How Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” Epitomized Authentic, Creative Music Marketing

On January 8th, 2021, Olivia Rodrigo broke through her Disney stardom by releasing her debut single, “drivers license,” and was instantly vaulted to the status of an established singer-songwriter. Rodrigo became a worldwide sensation, breaking streaming and chart records everywhere. Following the fame from “drivers license,” Rodrigo released “deja vu” and “good 4 u” as singles prior to her Sour album release. On May 21st, her teenage melodramatic storytelling, and versatile, immersive sonic experience ensured that Rodrigo successfully injected the nostalgic teenage dream narrative into the music industry with her debut album, Sour.

The Marketing Efforts That Made Sour’s Success

The continuous success of the album proved that “drivers license” was not just a one-hit-wonder. Rodrigo and her record label created sustainable success through consistent branding, fan engagement, and influencer marketing.

Consistent Branding: Album Design

Rodrigo’s relatability to teenage girls is a key factor that her team picked up on early in the album release process. The entire Sour campaign is surrounded by a theme of high school-teenage-heartbreak nostalgia. Key components of the album concept include journals, stickers, and late-nineties-inspired fashion. Rodrigo’s team also stays consistent with the color palette, anchoring the designs in a purple color scheme along with the “OR” (Rodrigo’s initials) as the main trademark.

Consistent Branding: Social Media

Gen Z seeks a strong connection with artists, expecting more than just the listening experience but the behind-the-scenes and insider messages from artists. Rodrigo’s Instagram feed consistently follows the same color palette and vintage look while maintaining the artist’s authentic and relatable social media presence. For example, she posted a “deja vu” ice cream truck that said “it’s good 4 u,” which hinted at her next single. All of her lyric videos display lyrics on journal pages, emulating the process of writing journal entries, which indicates Rodrigo’s vulnerability and honesty in delivering her music. In her music videos, “deja vu” produces retro TV aesthetics, “brutal” incorporates many late-nineties puffy stickers, “good 4 u” is heavily influenced by the Y2K high school nostalgia scenes, and “drivers license” has cohesive purple and black undertones. Her creative team also tailored consistent designs for every album track’s Spotify canvas.

Driver’s license’s Spotify Canvas portraits lyrical connections along with the purple backdrop and stickers.

Fan Engagement: SOUR Promotions

Sour Car Wash

On Rodrigo’s album release week, Spotify hosted a “Sour Car Wash” in Los Feliz, California. It was a one-time, invite-only event that was exclusive to Rodrigo’s top listeners. Rodrigo herself attended the car wash in person to celebrate the release with her fans.

Olivia Rodrigo x Sour Patch Kids Collaboration

Rodrigo also collaborated with Sour Patch Kids to sell “Sour” album candy boxes (purple candies to match the color palette) that were only available in a New York City flagship store. The exclusivity created a sensation of importance among fans, who were hoping to get the limited edition. The entry to get the signed candy boxes also asks participants to tweet their favorite song on the album along with the hashtag #OliviaRodrigoSOURsweepstakes, creating yet another social media engagement.

Sour Prom Concert Film

On June 29th, Rodrigo released a Sour album mashup concert on YouTube, bringing the world she created in Sour to real life. The high school prom setting brought back nostalgic memories while also serving as a make-up prom scene for those who couldn’t experience it due to COVID. Rodrigo also invited some of her dedicated fans to the prom concert film with a surprise proposal, which further strengthened the artist-fan relationship.

Fan Engagement: Merch and SOURshop

Not only did Rodrigo’s label release merchandise that is tailored to current fashion trends, but Rodrigo also modeled the clothing pieces and jewelry herself to show relatability and appeal to the Gen Z audience more. She also collaborated with Depop to sell the feature looks from her music videos in “deja vu” and “good 4 u,” as well as her personal closet. She named the shop “SOURshop,” and all of the pieces were sold out once they were put on sale. It was an interesting fan engagement strategy as she made sustainable clothing a part of her brand, knowing Gen Z’s shift in shopping behavior to secondhand clothing. This collaboration gave fans a personal, intimate feel when they were purchasing clothing worn by Rodrigo.

Photo from Olivia Rodrigo Official Website.

Influencer Marketing: PR Packages and Purple Letters

Finally, Rodrigo sent out Sour boxes to celebrities such as Joe Jonas, Kim Kardashian, and many others to promote the album. The bundle included her merch, Sour Patch Kids, a box of tissues, notebooks, Sour CD handwritten note, and safety pin earrings. As these mega-celebrities posted these PR packages, word of mouth from their active and influential fanbase spread the news quickly and effectively. Rodrigo also sent out purple handwritten letters to singers in the BRIT awards, signing “hope ur ok”(one of the tracks) and her name, matching the Sour album cover design.

Artists Should Expand their Creativity to Visual Presentation and Social Engagements

With these marketing strategies, Olivia Rodrigo has expanded her target demographic from young teenage girls or people who grew up with her watching Disney channel to people around the world who relate to her vulnerability and emotions. Music consumption has changed throughout the years as fans demand more personal relationships with the artists. Aside from good music, visual presentation and social engagement have become the key to a successful music marketing campaign. In the future, artists and record labels should be more creative and active in social trends to ensure sustainable music success early on.