She tapped into nostalgia and got fans excited with teasers.
This past weekend, pop star Ariana Grande released the companion music video for her chart-topping hit “Thank U, Next,” creating the sort of mass-market cultural event that has become increasingly rare since the heyday of MTV. The video, a tribute to popular female-led movies from the early 2000s, quickly surpassed YouTube’s all-time record for most views in the first 24 hours of release and continues to climb.
While the 25-year-old chanteuse is no stranger to the spotlight, the “Thank U, Next” video drop was a standout example of how a carefully-crafted marketing strategy can deliver big results and used principles and best practices that are useful for marketers in any category. Cultural resonance fuels greater success than relevance alone
The “Thank U, Next” video drop was a standout example of how a carefully-crafted marketing strategy can deliver big results and used principles and best practices that are useful for marketers in any category.
There’s no denying that much of the success of “Thank U, Next” has been driven by the cultural relevance of Ariana Grande as a public figure and gossip mag mainstay. The ups and downs of the singer’s very public personal life have generated an incredible amount of conversation over the past year, inspiring everything from news headlines to SNL skits. However, to create the “Thank U, Next” video, Ariana’s team wasn’t content to rest on their boss’ status as one of the biggest celebrities in the world.
