Last week, Rihanna took the world by storm during her Super Bowl LVII halftime show.
While her newly announced pregnancy and overall performance stole most of the show, many marketers have taken to LinkedIn to praise her free advertising stunt for her make-up brand Fenty during the performance.
During her halftime show, Rihanna stopped singing to take a few seconds to apply make-up to her face. The singer launched Fenty Beauty in 2017, with the brand now worth a whopping £2.3 billion ($2.8 billion).
Many industry professionals from both the marketing and events world have applauded the star for her entrepreneurial marketing stunt.
FoxWylie Event Production managing director Jonny Fulton believes that the exposure Rihanna’s halftime show performance offered the singer was “definitely worth not taking an upfront fee.”
“The popstar saw a 390% boost in song sales … her catalogue also saw a 140% surge in on-demand streams in the US according to Luminate (as referenced by CBS news). As if that wasn’t enough, she even managed to sneak in a cheeky promotion of her own product lines (Fenty Beauty) during the performance instead of having to pay for advertising.”
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CSM Sport and Entertainment communications manager Lona Price Jones also weighed in on the move from Rihanna, adding that the show is the first to “seriously reflect” the changes in the creator-celebrity economy.
“It’s known – Super Bowl acts are not paid,” she added. “Tangibly receiving returns via a spike in sales and appearances.But what made Rihanna’s halftime show different? The capitalisation on the creator audience – whilst marketing through sport.
“Millennials and late Gen Zs (now with buying power) predominantly grew up listening to Rihanna. According to Morning Consult (48%) of Americans were interested in watching the #superbowl halftime show driven by Gen Zers (66%) and millennials (61%).
“Therefore, not only did a make-up palette make an appearance during the halftime show with a touch-up from Rihanna herself…but for Fenty brands, this was a moment to not miss. Game day-themed merch, limited edition make-up, and pop-up experiences were executed insanely well.”
