How Charli xcx built Brat Summer

The master marketer reveals the recipe behind 2024's biggest trend

Hola from Mexico City!

I’m on vacation this week and enjoying CDMX for the very first time. Because of my travels - and the time it takes to eat all the city’s al pastor tacos - I wasn’t planning to produce a post this week, but then Charli xcx spilled her guts on how she created Brat Summer and I couldn’t resist writing about it.

Regular readers will know that highly flammable has lusted over Charli’s magic touch for virality for a long time. Previous posts have lauded her meme generator, the BRAT wall, surprise remixes, plane banners, those billboards, and the three word tweet that blew up the race for U.S. president. Each move helped to transform Brat from a well-received rave pop album into 2024’s biggest cultural trend. And while we’ve all watched as Charli has owned the year we’ve never heard her explain how she did it… until now.

The singer revealed her process and strategies during an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. The end result is a 52-minute marketing masterclass th…