What Pop Star Zara Larsson Can Teach Us About Branding
If you’re up to date on your pop princesses, you undoubtedly know Zara Larsson. If you're not, then come along on a ride on the back of a dolphin to learn about reinvigorating a brand through recognizing and incorporating social media trends.
The Swedish pop singer has been all over the charts this year, particularly with her song of the summer, “Midnight Sun.”
Larsson in 2018
But here’s something you may not know: Larsson is no newcomer. She’s been making music since this author was in college all the way back in the 2010’s. You’ve probably heard one of her songs on the radio. You just may not have known her name.
So what catapulted her into a new level of fame more than a decade after her first single?
A meme.
In 2023, a Lisa Frank-esque image of dolphins leaping out of the water beneath a rainbow was paired with Larsson’s song “Symphony.” As tends to happen with internet trends, it’s difficult to explain exactly why this particular combination caught fire. But it did.
The meme spread across TikTok, with users pairing the cheerful, psychedelic dolphins with everything from genuine moments of joy to wildly concerning or depressing confessions.
Know Your Meme described the trend as users sharing “deranged and concerning confessions” in the most wholesome and comical way possible.
Larsson could have simply watched it happen. She could have been embarrassed by the interpretation of her music or virality. She could have completely ignored it. Instead, she leaned all the way in.
She started using the dolphins as a backdrop during her shows. She adopted the colorful, beachy aesthetic. She incorporated the imagery into her videos and performances. The dolphin-and-rainbow world became part of her brand.
And people loved it. Fans started calling her a fairy or a Barbie. And she took advantage of every opportunity to further her brand and awareness of her music.
On TikTok, whenever someone posts about Larsson, commenters joke that it’s only a matter of time before she somehow appears in the comments. She almost always pops up at some point.
That internet presence can also translate to real-world experiences. During a tour stop, she was invited to join the Portland Bike Bus, a TikTok famous group of school children who bike to school every day, led by a teacher who coordinated a safe way to do so. So, naturally, she showed up.
Larsson jumped on a meme that helped to promote her. And what happened in the process was that people were finally able to see her talent and how lovely she is as a person. More than 10 years after her debut single, Larsson is reaching an entirely new audience.
Her songs have always been catchy. She has always been a phenomenal singer and dancer. “Back in the day” we were all singing her songs while out with our friends – we just never knew it was her. She has been working in the music industry for years.
What changed wasn’t her talent. It was her brand. She found an identity that resonated with people. One that felt colorful and joyful.
So what’s the lesson here?
Sometimes we have a great product or service that fills a genuine need, but it’s not connecting because of the messaging and imagery behind it. And if people aren’t connecting with our message or our imagery, it may be time to try a new approach. If the problem isn’t what your offering, it may be your branding.
Zara was following the formula for what pop singers did. It was when she finally busted out of that expected image that she broke through the noise, too.
She didn’t create the dolphin meme, but she recognized that people had created something around her music. Instead of trying to control it, she joined them.
Sometimes, when something is finally resonating, you just have to listen and lean in.