Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Beyond

Fan Projects 101: Fan projects are grand gestures of love from fans to idols. It’s how we take part in special moments during an idol’s birthday, a group’s debut anniversary, or a huge milestone like a music show win or world tour stop.

What’s cool is these projects often double as celebrations of fandom itself and sometimes even give back to the community.

It’s fandom culture at its finest: collective, creative, and often altruistic.

Dito sa Pinas, We mix Korean-style ideas with our own Pinoy flavor. Some popular types of fan projects you’ll see:

● BIRTHDAY ADS & BILLBOARDS

Perhaps the most visible projects are the giant birthday greetings. Fans pool funds to rent out LED billboards in high-traffic spots, like EDSA billboards or LED screens in malls, to display a “Happy Birthday” message for their idol.

If you’ve been around malls recently, chances are you’ve seen a huge screen flashing something like “Happy Birthday, [Idol Name]!” with their photos and a message from the fandom.

It’s become so common that even non-fans passing by are like, “Ah, sina SB19 ‘yan.” But we Pinoy fans didn’t stop at local billboards.

In an unprecedented move, fans of P-pop girl group BINI pulled off a project this year: A video billboard ad at Hapjeong Station in Seoul, South Korea to honor member Maloi on her birthday. Imagine a Filipina idol’s face on a Seoul subway screen and funded by Filipino fans!

Likewise, Filipino K-pop fandoms have participated in global projects for Korean idols.

It’s now almost tradition that for major idol birthdays, you’ll find Times Square in New York or subway stations in Seoul glowing with their images.

In fact, Filipino fans have helped sponsor some of those overseas ads too. (After SB19 won a global fan-voted contest in 2023, A’TIN put up a celebratory ad in Times Square to mark the win – represent! 🇵🇭)

● CUP SLEEVE EVENTS

Borrowed from Korean café culture, these are fan-organized gatherings at local cafés where, when you buy a drink, you receive a customized cup sleeve (the cardboard around the cup) printed with an idol’s face and a message (like “Happy Jungkook Day!”).

Fan clubs host them on or around an idol’s birthday or debut anniversary, turning a café into a mini shrine for the day.

They decorate the place with banners, balloons, and standees, and often prepare freebies like photocards or stickers for attendees.

You grab your frappe, get a cute sleeve and some freebies, and meet fellow fans who are just as crazy about the idol as you.

During the pandemic, some did “drive-thru” style pick-ups for safety, but now they’re mostly back in-person.

It’s also great promo because curious onlookers at the café or mall see the festivities and go, “Anong meron dito?” (What’s going on here?)

● CHARITY & OUTREACH

Many fandoms mark special occasions by giving back. Instead of (or in addition to) flashy ads, they donate to charities in the idol’s name.

Filipino ELFs (Super Junior fans) have done blood donation drives for Leeteuk’s birthday.

PH BLINKs (Blackpink fans) organized a coastal clean-up to celebrate Rosé’s day.

ARMYs have famously done community pantries and relief drives under BTS’ name. One group of ARMYs in Cavite even set up a “Borahae Pantry” to distribute food during the lockdown, inspired by a similar community pantry movement. Puwede na kaming maging superheroes, ‘di ba? (We can be superheroes, right?)

And there are so many more kinds of projects: fan art exhibits, free rice distributions (yes, that happened), flash mobs, fan-organized mini concerts, you name it.

Filipino fans’ creativity knows no bounds. We’ve even seen collabs, like multiple fandoms joining together for a big charity project or a multi-group tribute event.

MAKING IDOLS FEEL THE LOVE

One beautiful thing about fan projects is how they can touch the idols themselves. Idols really notice these efforts!

They often post thank-you messages or mention them in vlogs. When YoungTak, a Korean trot singer, held his album showcase, he was so moved by international fans’ support that he said, “Fans are like family to me… those who promise to stay are my biggest driving force.”

Comments like that make all our hard work worth it (cue the ugly crying). Some idols even visit their billboards or send snacks to cup sleeve events in gratitude.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR ORGANIZING

If you’re feeling inspired to start a project, a few practical tips:

Plan early and budget wisely.

Coordinate with established fan clubs if possible.

Always get permits or permissions for public displays or events.

And promote your project on social media to get fellow fans involved. You’d be surprised how many are willing to chip in or help out if you just ask.

Platforms like FanFlare are here to make things simple, and more affordable!

So, what fan project have you been dreaming of? Maybe a birthday flash mob in Luneta? A charity drive in your hometown? Or something quirky like naming a star after your idol?

As we say, lakas ng trip (dream big). Remember, in this fandom life, tayo ang bida when we come together.

Our idols give us so much; it’s awesome to give a little back. And indeed, through fan projects, we turn our dreams (and sometimes crazy ideas) into reality: one LED billboard, cup sleeve, or community pantry at a time. Padayon, stans!—Orville Tan