In 2024, the average merchandising campaign consists of 50 pieces of art that can be easily adapted for use on various tour and direct-to-consumer merchandise, says Matt Young, president of Bravado, Universal Music's merchandising and brand management company. Group. But for Olivia Rodrigo VISCERA campaign, he says, “I think we've made at least 375 unique works of art.”
Rodrigo's singular vision for his first stadium tour extended to the products sold at his kiosks. When details of the album release and tour came together last year, the pop star coordinated with management, Bravado and label partners to ensure each piece of merchandise “felt cohesive to the general public.” VISCERA world,” says Michelle An, president and chief creative strategy officer at Interscope Geffen A&M.
The number of articles continued to increase as Rodrigo leaned into the creative process, taking a literally hands-on approach to identifying opportunities, from inventing mood boards to helping create color palettes and touching fabrics to ensure t-shirt quality. . “This was Olivia saying, 'I think this could be more.' How do we do it?' ” Young recalls.
Some highlights of Rodrigo VISCERA The product line includes one-of-a-kind jewelry (silver crescent moon rings and star necklaces, a nod to the tour's set design), a butterfly design on handbags and pool floats, a tin of elastic bandages for storage bandaids ready for “vampires” and, later. of the October 29 Netflix release of their tour film, a set of five VISCERA boxes of popcorn, perfect for a group gathering on opening night. In addition to the souvenirs now widely available in Rodrigo's online store, Young also notes that its various retail partners, from global fashion chains to suburban Targets, also introduced their own exclusive items: “Zara in Europe has to have something different . that the hot topic in the US.”
And just as Rodrigo ended each parade wearing a sleeveless T-shirt with a bold personalized message for each city, each VISCERA tour stop with multiple shows offering custom merchandise, including city-specific t-shirts and unique concert artwork designed in conjunction with local female artists. Rodrigo and Bravado approached the posters (shown below) as the ultimate collectible item, and once word spread about them early in the livestream, fans began arriving at shows hours early to visit the merchandising stand.
“Is it a logistical challenge? Sometimes yes,” Young admits. “But this is offset by passion. “You're helping to build a relationship with a fan in a way they can't get anywhere else.”
This story appears in the October 26, 2024 issue of Billboard.
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