Charli XCX’s ‘brat’ Album Campaign: A Masterclass in Modern Music Marketing

More than 100,000 new tracks are uploaded to music streaming services daily, which makes it challenging for individual artists to gain visibility.

In this oversaturated music market, Charli XCX’s ‘brat’ campaign stands out as a textbook example of how to launch a successful music campaign. By combining traditional & guerilla marketing strategies, the campaign resulted in a significant impact worldwide.

Album Overview

Released on June 7, 2024, Charli XCX’s ‘brat’ marked a departure from her previous hyper-pop era, featuring a club-centric sound that drew inspiration from the late 2000s and early 2010s. This nostalgic yet fresh sound resonated strongly with fans, and Charli’s clean image and loyal fanbase further contributed to the campaign’s success.

Aim and Goals

While we don’t have access to the specifics of Charli XCX’s marketing goals, the campaign likely aimed to:

• Increase brand awareness for Charli XCX

• Drive sales and streams of the ‘brat’ album

• Establish a unique brand identity for the ‘brat’ era

• Connect with younger generations (Gen Z and Millennials)

• Generate high social media engagement

Marketing and Promotional Strategies

Rollout Strategy & Brand Universe

The strategic rollout of Charli XCX’s ‘brat’ album was a carefully planned extensive marketing campaign with digital and real-world touchpoints.

Charli and her team mapped out a timeline of events, content releases, and engagement initiatives to gradually build awareness and engage her audience in the ‘brat’ universe:

The campaign went beyond a traditional album release, evolving into a comprehensive brand world that immersed fans in a 360 creative experience. See below the key elements that Charli and her team crafted to build the ‘brat’ brand as a lifestyle and creative platform:

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How to build brand energy: from the distinct visual codes to the carefully curated content and experiential touchpoints

Visual and Behavioral Codes

Album’s cover was just a lime green color (#8bcf02) with a glitchy Arial narrow font to challenge pop culture norms and create and edgy, Y2K-inspired aesthetic.

In her TikTok interview, Charli explained the essence of being ‘brat’:

“You’re that girl who is a bit messy and loves to party and maybe says dumb things sometimes. She’s honest, blunt and a little bit volatile. That’s brat.”

Charli explains ‘brat’

When Charli dropped the album announcement, the controversy surrounding the ‘brat’ cover art built even more hype and discussions around the release. The glitchy image and bold color scheme sparked intense conversations on X:

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‘brat’ album announcement back in February 2024 and the community reaction

360_brat Burner Account

Charli XCX took a bold approach to connect with her most active fans. She opened a limited-time ‘360_brat’ burner account with unfiltered window into her personal life and creative process.

Within this account, she shared her personal insights, ‘no filter’ content and glimpses into her real life, like sharing opinions on other artists and her relationships with them — cultivating a secret, one-on-one dialogue with her core fanbase.

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Insider content from @360_brat: honest Q&A’s, no-filter posts & fun

The temporary nature highlighted its exclusivity, leaving fans feeling like part of an inner circle and insiders into brat. This strategic move allowed Charli to harness the power of her loyalists and set the stage for the larger ‘brat’ rollout.

Experiential Marketing

Then, Charli XCX took to TikTok Live to showcase a brat-painted wall on a street in New York City — one of her top listening markets on Spotify. Fans were quick to recognize the location, and after Charli shared the exact address in a tweet, they rushed to the scene.

TikTok Live recording of the brat wall in NYC

The event culminated in a surprise appearance by the singer herself, who treated the gathered fans to an impromptu live performance, further fueling the engagement around the album release.

Later pre-release events, such as exclusive Boiler Room performances and Charli’s appearances at high-profile events like the Met Gala, generated buzz and anticipation. Post-launch activities, including the brat Tour and other events, maintained engagement after the album’s release.

PARTYGIRL Performance at Boiler Room NYC

Content Creation and Distribution

The strategic release of singles like “Von Dutch” and “360,” accompanied by visually striking music videos, kept the audience engaged.

The brat art generator allowed fans to create and share custom content, amplifying the album’s reach on social media and enabling the marketing team to retarget interested audiences with ads.

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Try for yourself: join the ‘brat’ at https://www.bratgenerator.com/

Real-Life and World Impact

Cultural Impact: ‘brat summer’

The album inspired the ‘brat summer’ trend, characterised by a carefree grungy attitude. This movement gained significant traction on TikTok, where viral UGCs became widespread with 1.2M+ posts tagged #brat.

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Fans, brands and other social media users also started creating relatable ‘brat’ memes that contrast different lifestyles or attitudes, as seen below. Organic meme creation highlights the album’s cultural impact, making ‘brat’ more than just an album — it’s a phenomenon.

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brat summer explained as a meme by overheardnewyork on Instagram

Political Engagement

Vice President Kamala Harris adopted the ‘brat’ aesthetic for her 2024 presidential campaign, integrating the ‘brat’ theme into political discourse. This generated significant buzz and engaged younger voters (even Charli herself!):

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Results and Outcomes

Chart Performance

‘brat’ became Charli XCX’s highest-charting album, receiving critical acclaim and commercial success. The album sold 30,000 copies on vinyl in its first week, taking it to number one on the vinyl album chart.

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By now, brat vinyls and CDs marked ‘sold out’ at Charli XCX’s Official Store

The deluxe album also dominated the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in its first few weeks of release, with 17 of its 18 tracks charting in its first week, representing over a third (34%) of the entire 50-position chart.

Viral Sensation

The album’s themes and aesthetics became a viral phenomenon, particularly on TikTok, where it sparked widespread user engagement and content creation. Charli XCX’s marketing team further leveraged this by using the platform for innovative promotional tactics, such as TikTok live streams showcasing the ‘brat’ visuals and teasing the deluxe album release.

Tips and Insights for Brands and Marketers

The ‘brat’ campaign demonstrates the power of a well-crafted, multifaceted marketing strategy that implements cultural trends and fan-centric content creation. Key takeaways for brands and marketers:

1. Be Authentic: Consumers connect with genuine brands. The ‘brat’ campaign’s success stemmed from Charli’s clean image and her Internet Karma.

2. Controversy Works Great: Controversial content always capturing attention online. The use of a distinct color scheme, glitchy font and blurry visuals fuelled the ‘brat’ campaign.

3. Believe in Social Media: it’s a powerful tool for promotion. The campaign used TikTok to reach a wider audience.

4. Two-way communication is crucial: Charli herself has always been there building conversation with her audience. Plus, the brat art generator empowered fans to join in the campaign and become brand advocates.

5. Create Experiences: They form lasting impressions. The ‘brat’ pre-release events in NY and post-launch activities created a deep emotional connection with fans.

The campaign’s success highlights the importance of comprehensive and audience-focused marketing strategies in any highly saturated industry. By delivering the right vibe to people’s feeds through a symbiotic relationship between art and marketing, Charli XCX and her team have set a new standard for music promotion.