Case Study
Armani white: A Fandom strategy
A FANDOM STRATEGY
In partnership with Brandwatch, a leading AI-enabled social listening tool.
What is a fandom strategy?
Attention spans fragment quickly. Without structure, discovery does not convert into belonging. Fans know the artist, but have no clear way to stay engaged once the moment passes.
A fandom strategy builds the infrastructure of belonging. It organizes efforts around a single vision, declares how we will sustain audience interest in the always-on, attention-poor, post-social world, and shows how we translate that interest into love and success.
the Challenge
Launching an album in late 2025, two years after a viral megahit, Armani White turned to BrandBackstage to understand what modern fandom looks like and how it should function beyond hype cycles.
The ultimate goal: to nurture love and attention.
The Approach
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Exploring, revealing, and crystallizing the artist’s point of view, defining how the creative vision can be translated into cultural products.
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Examining the conversation catalysts that drove the artist’s engagement over the past two years, then mapping how audiences encountered them across platforms.
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Surfacing the reasons why current superfans discovered the artist and stayed within their orbit (12 interviews across age groups, genders, and geographies).
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Together with the artist content team, BrandBackstage employed its fandom infrastructure and channel capabilities, creating artistic systems.
The Process
Social listening reviewed two years of interactions.
Superfan interviews revealed how fans discovered the artist and why they stayed within the orbit.
Fandom strategy works on many levels: creative, channel, and commercial. Unlike content creators or influencers, artists present their perspective, actively shaping cultural norms.
Creative lens: Creative vision workshops involved rounds of conversations that BrandBackstage shaped into an artistic manifesto: I am an artist. Here is what is important to me, here is the work I believe in, and here is why you should be interested in me.
The manifesto was then tested for commercial viability with the superfans.
Commercial lens: During the superfandom interviews, we mapped the distance between the fandom's perception and the creator's manifesto, explored who the new vision resonated with, and identified ideas that were commercially viable.
Channel lens: An in-depth channel exploration followed, examining where conversations are happening, how pre-existing communities and accounts can be leveraged, and which engagements had previously driven the artist's growth.
“I feel like Armani is really good at being fun, and I think that’s a cool thing”
The Insight
Fandom is the infrastructure of belonging.
The Impact
Growth focus shifted from reach to continuity. Rather than chasing moments, Armani focused on keeping fans connected with content franchises and fandom activations. This influenced content design, success metrics, and support for future releases. Each social channel now has a distinct role, sustaining engagement.
Together with the content team, we deployed fandom infrastructure and channel capabilities, creating artistic systems aligned with the manifesto