The Marketing Bestie Podcast with zoeunlimited - the step by step rebrand that SAVED Sabrina Carpenter

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

💡FREE 7-day branding course + (🎁)challenge: Early Bonus Access👉🏻 https://tapx.it/unlimitedyou-early5 years of social media and marketing knowledge ✨Start your dream brand TODAY with a FREE shopify trial https://tapthe.link/zoeunlimitedshopifyHow did a “MISTAKE” in branding delay Sabrina Carpenter’s success for 10 years?Breaking down 6 key success factors in Sabrina Carpetner's rebrand as your marketing bestie🫶🏻 ✍🏻EXTENDED episodes & more marketing insights on Substack https://zoeunlimited.substack.com👉🏻CHOOSE future topics https://tapthe.link/WDLnjLJy1 Join me as an editor of the unlimited squad!! 💜https://forms.gle/dzGQxnW6y4ws7dfX6✈️use code ZOEUNLIMITED for 10% off ALL travels on Klook https://t.ly/aA76TSubscribe to learn how to build a brand.Learn & Grow with me.💖 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoeunlimited/💜 TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@zoeunlimited🖤 Listen on Apple & Spotify: http://apple.co/zoeunlimited https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZReedpR6Bf1kvHeKBuWY1🪭 All my outfits https://www.shopltk.com/explore/zoeunlimited👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/zoeunlimited🛒 Essentials https://www.amazon.com/shop/zoeunlimited📧 Business inquiries: [e-mail]//🕙Timestamps: 0:00 Intro3:47 Sabrina 1.05:59 Sabrina 2.0 6:50 factor 1 9:08 factor 2 10:52 factor 3 14:09 factor 4 15:43 factor 5 16:43 factor 6

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Money can buy you pretty, but it cannot buy you brand. How did a mistake in branding delay Sabrina Carpenter's success for 10 years? So you're breaking up with me because I'm too blonde? No, that's not entirely true. Then what? My boobs, you think? Get ready? I did it.

Very mindful. Very cutesy. Very demure. If there was one person cursed from fame, it must be Sabrina Carpenter. Despite having an early start on Disney, been in music for 10 years and owns the pretty privilege that mainstream pop culture favors. There was still something that hid all her talent and shine for over 10 years. The curse, a bad branding.

When I was at Sabrina Carpenter's set at Coachella, I made two huge mistakes. First, I mistook her as a Disney child actor who can maybe sing. Wow, am I glad I somehow ended up so close to the stage and shed the tear I say for Lana Del Rey when she performed emails I can't send. It was a beautiful moment. Second, I did not know how big of a moment it was when she performed espresso on that stage for the very first time. That undoubtedly became one of the biggest songs of the summer.

I'm myself singing, I'm working late. I'm a singer. That song is my jack. And yes, it was both my mistaken judgment and a branding issue, which delayed her, explosive success for 10 years. I'm like a cat, I've got so many lives.

It took Sabrina Carpenter 10 years to rebrand from just another kind of recognizable child actor from the Disney factory to a serious pop singer, trendsetter, and a branding genius. And you'll see why the time invested was worth it. Well, well, well, hi. I've literally never won one of these. Compared to counter studies like Joja C-1. Whisp on the clock dog I am.

Because the Sabrina 2.0 we know today is the woman who makes a smoothie worth $23. Wow, good. That's so good. Gained 14 million new followers on TikTok in the last 30 days. Becomes a whole Pinterest mood board for hair, lips, blush, fashion, and got everyone's TikTok profile with her lip print. That's the Sabrina Carpenter effect. How does she do it?

As your marketing bestie, who graduated top 1% UCLA business economics, With a background in marketing, we are going to explore how a shift in brand finally unlock Sabrina Carpenter's ultra success. After 10 years of trying, despite having a talent personality looks and how you can take inspo from her story and apply it to your dreams. Because branding is not about putting your name on a smoothie. If everyone put Sabrina's name on that smoothie two years ago, go like selling any. Branding is not about how you see yourself, but how your future college, future boss, boss, future boyfriend sees you. And I'm creating this series to analyze pop culture girl icons from a marketing perspective.

Because of the power of influence they have over a generation of young girls. I'm in my Sabrina Carpenter era along with everyone else in the world. Thank you. I was not even going for that. Look. Guys, I'm so excited to talk about this because there's been so much good branding that Sabrina Carpenter has done and I'm just kicking out. But there is a small caveat I will mention it in the end that she should watch out for because no brand is impeccable. So here's how Sabrina Carpenter broke the Disney curse. Let's take it back to

Sabrina 1.0. Who's Sabrina Carpenter? Who is Sabrina Carpenter? Me? Believe it or not, Sabrina's desire to be a music pop star started as early as 2009 in the next Miley Cyrus project, a singing contest organized by hashtag Miley Cyrus. Hi, my name is Sabrina. I'm 10 years old and I'm gonna be singing the home She didn't place first and thankfully did not become Miley 2.0, but had a long journey ahead of her. Her first major acting role was in Girl Meets World, which was accurately summarized by an IMDB review as, quote, certainly not one of the best of Disney's work, but it is not so bad as well, which is like a death sentence in Hollywood. Because there are way too many fairly good shows.

To be made is to be forgotten ASAP. And now there was a bigger problem. Although not a hit show, Sabrina Carpenter's identity or brand was infused with this unmemorable character. And that was how her brand existed in my mind, up to her Coachella performance. But what happened in these last 10 years? Flots. She released her first single, Can't Blame a Girl for Trying in 2014, a song even co-written by Megan Trainor. A lot of people don't know that I wrote Sabrina Carpenter's first song on Disney.

Disney. It was so cute. Even though it received good reviews, the music had a hidden branding problem that followed her like a curse through her next music releases. That all these songs packaged her as a team pop artist. But guess who the teens want to listen to? Mainstream artists, because they want to be perceived as cool and mature. Just imagine if Billy Elish began her career by seeing a teen pop song rather than Ocean Ice. Would she be as big of a pop culture phenomenon at the age of 13th?

I don't think so. And this was not anything Sabrina Carpenter could control. In fact, she was locked in a contract with Hollywood records that really messed up her branding direction. And she had to make five albums with them. Not a surprise, none of them hit. Because they only furthered this strong but mid-brand of irrelevant ex-Disney Teen Pop Girl until her slow and steady rebranding arc. Sabrina 2.0.

These are my minions. I don't know their names. I don't want to know their names. They are known as Chanel number two. Chanel number three. Chanel number five. I'm Chanel number one, obvi. Guys, I am so excited to talk about this because everything hits. I'm breaking down Sabrina Carpenter's rebrand into six key success factors. Each, especially the last, is essential to her seemingly overnight success, but truly took Okay, when I sell my business, I want the best tax and investment advice. I want to help my kids, and I want to give back to the community.

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Learn more at tellus.com slash online security. No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft. Conditions apply. Years of planning. First, visual brand. In the digital age, no matter if the product is audio or visual, a brand needs a visual identity. And this was crucial to Sabrina Carpenter going from just another forgotten Disney child to trendsetter.

Starting with colors, we all know Taylor Swift or red, Olivia Rodriguez for purple. It's such a simple but powerful branding technique. For Sabrina Carpenter, the color blue became her signature color, starting her Coachella performance, that soft launched her short and sweet album. Short and sweet, I mean, come on, look at that with the colored vinyl too. But she began exploring the side of the color wheel as early as the emails I Can't Send album in 2022. Why this is so important, we'll become clear when we go into her endorsement and partnerships and eventually her own brand launches. That the association with blue will remind everyone of her, which is why the Irwan collapsed smoothie was blue.

The viral product, blue lip balm, which is such organic and smart. marketing and how it appeared in her music video, the Samsung campaign she did, to the viral espresso ice cream she launched in a blue tub. First of all, this is so genius in beating all the regular merch for artists. Ice cream is such a commonly loved item that not just Sabrina covered her friends, but everyone can enjoy. It is so unbranded, not just to her personal color, but the hits on espresso. With over 150 million plays on YouTube, Billboard's number one global song of the summer for 2024, it also uses sensory marketing, where the saun espresso evokes the pleasant sensations tied with our smell and taste associations with coffee and priming,

through which a subconscious reaction to stimuli influences our conscious decisions to new stimuli. Tying your brand through a song to something super common, like an everyday espresso, creates that subconscious association between the two, that A, every time you have coffee, you're conditioned to think about Sabrina Carpenter. B, when she releases an ice cream collab in the flavor of espresso, you're already primed with a pleasant sensations that exist in your head when you listen to the music. And despite being a musician, it is totally on-brand for her to do such a fun collab. Versus a demilist launching mattress and popcorn. And there could be so many fun brand launches from just espresso alone. Like a scented espresso eyeshadow palette, espresso flavor lip gloss, a perfume would be in such high demand.

She was like a shot of espresso. She's like being bathed in sunlight. She's incredibly energetic and enthusiastic. And continuing the topic of visual brand, her second key success rebrand factor is, nostalgia. Nostalgia marketing creates a positive emotional feeling by using familiar ideas to associate a brand

with something for which consumers have fond memories. For example, Charlie XX brings back the Bratsdolls. Nintendo bringing back the childhood moments with the switches, the switch is and Sabrina Carpenter geniusly made that nostalgia part of her visual identity. With the 50s aesthetic, I'm embracing the hyperfeminine look that did not exist in her early albums. And quick note on her audio brand too, it really took five albums before finding her signature feminine and flirty voice. If you listen to Thumbs or Sue Me, it's a completely different tone than the softness in her espresso feathers or taste. But it's not feminine for the sake of feminine,

nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. Sabrina Carpenter adds her own flavor to it. With her cut-out heart costume, perfectly curled hair distinguished from her prior eras, her huge flush-bush, and of course the iconic chunky platforms, not only did this new brand completely erased the cookie-cutter Disney Kid, but also made her a trendsetter. It is very smart to not go after trends, which Sabrina Carpenter has tried in the past, for example, tapping into the Y2K aesthetic.

But tapping into trends will always make you one step behind and hard to differentiate. She doesn't conform to trends, she defines them. Which is why being retro, both visually and in her music, makes her stand out in her own way in an industry that is becoming more and more fast-paced and techno. And nostalgia is just one form of associations. What is a brand? It essentially is everything and anything that something is associated with. And we already touched on the many things Sabrina Carpenter is associated with, including coffee and the 50s nostalgia.

But what about people and brands? That's also a goldmine in polishing her new brand. Starting with people. Clearly, lots of trauma. Lots of trauma. Very insecure. Very insecure. You kill me.

We'll talk about the iconic Jenna Ortega collab and Kiss in a bit. But who does Sabrina Carpenter open for prior to her major album released this year? Taylor Swift. Of course she was wearing her iconic blue set, no doubt. But can't we also talk about who else open for Taylor Swift in the past? Icons like Ed Shearing, Camila Cabello, and so on. Meaning, there's a new shiny swift stamp of approval on Sabrina Carpenter's new brand. As her old brand of just another forgotten Disney child gets washed out and replaced by a serious artist. Speaking of which, playing at Coachella was a crucial move in her rebrand, where people like me were still so caught up in her ultra-strong old brand, got to see her as A, a competent vocalist,

B, an adult now, not a Disney child, C, her personality and how she transcends with her style, and her strategic partnership associations made her all the more into an iconic new woman. First, Kim Skims. The brand itself is associated with confidence, femininity, and sexiness, and the campaign was so beautifully and creatively done. Chef's Kiss to the Creatively team and strengthens the sexiness of Sabrina's brand without the need to do something so terribly drastic like Miley Cyrus just to pivot away from the Disney Child Star brand. Second, Prada Beauty. Just yes, I've never seen a partnership that makes more sense. The whole viral please please please song and taste music video integrated the products so well and this partnership further puts Sabrina to the forefront as now an icon in beauty. Third, Mark Jacobs.

As someone to be seen in the new lens of a pop culture icon rather than child star, working with culturally relevant brands and fashion is so key. Fourth, her own perfume. Wow, I cannot think of a product that fits her more perfectly. Because Sabrina 2.0 now has aspirational status, aka having traits that other people want. For example, her cute but spicy and sexy personality. I like how her and her team positioned the price points to be only in the 10s, 20s 40s, it perfectly allows her young female fans to afford, connect, and support her.

And also just a note on her regular merch. Even a Sabrina Carpenter's shirt is not just a shirt, but flirty, fun, and blue. There's a bunch you told me. I never want to wear anything else. I've never bought merch before, but I saw this t-shirt and I knew I needed to have it. How cute is this? It just makes me so happy to see the level of care that her and her team puts into every single project they touch. and how much they do care and put the time into things, rather than just a cash grab.

So good. So key to building trust, which is also done through. Fourth, social media. As you can see here, there is a major spike in Sabrina Carpenter's follower and light count on TikTok, where over the last 30 days, she gained 14.7 million followers, and on certain days, got over 2.3 million new followers. Wild. We have not seen something like this since the Charlie Demandum. Charlie Demalio days.

And no, Sabrina Carpenter did not do a TikTok dance. So what brought up the spike? Multiple factors. First, a new profile picture frame campaign, where you can add a lip print to your profile after following Sabrina Carpenter, her team, save her song, show some love to her recent TikTok, and then post a TikTok using her song Taste.

This is a bit of a long user journey. If I were to execute this campaign, I will remove at least two to three of these requirements. But nevertheless, it is a great growth hack. not only gets her new followers, real engagement on her posts, but also pushes her viral new song Taste, further into mainstream. Really powerful promotion for her song, which in itself is the second factor. Regardless of marketing, you do need a good product, or everything else is just wasted eyeballs. And in this case, the product, Sabrina Carpenter's new hit single Taste and her new album,

Short and Sweet, markets themselves. With a strong music foundation and the right dose of shock element, like this behind the scenes TikTok that got over 148 million views with Jenna Ortega. And this ties into the fifth factor, storytelling. Sabrina Carpenter knows how to paint a world of stories in every one of her music videos that leverages the right amount of shock and cheeky play to grab your attention, such as the both gruesome but soft and feminine imagery and feathers, and the Jenna Ortega collab that got the whole internet freaking out. Her personal life in itself is also packaged into

a mysterious story, where everyone keeps wondering who she is dating or not dating next, and gives the right amount of mystique to keep people curious. I thought about some of these relationships and how some of them were the shortest I've ever had and they affected me the most. I would add a note, though, that using controlled controversy, such as her relationship with a saltburn guy, or addressing past allegations of her stealing other people's men in a tasteful way, might be seen as cheeky now. But there's always a danger as to what degree, that could be used before pushing too far into a PR crisis where everyone's favorite girl could turn into not a girl's girl and lose that fan loyalty in the female audience.

With that, I need to mention the last and most important factor in her successful rebrand. Sixth, consistency. Not in the sense of not evolving, but consistent and constantly innovating, finding her own style and perfecting the art of telling us. stories through music. Sabrina Carpenter's slow rise to fame is such a good example of it's always been in you, but it takes work to get it out. And maybe.

Hiding from fame before all the elements of success are ready, her visual identity, her authentic femininity that comes with maturity, and most importantly, the foundation of making good music. The slow but steady 10-year brand building of Sabrina Carpenter is a true blessing for a lasting, sustainable brand. As a mantra I live by, Sabrina Carpenter is the testament that no effort goes to waste. Espresso has been certified platinum. Please, please, please, went to number one on the global Spotify chart. That sounds fake. Well, isn't that sweet?

I guess so. This is your marketing bestie, Zoe Unlimited. Let me know your thoughts on Sabrina Carpenter's overnight success and comment which celebrity you like me to analyze next through a marketing perspective. Episodes are now available on all podcast networks, Apple, Spotify, YouTube. Share this episode with someone you love, and I'll see you next week.