Fangage

Fangage: From an MVP to a Working Platform and a Clear Go-to-Market Setup

4 days

website rebuilt and launched in time for the press campaign

Day-1 inbound from major sports orgs

inbound requests from Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, Minnesota Vikings, and World Juniors

70,000 users

in the first year

Industry

Media & Entertainment

Provided Services

Discovery

UI/UX Design

Software Product Development

Tech Stack

.NET / jQuery / Azure

Duration

2+ years

[ client & product overview/ ]

Fangage connects fans with celebrities via facial-recognition-verified digital autographs. Fans upload a photo, the celebrity signs it, and the fan receives a verified image to download, print, or share.

During the pandemic, Fangage’s product was used to run virtual autograph experiences when in-person player appearances were restricted. In the lead-up to Super Bowl LV, Fangage’s white-label software was embedded in the NFL OnePass app to support a virtual version of the Autograph Stage.

20,000+

signed photos

countries reached

Executive Summary

Fangage had real traction, but the product was still at an MVP stage and wasn’t ready for growth. The platform needed stronger operational workflows, and the public website didn’t clearly explain the product or who it was for.

MEV helped Fangage move past the MVP stage by updating the platform end-to-end, clarifying the target audience, and rebuilding the website. All of this was done under tight time pressure ahead of increased external attention. As a result, Fangage had a product and a web presence that could be confidently shown to partners and used in real operations.

Move from MVP to monetization

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[ challenges/ ]

The Challenges

C1:

Time pressure before a press push: A press campaign was scheduled in one week, but the website looked like an early prototype.

C2:

Unclear target audience after years of pivots: Undefined target audience after the idea changed substantially over ~4 years

C3:

No clear operational workflows for running events at scale: Core admin work (sites, events, celebrities, photo approvals, emails, users) needed structure so the team could run multiple client sites and events without ad-hoc manual handling.

C4:

The product was still an MVP, not a scalable platform: Fangage had traction, but the platform was at an MVP stage and needed a full update to support real operations and growth

[ how we did it/ ]

Solution & Implementation

MEV worked with Fangage at two levels: the product itself and the way it’s presented to the market. Both were necessary to move the product past the MVP stage.

Platform update (from MVP to working system)

When we joined, Fangage already had an MVP. It proved the idea, but it wasn’t ready for real operational use or scale. We updated the platform so it could support day-to-day work and real events.

The updated platform included:

Multi-site management. Ability to manage multiple client sites from a single admin area.
Event management. Create and manage events, including dates, livestream links, banners, and descriptions.
Photo workflow. Upload photos, review and approve or reject them, edit messages, and handle consolation photo flows.
Celebrity management. Centralized celebrity profiles reused across events and sites.
Email control. Global email settings and templates, with the ability to edit and enable or disable emails.
User management. Manage internal users and access rights.

Discovery and audience clarification

We created basic brand and messaging guidelines. This included:

understand how the product was actually being used
identify the most realistic customer groups
define what each audience needs to see and understand

Brand and messaging basics

Ensured internal teams could scale operations without turning the ERP into chaos.

a clear explanation of the product
consistent language for external communication
simple rules for how Fangage presents itself

Website rebuild (go-to-market layer)

Working website model delivered in 4 days:

focused on explaining the product clearly
structured to support inbound requests from teams, partners, and event organizers

[ what we achieved/ ]

Results

R1:

Fangage replaced an outdated website with a usable sales and marketing entry point

R2:

The team gained clarity around their audience and messaging

R3:

The platform was upgraded from a prototype to an operational system

R4:

Inbound requests arrived on the first day after launch, including interest from major sports organizations and event partners

R5:

Fangage had both proof of demand (tens of thousands of signings delivered) and proof of enterprise relevance (used for NFL’s pandemic-era Super Bowl fan experience via OnePass).

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