If you don’t already know, Olivia Rodrigo is the loveable 18-year-old whose stardom began with Disney’s High School Musical The Musical The Series.
Her talents don’t only lie with singing as Rodrigo also wrote the main character ‘Nina’ solo song which made its way into the charts.But we’re not here to talk about how incredible Olivia Rodrigo is. We’re here to talk about how incredibly well-marketed her debut album ‘SOUR’ is. We’re going to break down the layers of genius marketing and branding this has taken to help push Olivia to be one of the youngest most successful women of our generation. This is Olivia Rodrigo's marketing strategy.
AESTHETIC & BRANDING
Let’s first talk about aesthetics and branding. From the gorgeous pastel shades, and the consistent quirky stickers plastered everywhere to the vintage-looking disposables that TikTok teens everywhere have made a popular aesthetic, this branding has it all. What’s so iconic about her branding is that it’s so relatable and desirable to people her age. Her branding gives you that feeling of nostalgia that we can actually all relate to. Before digital cameras and iPhones were disposables of your mates getting drunk in a park, which gives her branding such a raw niche edge.
PR & PACKAGES
One of the biggest wins from this strategy has to be the SOUR car wash. Rodrigo teamed up with Spotify to host a car wash in Los Feliz, California. Olivia’s top listeners were invited with a link to register for a spot in the SOUR car wash. Taco Bell also catered for the event. The teen was there to meet and greet fans as she handed out her Sour Patch Kids collab to her fans. The entire event was completely different from what you usually see and was a fun and creative way to drive the hype for the album. Olivia also sent out PR boxes to her celeb pals, the likes of Gwen Stefani, Joe Jonas, Kim Kardashian and others.
MERCH
For those who didn’t get the opportunity to meet the superstar, she later announced her merch, CDs and cassettes were available for purchase. Fans went crazy for the t-shirts, hats, and exclusive posters, with a lot of the merchandise, already sold out. The merch itself was completely on brand and massively on what her target audience is looking for. The entire collection has a street-wise vintage edge to it which appeals completely to her audience. So what can we learn from her marketing team? Know your audience. The targeting was spot on and the team utilised amazing partnerships that fit her overall brand well. Also, keep consistent. Olivia’s vibe hasn’t changed and her branding is now iconically known as it has been consistent across her album, and merch, all the way through to her Instagram feed.
And if all that fails… write some kick-ass music about a boy who broke your heart.
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