Olivia Rodrigo: advertising & brand partnerships

‘Driver’s license’ released in early 2021 catapulting her into fame, the singer is known for bringing pop punk back into mainstream music again and popularising it, her vintage fashion style, and her purple branding.  

The SOUR era 

 ‘SOUR’ clarified the branding of her name through the iconic purple, stickers representing the teenage girl that the album screams. The lyric videos convey a scrapbook, reminiscent of that teenage nostalgia. Pantones colour of the year 2022 matches the same shade of purple, Rodrigo’s use of the colour had likely influenced this outcome. 

After the release of SOUR, a car wash was held, hosted by Spotify. Invites were given to her top listeners. Fans could meet Olivia and were given sour patch kids in an Olivia Rodrigo X Sour Patch Kids collaboration.

SOUR prom, a virtual concert premiered on YouTube livestream on June 29th, 2021. This event encapsulated the high school experience that was heavily displayed throughout the album and staying consistent with her teenage brand. Billboard  states “sour prom visually and sonically expands on the world presented on sour- validating a range of emotions spanning from heartbreak to jealousy…through the context of an all-inclusive high school prom experience”.   

Rodrigo began her SOUR TOUR in April of 2022, during this time she continued her aesthetic through the use of purple lighting and fashion. 

The artist partnered with Casetify to bring out her own line of phone cases again keeping with her visual brand through the advertisement but also through the product itself.  

Partnership with glossier  

In April 2022, Rodrigo partnered with glossier, known for natural looking makeup with their motto being “you look good”. This is the first celebrity partner the brand has had stating that she will “appear in brand campaigns, participate in product development, and content creation”. In a statement from Glossier, the partnership “signifies the brand’s focus on building authentic talent partnerships grounded in real-life connections and shared values.” In 2021 prior to the brands historic feat, she partnered with glossier in a vogue beauty secrets video. 

Sustainability and vintage fashion  

Since her Disney channel start, the singer songwriter has undergone a “pop punk metamorphosis”, her style is influenced by vintage pieces, 90s and 2000s fashion. 

She is very conscious about the environment and sustainability and makes an effort to wear vintage clothes. In an interview with Schön magazine she said “I’ve spent the last few years trying to keep my clothing consumption as sustainable as I can…It’s really important to think about how everyday actions, like how you get your clothes, can affect our planet for generations to come”.  

In June 2021, the singer announced that she would be selling pieces worn in her “good 4 u” and “déjà vu” music videos on Depop, donating all proceeds to charity. As expected, these pieces sold extremely fast.

The GUTS era 

Two years after ‘SOUR’ marks the beginning of the ‘GUTS’ era. During this time, Rodrigo keeps some things she’s known for but puts a more mature twist on it with ‘GUTS’ being the older sister of SOUR as it is sexier and edgier which you can tell from album covers alone, with ‘SOUR’ showing young innocence and bright colours whereas ‘GUTS’ leaves a moodier impression through expression and darker colours that were absent before. However, she sticks with her colour of purple, although this time a slightly darker shade. The first two singles, ‘vampire’ and ‘bad idea right’ presented this difference.  

To promote ‘bad idea right’ TikTok’s were made, and the sound went viral as the perfect transition sound. Fans were selected to attend a private party with Olivia in celebration of the song’s release. It was held at the famous Hawley arms in Camden. The pub was painted Olivia’s purple for the occasion. Publications like MTV UK were in attendance and interviewing fans. 

After the announcement of her ‘GUTS’ tour, Rodrigo teamed up with Sony to create Linkbuds X Olivia Rodrigo. The ad features her dancing in an all purple room to a song from ‘GUTS’, the Linkbuds themselves come in her signature purple, helping with the continuity of her brand. 

Evidently Olivia Rodrigo knows who and how to advertise and cater to her already established and dedicated audience. She has a consistent and cohesive brand that she has built and stuck with since her breakthrough in the music industry and is now known for (purple, teenage angst, stickers). Rodrigo has a strong relationship to the advertising industry made know by the multiple brand partnerships while still being able to make it her own.  Olivia's fame is not all down to her use of advertising and branding, although I do believe it has helped her sustain her popularity and become even more recognisable.