BORGORE
Borgore entered the market as a polarizing figure: a mid-level electronic artist with a deliberately provocative, bad-boy persona that challenged norms and fueled conversation. His brand was loud, misogynistic by design, and impossible to ignore—but his digital footprint didn’t yet match his cultural potential. At the time, his fanbase hovered around 400K across platforms, and his YouTube presence was largely underdeveloped.
The objective was clear: move Borgore from underground notoriety into mainstream relevance. I set out to design messaging and viral activations that would elevate him to headlining status, while testing and solidifying my broader thesis— that social media could reconnect artists with fans, create emotional buy-in, and rebuild artist economics in the post-Napster, post-piracy era.
Through precisely timed campaigns such as “Borgore for President” and “Fan Mail,” Borgore rapidly transformed into one of the most followed and talked-about artists on social media. His content began circulating far beyond his core audience, capturing the attention of major brands and prompting artists across genres to engage, retweet, and amplify.
Among those paying attention was one unexpected name.
Miley Cyrus.
MILEY CYRUS
Miley Cyrus was 19—and standing at a crossroads that has ended countless careers. History is unkind to child stars; sustained relevance beyond a Disney origin story is the exception, not the rule. Miley was tasked with an almost impossible transition: evolving a bubblegum pop icon into an artist with edge, credibility, and room for her audience to grow up alongside her.
At the same time, she was paying close attention to the underground.
After discovering Borgore on social media, the two connected and agreed to meet. Borgore had written a track titled “Decisions.” Miley was intrigued—not by a label, not by a strategy memo, but by the energy—and asked to contribute vocals.
At that moment, Miley’s reach exceeded 20 million followers across social platforms. The opportunity was enormous. So was the risk.
This wasn’t a safe collaboration. The collision of these two worlds—Borgore’s aggressively confrontational brand and Miley’s fiercely loyal Smilers—had the potential to alienate both fanbases. Mixing the Borwhores with the Smilers could just as easily implode as it could ignite.
Handled incorrectly, it would have destroyed Borgore’s credibility.
Handled correctly, it would change the trajectory of both careers.
Decisions
“Decisions” was released first on its own merit.
The track rolled out across major dubstep playlists, supported by the “Bitches Love Cake” campaign. For Borgore’s then–mid-level audience, it performed exactly as intended: strong engagement, repeat listens, and organic fan approval. At that point, Borgore had only one prior video that had ever gone viral, and his YouTube subscriber base was still relatively modest.
What mattered most was acceptance.
Fans loved the record—without context, without headlines, and without knowing who the vocalist was. The song stood on its own. That was the test.
Behind the scenes, the identity of the vocalist was deliberately kept under wraps. Timing was everything. The reveal wouldn’t happen until Miley felt her image—and the cultural moment—was ready.
The bet was simple but risky:
if Borgore’s audience already loved the track, they couldn’t unhear it.
They couldn’t unlove it—just because the voice belonged to Miley Cyrus.
Activating Miley’s Fanbase & Converting Them Into Borgore Fans
Once we were confident Borgore’s fans were genuinely attached to the track, and Miley's new branding was secured, Miley tweeted the reveal — confirming she was the voice on “Decisions.”
We followed with a vague announcement that a music video was coming, but intentionally didn’t give a release date. Miley’s fans — who hadn’t seen her in a music video in two years — exploded with excitement. The Smilers were fully activated. Our new objective was to convert that energy into attention for Borgore.
To strike the right tone, I leaned into Borgore’s irreverent brand and playfully antagonized Miley’s fanbase. I intentionally referred to them as “Smileys” instead of “Smilers” — a small jab that encouraged them to jump into the conversation. If they wanted to clap back at Borgore online, they had to learn who he was, listen to his music, and understand his persona.
This tactic protected Borgore’s edge and prevented him from being absorbed into Miley’s fandom, which his core audience might have rejected. While the playful trolling initially made Borgore nervous, it worked:
Smilers were tweeting his name nonstop, and his own fans — The Borwhores — loved watching the chaos unfold.
The result was a surge of cross-fanbase engagement and a moment where both communities collided around the campaign.
The moment fans learned the vocalist was Miley Cyrus, the internet detonated.
The Smilers hadn’t seen Miley in a music video in over two years. Her sharp new haircut, young-adult edge, and trend-setting confidence signaled a clear departure from her Disney past. The excitement wasn’t manufactured—it was visceral.
We made a deliberate decision not to announce a video release date. That silence gave us room to cross-promote, extend anticipation, fully introduce Miley’s new persona, and simultaneously accelerate Borgore’s audience growth before the reveal landed.
For me, this campaign marked a major career milestone. It was my first time leading marketing on a global, multi-partner initiative with significant financial investment. In the final stretch before launch, I formally stepped into the role—making decisive calls and overriding established industry voices to protect the integrity of the strategy.
The results validated every risk:
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#16 most viral video on the internet within 24 hours
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Released on Borgore’s YouTube channel, which had just 1,100 subscribers at launch
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1+ million views in the first 24 hours
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Borgore’s Facebook grew from 400K → 1M
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Twitter grew from 40K → 150K
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50,000 units in merchandise sold
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Won MTVUs Freshman fan voting challenge, entering the rotation on college campuses across the globe.
Culturally, the shift was undeniable.
Hannah Montana officially became Miley Cyrus.
Borgore began his journey on main stages at festivals across the globe.
Sadly, two weeks after the video launched, Borgore demanded we cease promoting him with Miley, for fear of his reputation. The video stalled at just under 30m plays.
