With August underway, the end of summer is on the horizon. But “brat summer”? It’s far from over. Or at least that’s what hair-care brand K18 is betting on.
Last week, pop star Charli XCX launched the remix and accompanying video for her song “Guess,” from the deluxe version of her hit album “Brat,” featuring fellow music icon Billie Eilish. On Monday, Charli revealed a partnership with K18 when she shared to TikTok a behind-the-scenes video showcasing how she used the brand’s Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask in preparation for the music video.
The artist has capitalized on the Brat craze to other partnerships as well. On Monday, she also revealed she is the newest ambassador for Kim Kardashian’s buzzy shape wear brand Skims, appearing in a campaign shot by Petra Collins. Earlier in August, she shared a sponsored TikTok post for K-beauty brand Laneige. Those posts come amidst the announcement of dates for her Sweat tour with fellow pop star Troye Sivan.
Product placement has become increasingly standard in music videos, with Supergoop sunscreen appearing in the music video for Sabrina Carpenter’s retro smash hit “Espresso” earlier this summer and Minute Maid getting a spot in Cardi B’s “Bongos” video last fall. But such placement is costly, noted K18 CMO Michelle Miller, and often comes with poor ROI given fans’ reluctance to see their favorite artists cater to big brands. A behind-the-scenes social post offers K18 a seemingly more organic way to connect with Charli’s fan base.
“It’s the right moment for artists like [Charli XCX], or even like Chappell Roan. They’re making pop music in a different way than we’ve known before,” said Miller. “It’s not quite as manufactured. It’s a sense of authenticity. And also, Charli XCX is not a new artist. She’s been around for a decade, so it’s really exciting to be part of this moment that she’s been working for.”
For K18, the partnership follows another major endorsement. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, the company announced a campaign with U.S. gymnastics legend Simone Biles, with ad placements heading to Sephora in the coming weeks as Biles wraps up a successful showing in Paris.
That multi-year campaign with Biles came about through a longer negotiation, Miller said. The Charli XCX partnership, meanwhile, was a far more agile initiative, allowing the brand to capture the growing appeal of “brat summer,” an aesthetic movement and social media phenomenon born out of Charlie XCX’s album. According to trend- and data-tracking firm Launchemtrics, the term “brat summer” generated $30.6 million in MIV from July 1 to 24 alone.
“K18 has a fully in-house influencer relations and community team — we don’t outsource any of that. The benefit is we have an entire team that’s listening to what’s going on on social and what’s culturally relevant,” said Miller. “Because of that, we’re able to move on working with people pretty quickly. We’ve built the relationship, and we’re not outsourcing to an agency.”
Miller said, prior to the new partnership, the K18 team was in talks with Charli XCX because her hairstylist, Matt Benns, uses the brand’s products. But K18 saw the opportunity for a more concrete relationship and worked quickly to partner with the pop star following the rise of the viral TikTok dance to her song “Apple,” one of the “Brat” album’s breakout hits, in July.
In some ways, the cultural value of “Brat,” from its lime-green signature hue to its devious attitude, is easy to tally in TikTok views and Spotify listens — the album has already surpassed 400 million streams on the platform. But in other ways, its impact is almost impossible to quantify. Charli XCX’s July tweet “kamala IS brat,” regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’s ascension to the new Democratic nominee for president, has led to a flurry of memes and engagement whose return will likely only be seen come the November election.
Miller said K18’s association to the “Brat” movement creates that more intangible value, rather than a direct call-to-purchase.
“We’re looking at the overall brand relevance: How are we tracking in earned media value? Are our search impressions going up? How’s our rank at retail?” said Miller. “We’re looking at the brand health holistically versus direct metrics and outcomes.”
The staying power of “brat summer” is hard to predict, and Miller said the K18 team is already on the hunt for the next big pop culture moment to align with. The team hopes you won’t see it coming.
“Anytime you see someone going viral on your For You page on TikTok or you see something happening on Instagram, K18 is likely working on it,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of exciting partnerships [in the works] — maybe people that you haven’t heard of, but you’re about to.”
