Badass Brand Breakdown: Adele

It’s time for another Badass Brand Breakdown! Today, we are talking about the fabulous, incredible, and iconic brand of Adele.

In this series, I break down the brand strategy, tactics, messaging, and other elements behind some of my favorite brands to help you understand how branding actually works. Not only is Adele the Queen of Feels, but she’s the queen of raw authenticity, making her an incredible example of what a personal brand can be and the importance of connecting with your audience/clients/customers.

I am an OG Adele fan way back from her first album, 19. I know every song by heart, but I didn’t realize I was such a huge fan until the end of 2021. When her new album was coming out, I was devouring every article, every video, every little glimpse I could get of her new album. At one point, my boyfriend was like, “oh, she’s just another Taylor Swift,” and I got so defensive; I had no idea felt so strongly about this! So, we have established I’m an Adele superfan, but let’s get down to what makes her so, so amazing. 

From a branding standpoint – like many of the people I’ve profiled in this series – she probably didn’t set out to be this strategic about her brand, but we can see and reverse-engineer some of the key themes, messages, and ideas that make her so iconic and so powerful.

Core Message: The Queen of Feels

If I were to establish her core message or tagline – the single most important succinct idea behind her brand – it would be “the queen of feels.” Adele is absolutely known for making us all really feel some shit: her music accompanies our heartbreaks, our regrets, and our high moments, too. She is known for getting us all in our feels, and that’s what everyone comes to expect from her.

Brand Personality: Quintessential Everyman

The way Adele makes all of feel fits in perfectly with her brand personality. I would label Adele’s Brand Archetype (check out my video on more about them!) as the quintessential everyman. She’s down to earth, imperfect, has what some call a “lower class” London accent, she’s improper, she curses, she the kind of person you want to have a drink with – and that personality comes through! But, it’s even more apparent in her music. She wears her heart on her sleeve; her mistakes, her heartbreaks, she’s so vulnerable in her music that it creates something very human that literally, everyone can relate it. This is why she has such broad appeal. She’s not trying to be something she’s not or putting on an unattainable image. She is straight-up like, “I am a mess. My heart hurts. I’m struggling right now,” and everyone can relate to that because we’ve all been there. 

This also translates through to her style of music. There is so much emotion in her music, and she often leaves so-called “imperfections” in. The note isn’t quite perfect, but it’s real and raw, making it even more relatable from an emotional standpoint.

Brand Tactics

Now let’s talk brand tactics. What are some of the tactics or key themes that have made her so successful and built this incredible personal brand powerhouse? 

• Honesty/Authenticity/Vulnerability: I talk about authenticity in pretty much all of my videos. Being true to yourself, putting yourself out there, showing who you are, imperfections and all, and letting that vulnerability shine through is a hallmark of really powerful personal brands. 

• Limited Access or Scarcity: Unlike many of her peers who are marketing ALL THE TIME, her approach is very different. She drops an album, blows everyone’s minds, maybe tours, and then disappears for years. This creates a scarcity effect: she is super in-demand because she’s only accessible in these small windows. This is a deliberate tactic that other artists use, like Rihanna with music and Beyonce with social media. Scarcity is really aligned with luxury brands, as it creates that in-demand effect.

• Being “Just Adele”:  What I mean by this that her brand isn’t really about anything but her music. She’s really all about her artistry, which contrasts some of the other mega-artists of similar calibers. She hasn’t built her image on anything but music; no hypersexuality, over-the-top performances, dancing, brands, or other businesses. It’s all about her music, albums, and tours. That’s it. And that aligns back to the vulnerability: it’s just her.

• Powerhouse Performances: Some of the highlights of her career have been these incredible powerhouse performances at awards shows or big events that have built this anticipation and really driven demand for her music even more.

Visual Identity: Raw Elegance

While Adele doesn’t have a specific brand identity or logo, she does have a visual identity with her overall style. She’s become known for this kind of elegant and glamorous look. She generally has that 60s-Esque really voluminous, polished hair and bold eyeliner and lashes for very defined eyes. Her makeup and styling are definitely part of what she’s known for. 

In terms of art direction, her photoshoots and music videos have this very sophisticated and elegant feel while still portraying the rawness she is known for. This is pervasive across all of her imagery. 

Her album covers really echo the idea of “just Adele” because they’re simply her face. No artwork or intricate designs – just her and her music.

Brand Activation: It’s All About the Music

Brand activation is essentially how you make money and gain brand equity. What is it that your brand does to make money and spread its wings? For Adele, it’s just her music. She is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Her album 21 is literally the best-selling album of the 21st century. It sold 31 million copies, went Diamond in the US and 17x Platinum in the UK. Not to mention all of her other albums have also gone Platinum. We’ll see how 30 does, but I assume it’ll be huge too. 

Aside from the albums themselves, she’s made tons of money touring, having earned over 140million pounds from just one tour. That’s pretty powerful. Prior to its cancellation, it was rumored Adele would make $2 million per show at her Las Vegas residency. Basically, the girl knows how to sell tickets. 

She hasn’t bothered with branching out with endorsements or launching a bunch of side brands because she doesn’t need to. Her voice, music, and artistry are powerful enough on their own. Once again, aligning with the “take it or leave it” idea. She’s got something to say, like it or you don’t (but clearly… we love it). 

If there’s one thing to learn from Adele: 

It’s to be true to self. Be authentically who you are, even if that means being vulnerable because that’s gonna allow people to connect with you and your brand on a very, very emotional level. And that’s what branding is all about. 

If you want more on this and how to find your own brand personality, check out my video on brand archetypes or download my brand archetypes guide. 

Until next time, stay badass!