Marketing in Harmony: Unpacking Brat’s Marketing Strategies

Introduction The summer of 2024, famously dubbed Brat Summer, was marked by the release of Charli XCX’s sixth studio album, Brat. With its gaudy lime-green cover art, subversive themes, and club-inspired soundscape, Brat became a celebration of carefree party culture amidst an otherwise politically charged time in history. The project quickly evolved into a cultural phenomenon, dominating both the pop music scene and the digital world. Through its release, Charli XCX transformed from a niche artist into one of the year’s most influential pop stars. Although parallels can be drawn between the sonic landscape of this album and her prior work, the true impact can be seen in her masterful marketing plan. The Manifesto of a Brat During a panel with The Recording Academy, Charli XCX revealed that before creating the album, she wrote a lengthy manifesto detailing the essence of “brat.”[1] She got specific about what would fit into her sonic world: 808 drum machines are “not brat.” 909 drum machines, however, are.[2] The manifesto meticulously described her character’s clothing, “where they go out, [and even] what cigarettes they smoke.”[3] This attention to detail culminated into a fully realized concept, making the connection between the definition of “brat” and the marketing materials seamless. Once Charli XCX had established the record's holistic description, she began to explore cover art concepts. She selected a daring and abrasive bright green for its shock value, which she claims “most people [in her circle] had the most adverse reaction to.”[4] Additionally, she chose a lowercase “arial font [with] low-res graphics” to convey a sense of spontaneity and nonchalance, tightening the link between her album and its brand.[5] Rather than incorporating additional visual elements to complement the color and text, Charli chose a minimalist, text-only cover. In an interview with Zane Lowe, she reflected that it “embodies the word brat” to forgo having her image on the album cover, since text-based cover art is not the “norm for female artists.”[6] She aimed to provoke “explosive conversations” with this choice to draw attention to her project.[7] This minimalistic yet daring cover art established a steady connection to the manic nature of the character outlined in Charli’s manifesto, bringing the confident yet volatile essence of Brat to life. The Art of Anticipation: Cultivating Fan Engagement When it came time for Charli XCX to promote Brat and its world, she first reached out directly to her closest fans. In February, Charli sent a message to a private group chat of fans writing, “LET’S RAVE—BOILER ROOM 2/22. We’re going to play some stuff from the album.”[8] The show had guest appearances from key figures from the Brat universe, with performances by Julia Fox and Addison Rae. Fox is featured in the music video for Brat’s hit song, “360,”[9] and Rae appears in the remix for “Von Dutch,”[10] another successful song off of Brat. Both are public figures who run in the same celebrity circles and share similar audiences. Aesthetically, both are are both drawn to the theatrical irony of camp: an art movement coined by Susan Sontag[11] that has had a longtime presence in club culture and gained popularity in online spaces, making their guest appearances fit well into the effortlessly cool and sarcastic world that Brat would soon encompass. Following her Boiler Room Set, Charli capitalized on the buzz she generated with her performance and its celebrity guests by unveiling Brat’s cover art. The bold lime green color and minimalist design was immediately met with curiosity and speculation, prompting some fans to circulate memes and others to incorporate a similar lime green into their fashion choices.[12] As the image spread, discussions surrounding the meaning of the word “brat” took over online spaces and fans began to piece together elements of Charli’s masterfully crafted world. Charli XCX continued to spark online conversation and speculation around Brat in May, when she encouraged her fans to gather at an unknown New York City address, later known as “The Brat Wall.” There, she performed in front of a wall that featured the same lime green used on the album cover. After the performance, the wall stayed blank, fostering online curiosity about its purpose.[13] Eventually, while being live-streamed, the wall was transformed to display different lyrics from songs off of Brat and tease upcoming collaborations.[14] By catering her physical marketing materials to her fanbase online, Charli generated buzz about when the wall would transform, attracting viewers eager for her next announcement.[15] Catering to the Chronically Online As discussion about Charli’s offline stunts flooded X and TikTok, fans continued to engage with her digital offerings. At the beginning of her marketing campaign, a private burner account called “360_brat” appeared on Instagram, which accepted follow requests of superfans who gained access to a more vulnerable side of Charli. She shared her private feelings in Q&As and opened up about her uncertainty regarding her friendship with fellow artist Lorde. The exclusive nature of this account left fans eager for acceptance and connection while managing to both reward long-time supporters and pique the interest of newcomers. Furthermore, the conversations on this page indicated that Brat would be more than just a club record; it would showcase Charli's vulnerable side, tackle raw, personal topics, and address the complexity and emotional depth of both the album and Charli’s character. While Charli’s Boiler Room set, Brat Wall, and private Instagram account effectively generated buzz for her album, the internet didn’t become fully saturated with Brat branding until the release of the “Brat Generator”: a website[16] that allows fans to make memes and graphics that feature the same green color and arial font as the album cover. This plays into the chronically online nature of her young fan base while making it difficult to open social media without seeing a Brat-related post. While several trends took off with this website, none were as impactful as the “brat-ification” of Kamala Harris.[17] In May of 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris made a remark about the factors that shape one’s life, saying, “‘You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?... You exist in the context of all in which you live, and what came before you.’”[18] The quote quickly went viral, partly due to its quirky phrasing. Online users affectionately poked fun at the Vice President, while others were left puzzled, speculating on its meaning. Following the announcement that Harris would be running for President, memes featuring Vice President Harris’ coconut tree quote set against a lime green filter and Charli’s “360” sound went viral, prompting her campaign team to embrace the trend. The Kamala HQ twitter banner displayed the same Brat green and arial text as the album, leading to widespread discussions about Brat across news platforms.[19] CNN reporter Jamie Gangel explained the phenomenon, saying: “For those who … are not in the know… that is a cool thing…It has a color. Chartreuse is the color”, while holding up a printout of the campaign’s X profile page, which bore a banner reading Kamala HQ. With the album making waves on American news stations, Charli XCX joined the conversation, tweeting, “kamala IS brat.” Her quick response and unofficial endorsement of Vice President Harris kept the momentum of her record alive. By capitalizing on the impact of her earned publicity, Charli amplified Brat’s reach and created countless opportunities for her project to be discussed. In addition to her previously mentioned digital endeavors, Charli XCX achieved every record label’s marketing dream: a viral TikTok dance. “In June, TikTok creator, Kelley Heyer, created a dance to the song that has found its way into all corners of the Internet,” with over 1.7 million uses of the sound on TikTok as of November 2024.[20] The trend features simple choreography set to "Apple," an upbeat track about generational trauma, making it easy to recreate and perfectly summarizing what Brat embodies: vulnerable yet upbeat dance music. Celebrities including Brooke Shields, Kerry Washington, Ashley Tisdale, and the US Women’s Rugby team quickly embraced the trend, propelling its popularity.[21] As more influential figures joined in, the dance became a cultural touchstone, bridging the worlds of pop music, online influencers, and mainstream celebrities. Following celebrity participation in the trend, Charli further amplified the dance’s virality by posting a video of herself, Troye Sivan, and Terrence O’Connor joining in, sparking even more attention and participation from fans. By participating in the trend, Charli harnessed fan-driven creativity to further amplify her album’s reach and solidify her place at the forefront of the digital music landscape. Beyond Brat Summer: Sustaining a Cultural Moment Brat Summer, the season defined by the initial release of Brat and its bold, irreverent aesthetics,was a time of heightened celebration and unapologetic self-indulgence that became a cultural phenomenon. Although it will be remembered by its viral moments and party culture, like all trends, Brat Summer will eventually be replaced by something new. While many albums experience a few weeks of significant impact followed by intermittent resurgences with singles and music video releases, Charli implemented a strategic plan to maintain the enduring popularity of Brat. She played into the online declaration that “brat summer is dead,” writing “goodbye forever brat summer” in an Instagram post. Following this acknowledgment, the commencement of “bratumn” was announced.[22] Rather than allowing the excitement and Brat Summer to fade, a remix version of Brat was revealed in September.[23] The new album, titled Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still...