicon supports this pattern through its digital channels, directing visitors to Instagram, TikTok, X, its official website, and the Chibicon Creators Catalogue (Chibicon, 2026a).
For Chibicon X on June 27, 2026, for instance, the official website provided a Booth Catalogue and a booth map to make it easier for visitors to find the creators they wanted to visit (Chibicon, 2026b).
Documentation of the creator catalog also shows that products such as sticker books, glitter stickers, keychains, photocards, and art prints were published via digital channels ahead of the event (Visesa, 2025). Some creators even opened pre-orders weeks in advance, with items collected directly during the event (Chibicon, 2026c).
As a result, many visitors already know which products they are targeting, which booths to visit, and the budget they need to prepare. In other words, purchasing decisions are formed before consumers even enter the venue. In this context, social media functions as a pre-event storefront.
From Promotion to Anticipation Marketing
When creators upload merchandise designs weeks before an event, they are effectively building anticipation, a sense of longing for a product.
Posts such as merchandise reveals, catalogs, limited stock information, and booth locations give consumers time to get to know the products before purchasing them. This strategy is crucial because the decision to buy collectibles is closely tied to the fan's identity and emotional bond.
Rahmadini and Anggraeni (2026) found that anime fandom engagement, social influence, and brand experience play a significant role in the repurchase intention of anime-collaborated fashion products among Generation Z in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, Sari (2026), who studied Comifuro visitors, found that fan behavior has a positive influence on impulsive buying and long-term attachment (stickiness).
Therefore, promotion in the animanga market is not enough if it only displays products. Products must be placed within the context of the fandom already held by potential buyers.
Scarcity: An Appeal That Must Be Managed
Collectors are often more attracted to products that are not available in unlimited quantities. Research on digital collectibles shows that the perception of scarcity can influence purchase intention (Chen et al., 2025; Fortagne & Lis, 2024).
A study on Labubu collectors from Pop Mart also found that scarcity cues can increase the fear of missing out or FOMO, which then drives consumers' willingness to pay higher prices (Phan & Hoai, 2025).
A similar phenomenon is easily found in the creator market. Products can be printed in limited quantities, sold exclusively during events, or made only by specific creators.
However, scarcity strategies must be used carefully. If every product is always labeled “limited” or constantly promoted with “don't miss out” messages, marketing can turn into FOMO exploitation and eventually lead to consumer fatigue.
Scarcity should be a natural characteristic of a product, not just a tool to pressure consumers into immediate purchases.
Algorithms as a New Gateway to Fandom
In the past, fans had to follow an illustrator's account to know what products they were selling. Now, recommendation systems on TikTok, Instagram, and X allow content creators to appear to people who may have never known them before.
Bleier et al. (2024) show that social media platforms are at the center of the creator economy. Platforms connect various parties, support the process of content creation and distribution, and enable creators to earn income from their audiences.
Peres et al. (2024) also view the creator economy as an economic ecosystem that needs to be managed strategically. In this ecosystem, creators are not just makers of work, but also actors who must build audiences, brands, and content strategies.
For the creator market, the impact is immense. An illustrator with only a small physical booth can reach thousands of potential buyers before an event if their catalog, illustrations, or videos are spread through digital platform algorithms.
This means digital visibility can expand the market far beyond the physical space limitations of the creator.
Creators Are No Longer Just Sellers
Creators now also act as content producers, community managers, brand owners, and marketers of their own products.
Libai et al. (2025) explain that the creator marketing ecosystem involves complex value relationships between creators, followers, companies, and platforms. One of the main challenges is maintaining the authenticity of the relationship with the audience while the creator also seeks to earn income.
In the animanga market, this authenticity is crucial. Fans can follow the process of a work from the sketch stage, character polls, and test prints, until the product finally enters the event catalog.
Ultimately, fans are not just buying the final result. They are also buying the experience and the story behind the creation process.
This is where the power of creator-driven marketing emerges.
From Event Marketing to Omnichannel Fandom
Chibicon shows that physical and digital markets are increasingly difficult to separate.
Events offer experiences that can only be obtained in person, such as meeting creators, seeing items physically, interacting with the community, and enjoying the event atmosphere.
However, the consumer journey can begin long before the event takes place. Someone might first discover a product through TikTok, then view the catalog via Instagram or X, open the booth map on the website, and then make a purchase when they arrive at the venue.
After the event ends, the products reappear in the digital space through photos, videos, merch hauls, reviews, and content from visitors.
This pattern is in line with the concept of omnichannel, which is the effort to unify the consumer experience across various online and offline channels (Ailawadi & Farris, 2017).
Events that physically last only one or two days can actually have a marketing cycle lasting several weeks.
Before the Event
Announcements, creator reveals, catalogs, product previews, countdowns, and pre-orders are used to build attention and anticipation among potential visitors.
During the Event
Booth documentation, product recommendations, cosplay content, and live posts from visitors help expand digital conversations while the event is ongoing.
After the Event
Content such as merch hauls, reviews, sales of remaining stock, activity documentation, and announcements for the next event keep the marketing cycle running even after the event has concluded.
In this cycle, visitors become marketing channels themselves. The photos or videos of merchandise they upload become user-generated content that helps expand the creator's reach.
Handayanti et al. (2026) show that such content not only functions as a promotional tool but can also be a means of building relationships and community engagement.
This form of marketing can be called omnichannel fandom marketing: products are discovered through digital channels, experienced physically, and then brought back to life in the digital space.
Fandom Is a Community Before It Becomes a Market
Fandom indeed has economic value, but fandom is not formed because of transactions. It is formed because of shared interests, and economic activity grows on top of those relationships.
Therefore, treating fandom solely as a target market risks damaging the very source of the community's strength.
The question that needs to be asked is not just, “How do we get fans to buy more?”, but rather, “How do we keep fans engaged?”
The answer could be better event experiences, easy-to-use digital catalogs, stories behind the product creation process, collaborations between creators, or exclusive products that truly hold meaning for the community.
The desire to buy often appears weeks before visitors stand in front of a booth: when an illustration first appears on the timeline, when a catalog is saved, when a friend sends a post, or when someone says, “Let's find this booth at Chibicon.”
At that point, the future of animanga marketing is formed: at the intersection of algorithms, creativity, community, and direct experience.
The next challenge for event organizers and creators is not just selling more merchandise, but how to connect the digital world with physical experiences to build long-term relationships.
Because what makes a fandom valuable is not just the collected items, but also the sense of belonging to the community behind them.
References
Ailawadi, K. L., & Farris, P. W. (2017). Managing multi- and omni-channel distribution: Metrics and research directions. Journal of Retailing, 93(1), 120–135.
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