Inside H&M’s surprise Charli XCX concert in Times Square

At 6 p.m. ET on Monday, H&M shoppers in New York City and Instagram users received a frantic alert—head to Times Square within 30 minutes because a free Charli XCX concert was about to begin. Thousands of fans flooded the venue to watch the artist behind this year’s landmark album “Brat” perform hits “360,” “Von dutch,” “Apple” and the “Guess” remix. Social media was soon abuzz with videos of attendees bathed in flashing lights and the glow of billboards taken over by “Brat” album visuals from experiential artist Maximo Recio. View this post on Instagram A post shared by H&M& (@hm) The concert was the capstone to a series of global music events that began in September as the Swedish fashion brand attempts to build buzz and improve its sagging financial performance. H&M has posted disappointing profits as it battles inflation and competition from the likes of fast-fashion retailer Shein. It is counting on increased marketing to help spur a comeback, with Charli XCX a centerpiece of that effort. The singer, who has attended H&M events as far back as 2016, was the face of its autumn campaign, which included performing at two events in London and New York and starring in a spot tied to the campaign launch. She kicked off the event series on Sept. 12 with a show opening London Fashion Week. H&M then hosted 12 events in Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Milan, Stockholm and New York with the help of London-based experiential consultant Kennedy. Each event was hosted by a figure with some influence over the local music or fashion scene and featured musical performances by artists such as Lykke Li, Troye Sivan, Caroline Polachek, Arca and Offset. The events amount to a brand-building effort tied to various redesigns the retailer has been making, said Linda Li, head of customer activation and marketing at H&M Americas. The September start date coincided with a website redesign meant to simplify navigation. The Times Square concert promoted the Nov. 21 re-opening of its store in that location, which had been closed for several months. H&M continues to redesign stores across the country, adding interactive elements such as fitting rooms where shoppers can display different digital backgrounds as they try on outfits. “These events would not be enough if they weren’t buoyed by everything else we’re doing,” Li said. “You can’t reignite a brand by purely holding really exciting experiential events. You have to also reignite the shopping experience across all of our touch points.” Also read: Inside Duolingo’s viral TikTok stunt at Charli XCX’s concert—guerrilla marketing lessons for brands H&M has had influencers create curated clothing collections tied to its events to keep the brand top of mind once people return home, Li said. Model Amelia Gray, who hosted H&M’s event in New York’s SoHo neighborhood last month, created a line tied to Monday’s Times Square show that hits its online store on Nov. 21. It also fitted Charli XCX in H&M pieces inspired by its holiday collection from head to toe, lit Times Square billboards up with images of that collection after the pop star’s performance and sent her to an afterparty alongside celebrities who attended, such as Julia Fox and Richie Shazam. Times Square complications H&M began planning the surprise Times Square show in July. It picked the well-traveled venue and kept it free to reflect its brand ethos of making fashion accessible to everyone, Li said. “We wanted to stick with doing it in Times Square, which is truly the center of gravity of New York City,” Li said. “Being able to invite anybody to it—we wanted to stick to that.” Hosting free concerts in other cities was relatively straightforward, Li said. A few months or weeks out, the brand would start to tease the activation on social media and with select media partners. It would then invite members of its loyalty program and offer special perks, such as hotel lodging, before making a broader announcement. However, given just how packed Times Square can get, New York City limits how far in advance an organization can promote an event there. As a result of those regulations, H&M quickly learned that the soonest it could promote the concert was 30 minutes before it began. “When we first heard that, we were like ‘ooh, can we actually do that?’” Li said. “But we really believed in wanting to do it in Times Square and keeping it open for people.” To get around the regulatory concerns, H&M teased the event on social media without providing exact details about when and where it was happening. Once 6 p.m. rolled around on Monday, it blasted the message on its Instagram account, digital screens in its 48th Street, 5th Avenue and SoHo stores, Times Square billboards and through partners such as Paper Magazine, Dazed and Instagram meme account Starter Packs of NYC. “We felt we could build some buzz while keeping it a secret that everybody is excited to know about,” Li said. “Then, 30 minutes out, let’s hit every single touchpoint and that should drive enough awareness to fill the entire Times Square.” H&M estimated the concert was attended by thousands of people. It continues to post social media content from the event on its own channels and through influencers and celebrities. Several posts have more than 1.5 million views. View this post on Instagram A post shared by H&M& (@hm) The pop icon also posted clips and pictures from the event that have more than 500,000 views. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Charli (@charli_xcx) Brat brand buzz Charli XCX has been a catalyst for brands this year. Duolingo went viral in September when its marketing team got a shoutout from the artist at a Sweat Tour performance while wearing masks of its mascot, Duo. Over the summer, brands were desperate to ride the coattails of “Brat Summer” following the release of Charli XCX’s viral album. Read more on Ad Age Marketer of the Year Duolingo Many attempted to relate their products or branding to Brat’s neon-green aesthetic in social media posts—sometimes to the collective cringe of Gen Z. Others, like the Kamala Harris presidential campaign, went for a full-fledged “Brat” rebrand. Soon after Charli XCX posted “kamala IS brat,” the Harris campaign’s official X page changed its header image to a blurry picture of “kamala hq” written in black against a neon-green background. It also used songs off the album as background music for TikTok posts. Brat Summer has since come and gone to make way for other trends such as “Demure Fall.” Still, brands like H&M and Duolingo have managed to pull cultural sway from the Charli XCX album months after its release. Read Ad Age’s Best of 2024 stories here

Inside H&M’s surprise Charli XCX concert in Times Square

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