The Cultivation of a Fandom: Relationship Cultivation Strategies in Fluid Fandom Organizations

Two of the largest, most influential international fandoms on record are musical idols BTS’s ARMY and musician Taylor Swift’s Swifties. These two groups have sparked a fandom phenomenon that positions both fandoms as key components of not only North American or South Korean cultures but also pivotal forces of a larger global culture. To better understand why these fandoms have become such an influential collective force in society, nine focus groups ( N = 46) were conducted to (a) investigate how BTS and Taylor Swift cultivated strong relationships with their respective fan communities and (b) to explore if, and how, culture impacts the application of the BTS and Taylor Swift relationship cultivation strategies with their fan communities. Using abductive analysis, the findings suggest that both fandoms reported instances of all six relationship cultivation strategies, but that there were several distinctions in how fans reported that BTS and Taylor Swift implemented these strategies and which strategies they used more than others. The findings of this study offer several theoretical implications for relationship cultivation theory and practical implications for public relations practitioners in the entertainment industry and fandoms alike.