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“She’s influencing a group of people and those people are influencing each other and other people. There’s a network effect that’s at play.”
– Marcus Collins, Professor of Marketing at the Ross School of Business (Source: Forbes)
Whether you like it or not, the Super Bowl is this weekend, and people can’t stop talking about Taylor Swift—even though she doesn’t play football.
According to MarketWatch, this season Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s romance generated over $331 million for the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL.
“The Taylor Effect” or “The Swift Effect” (call it what you want) is an extremely relevant sensation that every marketing leader should learn about—and so should any apparel brand that wants to turn trends into $$$ in 2024!
Keep reading to get high-value insights into…
- What “The Taylor Swift Effect” is
- How this effect came into play
- How to turn your brand into a cultural phenomenon
Maximize Your Sales with Scrappy Apparel
@reuters The “Swift Effect” will be in full force when the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs travel to New York, as a connection between pop music phenomenon Taylor Swift and NFL tight end Travis Kelce has sent fans into a frenzy. #TaylorSwift #Swiftie #SwiftTok #TravisKelce #KansasCity #Jets #NewYork ♬ original sound – Reuters
The Influence of the Taylor Swift Effect
First, let’s talk about what “The Taylor Swift Effect” actually is.
In general, this effect refers to the economic boost in areas where Taylor Swift holds her concerts. There’s also a significant sales spike for any event or product Swift is associated with.
So, what does this mean for you? Let’s say T Swift is performing in a city, county, or region where you sell your products. You can market to her audience to boost your sales.
Obviously, you can’t just slap her name on a product and call it a day, but there are clever ways you can market your products to her audience without infringing on her intellectual property rights or misusing her brand.
However, before you explore Taylor’s world further, you need to know more about how this effect works and how it started.
The “Swiftie” Bond
Swift was one of the first musicians to take a deep dive into Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr to get on a one-to-one level with her fans. She created an emotional connection with her audience in the digital world, which resulted in millions of fans worldwide.
In 2017, the name “Swifties” (Swift’s fans) was legally trademarked by the singer. And let’s make something clear—these fans are not just passive consumers.
They’re the opposite of passive. Swifties are super engaged with Taylor as an artist, influencer, and brand.
It’s not surprising that Swifties also love buying her apparel, footwear, cosmetics, and accessories. More brands are acquiring permission to use Swift’s designs or resell her merchandise because there’s clearly a lucrative business opportunity when marketing to the Swiftie demographic.
It All Started with a Love Story
In the summer of 2023, Swift began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and the NFL has welcomed the couple’s relationship. By just showing up at her man’s games, Taylor has greatly increased NFL viewership and sales.
To maximize their earnings, the league used Swift’s music for promos, displayed her real-time reactions on TV, and made puns about Kelce’s stats with references to her songs. And now the Swifties are showing up for Kelce as well, making this crossover highly lucrative.
@espn This is awesome ❤️👏 (via @Aubrey Curtis) #nfl #football #taylorswift #traviskelce #chiefs ♬ original sound – tvdoaudios
The couple’s impact was so great that new custom jerseys called “Swelce” and “Traylor” went up for auction in late 2023. The jersey still had Kelce’s number 87 on it and was signed by the player himself.
And the fans went crazy about this product. The items were listed at $2,515 for the “Swelce” Jersey and $1,515 for the “Traylor” one, according to Yahoo Entertainment.
The custom Chiefs jerseys signed by Travis Kelce auctioned via Metabilia.
The NFL’s Triumph: Exploring the Impact of The Swift Effect on Viewership and Sales
The NFL has always tried to boost its female viewership. But in October 2023, this demographic hit a new peak thanks to the Swifties. According to NBC News, the biggest increases were:
- 53%: women aged 12 to 17
- 34%: women above 35
- 24%: women aged 18 to 24
An average of nearly 27 million people (2 million more women) tuned into the same game that Taylor Swift attended. This made it the most-watched Sunday TV show since the Super Bowl.
Sales were also impacted. According to CNN, Travis Kelce (previously in the top 10 in jersey sales) saw his sales jump nearly 400% after Taylor Swift attended a game between the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs, making Kelce one of the top 5 selling NFL players.
This event is inspiring marketing leaders all over the world to use this effect to boost their sales, engagement, and brand awareness… or at least figure out how to achieve similar success for their own brand, even if they’re not directly marketing to Swifties.
Ripple Effect: How Various Industries Capitalize on the T Swift Phenomenon
Since Swift started the Eras Tour in 2023, she’s been boosting local economies where she performs. According to Chains Store Age, the top purchases made were in:
- Clothing: 62%
- Food: 41%
- Transport: 39%
- Stay: 37%
57% of Taylor’s concert or movie attendees said they bought a Taylor-related item and kept it following the concert or movie.
The fans are looking for garments with her designs, trademarks, or even just references on them, making them feel like they’re part of a community—like true Swifties. Fans keep the clothing for sentimental reasons.
Taylor Swift is Not the Only Celebrity with Great Influence!
There are other celebrities who have produced similar effects.
For example, Kanye West for Adidas and Cardi B for Christian Louboutin’s “Bloody Shoes” search traffic, among others.
These celebrities influence people to move and buy based on their statements or actions. It’s clear we live in a world that’s all about influence!
Trust Scrappy Apparel to Optimize Your Supply Chain!
T Swift has mastered the art of the fan experience. To become a cultural phenomenon like her, you need to give your customers a memorable experience with your brand.
Scrappy Apparel is your go-to partner for high-volume apparel manufacturing, fulfillment, and e-commerce solutions. We offer unlimited scalability and uncompromising quality. We’ll exceed your customers’ expectations at every touchpoint.
Here are a few of the ways we can help you elevate your brand:
We Prioritize Transparency & Efficiency
Step into a world where efficiency meets convenience. Our warehouses are tailored to your brand’s needs, with customized packing slips and shipping labels. Our cutting-edge system keeps you informed at all times about stock levels, synchronizing your products and inventory in real-time.
The fulfillment service we offer seamlessly integrates with your online store, enabling you to focus on promoting and selling your products.
All you have to do is focus on attracting customers to your store. Once they place an order, we’ll handle everything from there. It’s that simple!
We Specialize in Limited Edition Drops
We’ll help you manufacture your limited edition collection, prepare for the launch, and execute your one-time drop program with maximum efficiency. The best part about it is that you keep 100% of the profits you generate!
We Offer 4PL and 5PL Capabilities
Our 3PL MGMT program is more than just a fulfillment service—we offer a strategic partnership tailored to your needs. We help with:
- Managing multiple 3PL warehouses
- Supply chain management
- Inventory management
- Pick and pack
- Storage
- Transportation scheduling
…and much more!
Forget about worries, delays, and management nightmares. We provide a seamless experience for both your business and your consumers!
End-to-End Supply Chain Management: We Have You Covered Every Step of the Way
Clothing brands need solutions that are tailored to their industry specifically. With over 17 years in the industry, we’ve perfected our solutions to meet the needs of apparel brands.
We service retail stores, e-commerce brands, tour merch programs… the list goes on!
We streamline our logistics to ensure our deliveries always arrive on time, minimizing delays and optimizing your supply chain.
Choose Scrappy Apparel as Your Strategic Partner to Scale!
If you’re taking your brand to new heights in 2024, let’s talk about how we can support you with our scalable apparel solutions:
