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As the former brand director of Swedish footwear-turned-lifestyle label Axel Arigato, Sanaz Dizaj Parham knows the secret to building a global cult following. Here, she explains why making connections - and throwing out the rulebook - is key.
“When you don’t have experience, you don’t see the obstacles. You’re not constrained by old rules and ways of thinking, so you have the audacity to be different. I think a lot of success comes from that,” says Sanaz Dizaj Parham. As the former brand director and founding employee at Swedish footwear label Axel Arigato who was instrumental in its unique community-building marketing strategy, she should know. Having joined the company straight from Gothenburg University of Business and Economics in 2014, she spent a decade generating a social media following of over two million and helping to double the brand’s revenue between the years 2020 and 2023.
The desire to connect with consumers on an emotional level was, Sanaz says, integral to her approach from the get-go. “We really thought about how to create an experience, a world, that people actually wanted to be part of – whether it was through stories on social digital channels or an events programme that lived in the intersection of community and culture,” she recalls. “In our marketing strategy, sales came second and community came first. As a self-funded brand without venture capital backing, we knew that to survive we had to develop a digital first model.”
One element of that involved a move away from the long-established fashion industry format of a single look book for each season. Instead, Sanaz introduced a product drop of the week to give customers a reason to keep returning. “It allowed us to create fresh content that built a strong relationship with our audience through a series of moments. Of course, this isn’t unique or disruptive anymore but back then, it was unheard of. Everyone thought we were crazy for not shooting a traditional seasonal campaign, but we just wanted to do things differently and start a conversation,” she explains.
If you went into a Nike store at the time, it was floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with products. We had a completely different take.
Rather than transactional marketing tactics, Sanaz believes that “if the dream you're trying to create around a brand doesn't relate to popular culture, then social media channels won't drive any growth. That’s something that comes from cultural relevance and embedding the brand within a narrative that relates to your audience.” In this way, content served as a storytelling engine that continued to maximise engagement and relevance and evolve with the zeitgeist.
When Axel Arigato opened its first store in London in 2016, the brand once again defied expectations of what bricks-and-mortar retail could look like. “If you went into a Nike store at the time, it was floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with products. We had a completely different take. Not only by displaying podiums in the middle of the space but through investing in the experience around the brand to give more value to customers. We were always finding new, unexpected ways of connecting with our audience,” says Sanaz, citing in-store happenings as a major part of this. From album signings to panel talks, DJ sessions to perfume pop-ups, none were ever linked to the brand’s own footwear. “We wanted the events to be educational and inspirational. I think they worked because they were free and open to everyone, and in line with what our customers valued.”
As the count grew to over 20 stores globally, upscaling meant that events took up the largest chunk of the marketing budget – and collaboration with on-the-ground ambassadors became more important in fostering community than ever before. “We never outsourced event production, but what we did was work on a localised level for each store. We identified individuals, anyone from a musician to tattoo artist, within each city, who became part of our community and acted as in-the-know cultural insiders,” says Sanaz, recalling that at one point she and her team were organising more than two events each week. “We wanted each store to be a destination so that whenever our community travelled to a new city they knew they would find something to surprise and interest them.”
I was raised to either be a doctor or a doctor, but my sister ticked that box so I could be free spirited
Looking back now, she believes it was kismet that she stumbled across Axel Arigato at all. As a first-generation Iranian immigrant growing up in Sweden (“I was raised to either be a doctor or a doctor, but my sister ticked that box so I could be free spirited,” she quips), her biggest passion was retail. It was when she was at business school, scrolling through Instagram one day, that the brand – who had around 15,000 followers before even launching any product – appeared on her feed.
She was immediately drawn in – especially when she realised that it was based in her hometown, Gothenburg. “The city is not a fashion capital of any kind, so it was shocking to me. I cold contacted the founders Max Svärdh and Albin Johansson, not knowing that they were a recent start-up and, after months of e-mailing, they eventually agreed to meet.” She joined Axel Arigato to work in customer service while still in her second year of university and, as the company grew, so did her responsibilities. “It was really a case of fake it until you make it. I didn't know how to art direct a shoot or bring a product successfully to the market. There was a lot of trial and error, but that outsider perspective really allowed me to not see any boundaries. I just had an idea and went for it.”
Now, as well as a brand consultant specialising in supporting fashion, beauty and luxury brands navigating periods of rapid growth, she is working towards launching her own business later this year. “What I’m really interested in is how to build community 2.0. I think that treating followers as contributors is the future of how you build long term equity. Axel was able to become hugely successful because of incredibly hard work, but we also had good timing. Growing on Instagram then, the algorithms were in our favour,” says Sanaz.
“Today, Tiktok and Tiktok Shop is where all the growth is happening. It’s the first time in years that I've seen brands being able to come in and create communities from scratch at a low customer acquisition cost. What’s different is that the categories dominating are health and beauty.” While most entrepreneurs focus on the product first, Sanaz is concerned with distribution and scale. “Essentially, I want to create a product that fits into a more social-led, creator-led, performance driven growth engine because that's what I know. It’s how I was able to successfully scale Axel, both online and in retail. Now I want to apply the same playbook to a category that is overdue for change,” she concludes. Watch this space.
Sanaz Dizaj Parham
Cape Capital