How Anitta’s Vai Malandra was a virus built to spread

[Marketing Case Study]

Quick Confession : I didn’t even know who Anitta was( not that she’s unknown. Her Instagram account boasts 24M followers) until this week when almost every news outlet began covering her recent music video. Look at this and this and this …

In case you don’t know who Anitta is:

She’s a Brazilian singer, songwriter and at the age of 24 she’s already given massive hits like "Show das Poderosas," "Deixa Ele Sofrer," and "Bang,"

Her latest hit “Vai Malandra” caught my attention. Why?

Here’s what happened … Since its release on 18th December, Vai Malandra has been watched a whooping 68 Million times on YouTube and became the first song in Portuguese to enter the Spotify Global top 20 chart.

The video opens with a long lingering shot of Anitta’s bum- rolls of cellulite. Where celebrities spend millions of dollars on Photoshop to create a perfect image of themselves, Anitta chose to go for a more authentic communication. After the release of the video legions of fans and critics alike have praised Anitta for her bold move.

'I wanted everyone to understand that artists are real people. I am a woman like all of you women and I refused to Photoshop [my cellulite] out.

'I specifically asked for my ass not to be retouched,’ she said

The resulting conversations have generated massive publicity for the South American super star that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in ads.

So what made Vai Malandra explode?

Image from Unsplash

• The bum shot with rolls of cellulite —built into the product was the marketing strategy. The media loves talking about body positivity. Look here, here and here. What recent trend can you capitalize on? Spend a week reading The Daily Mail, Huffington post, Engadget and you’ll start noticing patterns… similar stories being talked about again and again. Spot a Trend, Then ride the Wave.

Image from Unsplash

• She already had 20+ million followers who spread the word in the first few hours. The press goes where the buzz is. Leverage your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram contacts to spread the word. Then use that initial traffic to reach out to established blogs. Networking is one of the least talked about and probably the most important thing you should learn in the early stages of your business. Where’d Facebook be without Peter Thiel? Use your Network.

Image from Unsplash

• By adding authentic and controversial bits in the video, she upped the game. It’s no longer about the song. It’s about the brand Anitta- inventive, authentic, audacious. Sounds similar? Nike is not about shoes, Apple is not about smartphones and Rolex is not about a watch. How can you differentiate your brand from your competitors? The answer may not be in another cool feature. Up the game.

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