New York, New York–(Newsfile Corp. – May 31, 2023) – Fan and celebrity experiences aren’t new. After all, people have always been willing to take time out of their busy days and spend their hard-earned money only to have a short conversation or snap a picture with their favorite celebrity, whether it’s an actor, musician, author, or athlete.
You’ll often hear about fans spending hundreds of dollars to attend a convention, hoping to get the chance to have an intimate moment with their favorite celebrity. Unfortunately, despite paying extravagant sums, such moments aren’t guaranteed. Similarly, fans splurging on VIP passes and backstage passes to meet their favorite celebrities for a meet-and-greet are also not uncommon. However, such experiences are often disappointing because celebrities are short on time and rarely spend more than a few seconds with fans. That’s where FanRoom Live enters the mix, hoping to change the dynamics of traditional fan-celebrity experiences.
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I happened to come across FanRoom Live on YouTube, and the videos of how fans interact with their favorite celebrities via a virtual platform actually intrigued me. It piqued my interest so much that I decided to talk to Jeff Krauss, one of the company’s co-founders, to learn about the concept and inspiration behind it. Jeff has joined us today and delves into how FanRoom Live is changing and enhancing the way people interact and engage with their beloved stars. Here are some key excerpts from the interview:
We’re glad to have you with us. Let’s dive right into it. What prompted you to start FanRoom Live?
Jeff Krauss: Thank you for having me. As for the question, I’ve always been passionate about creating experiences and innovative solutions that connect people and build communities. That’s why most of my businesses are in events management, hospitality, and entertainment.
We saw how fans craved meaningful interactions with their favorite celebrities, athletes, etc. But unfortunately, they had limited opportunities to do this safely and engagingly, especially during the early days of the pandemic. That’s when three of us (Me, Cedric The Entertainer, and Mich Faulkner) decided to create FanRoom Live, our virtual platform that brings fans and celebrities together in an intimate and interactive setting.
The inspiration for FanRoom Live came from a desire to bridge the gap between fans and celebrities. We wanted to provide fans access to their favorite stars and empower celebrities to engage with their fans in a more personal and authentic way.
We also realized we could leverage this platform for social good to raise money and awareness for some very good charities and causes. By creating a virtual space for fans and celebrities to connect, we hope to foster a sense of community and belonging that transcends physical boundaries and brings people together from all over the world, even now that COVID is no longer the challenge it once was.
How can FanRoom Live empower the audience to enjoy a concert from the comfort of their living room?
Jeff Krauss: FanRoom Live is a digital platform made specifically for fan-celebrity meet-ups. Our platform and the technology powering it allow fans to enjoy hangouts with their favorite celebrities with an immersive and interactive experience that’s almost similar to real-life concerts and meet and greets.
Our platform also uses high-quality audio and video streaming technology, allowing us to provide an unparalleled experience that replicates a live concert’s excitement and energy. The best part is that it all happens from the comfort of your home. You can still ask questions and have one-on-one conversations with your favorite celebrities. You could never have all these combined qualities at a physical concert, meet and greet, or convention. In short, it’s like hanging out in the celebrities’ green room, except it’s better and more personal.
What sets FanRoom Live apart from other traditional fan-celebrity meet-ups?
Jeff Krauss: Aside from creating a fan-celebrity experience that’s digital and allows you to interact meaningfully with your favorite celebrity from the comfort of your home, we’ve worked tirelessly to ensure that the digital process enhances the fan-celebrity meet-up experience. We’ve achieved this by focusing on three different aspects. Firstly, we believe FanRoom Live makes such events extremely convenient and accessible. Secondly, our platform also makes these events extremely intimate and authentic. Finally, our platform also enjoys great scalability and flexibility.
Conventions have been around for ages. That’s how most fan-celebrity experiences occur. But unfortunately, they’re limited to specific venues or locations. As a digital platform, we don’t have these limitations. Hence, fans can participate and meet with their favorite celebrities from anywhere in the world, regardless of their distance or time zone differences.
Moreover, I would also like to point out that fans can interact and relate with their favorite celebrities in real-time through our town hall-style events. This intimacy is challenging to find, especially in traditional fan-celebrity meet-ups where time is limited, and the atmosphere is often crowded and chaotic.
Finally, I would also like to highlight that being an online platform allows us to accommodate as many participants as needed. You don’t have to worry about missing out on meeting your favorite celebrity because the venue is sold-out. We can tailor our events to suit the needs and preferences of our fans and the celebrities hosting them to ensure everyone enjoys a highly personalized experience.
How does digitization enhance the fan-celebrity experience?
Jeff Krauss: I believe digitization enhances the fan’s experience by providing a more convenient, interactive, and engaging way to connect with their favorite celebrities.
By embracing digital technology, fans can enjoy a more immersive and personalized experience than ever before, and I believe this is something to cheer about. Not only would fans get to eliminate the need for physical travel, but there is also a significant reduction in the time and cost associated with attending these events compared to live events. In addition, live chats, Q&A sessions, and other interactive features baked into platforms like FanRoom take interactivity and engagement to a whole new level. The sheer range of content and experiences fans could have access to is also mind-blowing.
What are your future plans as far as FanRoom Live is concerned?
Jeff Krauss: My friends and partners – Mich Faulkner and Cedric The Entertainer – are also my co-founders. In addition, Jae Benjamin and Stacey Toy (Co-Hosts and Co-Eps) are also crucial to the team. As a result, I’m proud to say we have some brilliant, creative, and enterprising people working on making FanRoom Live the go-to platform for fan-celebrity meet-ups. Thus, you can trust that we have some very ambitious plans for FanRoom Live that I cannot share in detail here.
However, our short-term goal involves expanding our reach and audience base by partnering with more celebrities and influencers across various industries and genres. We believe that our platform can offer a unique and valuable experience to a diverse range of fan communities, and we are committed to reaching out to new audiences and building new partnerships to help make this happen.
We also are working on a strategic alliance with Kevin Smith’s Smodcastle details to be announced when it’s finalized, so I can’t say too much about it, but there will be many ways to work with them. That project will be spearheaded by Stacey Toy and her brainchild, so to speak. So we have an amazing team working diligently on new projects and strategic partnerships to bring FanRoom to another level.
Furthermore, since we believe technology is essential for providing a seamless, high-quality experience for our users, we’re constantly exploring new ways to enhance our platform and make it more engaging, interactive, and user-friendly. Hence, we want to continue to innovate and improve our technology platform.
Finally, we are committed to evolving our platform to meet our fans and celebrity partners’ changing needs and preferences. We understand that the digital fan-culture space is constantly evolving. We’re dedicated to staying at the forefront of these changes by providing the best possible experience for our users. You can check out our website, www.fanroomlive.com, and @fanroomlive on social media for all upcoming events and announcements of future initiatives and partnerships. Thanks again for having me today!
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Media Contact: Sheryl Dolley
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Media Phone Number: 646-439-4600
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