An In-Depth Look at Relaunching Their Fan Club on Shopify With the Single App
After a decade+ of relentless touring and releasing albums, British indie rockers White Lies had built a loyal and devoted fanbase. However, the band's fan club platform lacked the interactive features the band and their fans were looking for. Looking to revamp this critical part of their fan engagement, the band partnered up with Big Cookie and 100% to create a new and improved fan club using Single Memberships for Shopify.
The Backstory
While White Lies had no shortage of passionate fans, their existing fan club suffered from several issues:
- Fans and Product Data Was Siloed - they required a Shopify store and fan club platform that allowed their products to be seamlessly integrated into YouTube, Spotify and Google Shopping.
- Limited Engagement Opportunities - The band had very few tools to directly communicate with fans or offer exclusive experiences due to the limitations of the outdated systems.
The Solution
To fix this, White Lies rebuilt their fan club on Shopify using Single Memberships. Now fans get an amazing array of perks for a $64 annual membership, like priority access to tickets, live albums, exclusive merchandise, discounts and more.
The new fan club checks all the boxes:
- Everything's in one place—content, merch, community. No more jumping between sites.
- Customizable membership perks to personalise the fans experience.
- Simple tools help White Lies post content fast.
- Unified data gives a 360-degree view of each fan.
This approach puts the focus back on value, access, and community.
Launch Strategy
To get the word out, White Lies focused on making fans feel part of it every step of the way by:
- Interviewing fans to create perks they'd love.
- Giving the first year free to existing members.
- Partnered with an existing fan-led Discord community to make it ‘Official’ with the band launching an AMA in the first week of the new Fan Club.
- Integrating the club seamlessly with their official Discord server to bring people together easily.
Results
The relaunched fan club saw:
- Memberships increased 4X after launch.
- Fans love the improved, seamless experience.
- Fan data for future marketing.
- The scalable platform supports lasting growth.
"The new fan club offers the kind of access and experiences fans have been asking for." - Aaron Bogucki, Big Cookie
Key Takeaways
White Lies' successful fan club relaunch provides an excellent blueprint for bands looking to engage fans through a refreshed experience - whether rebooting an existing fan club or building one from the ground up.
Some key things for bands to model:
- Directly involve fans to shape rewards and experiences that excite them. White Lies' fan interviews ensured supporter-focused perks.
- Consolidate platforms for seamless community access. Unifying merchandise, content and forums under one roof removed friction for White Lies' fans.
- Strategically promote with incentives. Free memberships for existing fans and Discord integration accelerated adoption for White Lies' relaunch.
- Focus on exclusivity and belonging. The unique access White Lies provided drove the 4x membership surge.
