Inclusive exclusivity: a lesson from pop stars in building communities

“Now I swear this green is just everywhere.”

That’s Charli xcx on the success of her new album, Brat. It’s likely that many of us are familiar with the album artwork if nothing else – lime green background, four black letters. If you’re not, Charli xcx is an English singer whose latest album Brat has taken the charts – and comms – by storm.

As well as delighting music fans far and wide, the album has managed to influence the comms of big brands such as Duo Lingo as well as politics both in the UK (you guessed it – ‘vote Green’) and across the pond. Kamala Harris’ official presidential campaign account on X, Kamala HQ, has a ‘Brat theme’, and Charli has endorsed this by posting that ‘kamala IS brat’, earning her over 300,000 likes in just over 24 hours.

So, how has she done it? There’s no doubt that Charli xcx has built a brand that an array of communities can identify with, including the Vice President of the United States. Here’s what we can learn from her slightly unorthodox approach…

Loyalty is the goal

It sounds obvious, but a brand needs to build a community and a sense of loyalty, just like music artists do, in order to survive. These communities share similar interests and values, and in order to reach them, brands must glean insights on them. For example, what resonates with the community that they are trying to reach, and how do they like to be spoken to?

Modern pop stars have been forced to be pioneers of this. As social media has evolved over the years, pop stars are now available directly to their audience’s phones and are (for the most part) unfiltered. There’s less room to appear manufactured, and people expect authenticity.

Let’s take Charli xcx as an example. It’s a brat summer, and her album is taking over. But it’s more than that – brat is a way of life (see ‘kamala IS brat’ above). According to Charli, brat is “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party. She does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”

In a recent interview, she says that she plays with the ideas of inclusivity and exclusivity, and explains that they’re a central theme of her album. Rather than trying to spread herself thin and make her brand appeal to the masses, she cultivates desire by seeming to be “slightly hard to reach”. She wants every individual in her fan base to essentially feel like a VIP and that the club is exclusive, knowing that they respond well to this treatment. Are you this rebellious girl that’s a little messy and likes to party? Great, because she’s speaking to you.

But in reality it doesn’t matter if you are that girl or not – it’s an inclusive environment, and you don’t have to fit that description to be a fan. And by creating the facade that her fans are in this exclusive club and have this specific aesthetic, she piques the curiosity of those outside her fan base, and as a result has been able to create this conversation and hype.

Take a targeted approach

Brands could learn a thing or two from the approach of Charli xcx and other switched-on artists looking to create or build out their audience. Random and broad coverage with no thought or consideration behind it is misguided and won’t achieve the results that you want.

Actually stopping to connect with your intended audience, listening to what they want or what makes them feel good, and finding out where exactly to reach them is the key to making an impact.