boygenius
Building invisible infrastructure for 'the record' album campaign
The Supergroup Data Problem
Three distinct fanbases. One album. Zero margin for error.
The critically acclaimed supergroup boygenius featuring Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus presented a unique challenge. While Phoebe Bridgers commanded significant brand equity, the "boygenius" term had far fewer searches. The band was also extremely averse to being perceived as "salesy", ruling out aggressive ad tactics.
The challenge wasn't just marketing an album, but rather architecting a system that could transfer equity from three established artists to a new entity, capture first-party data in a post-iOS14 world, and respect the band's aesthetic boundaries while driving aggressive e-commerce revenue.
The core tension: Tension presented itself with the volatility of algorithmic platforms and the "death of the pixel" that created a data crisis. Standard tracking was losing 40%+ of conversions. Soundwave's solution was to build invisible infrastructure and server-side architecture that would bypass these limitations entirely.
The Invisible Infrastructure Stack
Server-side tracking, schema healing, and fuzzy match attribution.
Server-Side Tracking (CAPI)
Direct bridge from Shopify servers to Meta platforms, bypassing browser blockers entirely. Restored 50%+ of signal that standard pixels were losing to iOS14 restrictions and ad blockers.
Portfolio Convergence
Granular audience segmentation by artist affinity: Bridgers, Dacus, Baker fans targeted separately, then unified into a "super-fan" boygenius audience. Phoebe's segment drove the highest initial conversions.
Search Defense Strategy
Protective bidding on brand terms ("boygenius vinyl", "Phoebe Bridgers merch") to funnel high-intent traffic exclusively to the official store instead of third-party scalpers and bootleggers.
Low-Friction Advertising
AI-powered shop ads that felt native to Instagram feeds, respecting the band's "anti-salesy" mandate, delivered better performance than standard conversion ads while preserving artistic integrity.
Chart Dominance & Data Sovereignty
Infrastructure that delivered both cultural impact and commercial efficiency.
Billboard Performance
The record debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200, topped the Vinyl Album chart at #1, and secured #1 in the UK, Ireland, and Netherlands. The "traffic injection" strategy synchronized spend with chart reporting windows.
ROAS Efficiency
Google Search campaigns delivered exceptional ROAS with ruthlessly efficient capture of high-intent traffic. Meta maintained strong performance even with attribution challenges.
Data Sovereignty Achieved
Email addresses, phone numbers, and pixel profiles captured during the campaign are now permanent assets, which are available for future tour retargeting and solo releases at almost zero acquisition cost.
Key insight
The boygenius campaign proves that infrastructure beats transaction. By building server-side tracking, schema healing, and fuzzy match attribution, Soundwave delivered a resilient, efficient, and authentic campaign that was immune to the "data crisis." The audience data lake created during this campaign extends the artist-fan relationship indefinitely.
What This Means for Album Campaigns
Principles that scale from indie releases to major label rollouts.
The Brand Gap is an opportunity
For supergroups or collaborations, the search volume disparity between individuals and the new entity is a feature, not a bug. Equity Transfer accelerates brand maturation through systematically targeting established artist keywords.
Respecting aesthetics drives performance
The "anti-salesy" constraint forced innovation. Low-friction formats like shop ads outperformed aggressive tactics, proving artistic integrity can be a commercial advantage.
First-Click attribution reveals truth
First-click attribution revealed significantly higher ROAS than last-click. Understanding the discovery journey, rather than just the final click, validates top-of-funnel investment.
Own the data, own the future
Every fan captured during this campaign can be reactivated for tours, solo projects, and future releases at near-zero cost. "Rent vs. Own" isn't a philosophy—it's a financial imperative.