OLIVIA DEAN – CAPITOL RECORDS | UNIVERSAL MUSIC UK

CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW

Submitted By: Universal Music UK
Artist Name: Olivia Dean
Artist Label: Capitol Records
Artist Territory: United Kingdom
Campaign Submission Date: 06/10/2025
Campaign Budget: High ($50K+)
Agency Involvement: Yes
Agency Name: CYOA|Cherry PR|Electric PR|All Ears Promotions|CAA
Primary Goals:

• Awareness
• Fan Growth
• Streaming Lift
• Ticket Sales
• Merch Sales

Target Audience Age:

• 18-24 years
• 25-34 years

Target Audience Location: North America, Europe, UK & Ireland, Australia & New Zealand
Primary Genre: Pop

CAMPAIGN CASE STUDY

Through years of tireless work, Olivia Dean has built a loyal and ever-growing community through standout live performances, tastemaker support, viral TV and film syncs, and her critically acclaimed debut album, Messy.

With momentum building and global reach expanding — 76% of her audience being ex-UK — the stage was set for Olivia’s second album The Art of Loving to galvanise her audience in a way like never before.

Our campaign strategy was designed to position Olivia as the UK’s next major global music export and drive anticipation for the album — anchored by key moments including U.S. and Australian plays, sold-out Shepherd’s Bush shows, Sam Fender support slots, and high-impact brand partnerships with Adidas and Burberry.

At every touchpoint, fans were super-served with content — from high-quality performance footage to narrative-driven storytelling. Creator-led campaigns focused on music and authenticity, activating tastemakers and real fans across music, fashion, slow-living, and lifestyle communities. These campaigns helped reduce artist lift while maintaining Olivia’s creative integrity.

We also focused on deepening connections within the existing fanbase. Collectible early physical releases — such as Valentine’s Day heart vinyl and Record Store Day exclusives — plus multiple album formats and fan-first merch drops, built a robust merch and pre-sale audience.

We also focused on transforming passive listeners into active advocates via CRM and subscriber perks + by re-imagining the Olivia Dean Worldwide fan account as not just a tool for Instagram post support but instead a dynamic hub for the fan community. CRM and subscriber strategies offered early access and exclusive content, while ODWW fan-first moments — like IRL and virtual activations tied to key campaign milestones — brought fans deeper into Olivia’s world. These included a global tracklist billboard reveal in partnership with fans, an e-card activation that unlocked exclusive snippets, and intimate fan events.

As album release approached, visibility peaked: a UK in-store tour, Radio 1 Live Lounge, TikTok takeovers for standout tracks like “Man I Need” and many other things kept momentum high.

Every step of the campaign was designed to tell Olivia’s story, celebrate her audience, and amplify the emotional and cultural resonance of The Art of Loving.

In all, this campaign was a full-scale, fan-first push across content, community, and commerce — firmly establishing Olivia Dean as an artist not only to support now, but one whose world will continue to grow well into 2026.

CHANNELS & CREATIVE

Unique Campaign Angle: Olivia Dean’s career has been shaped by long-term community connection—built through online groups and live shows that sparked early “tell all your friends” moments. Her fans are drawn to her relatable, real-time approach to life: aspirational yet grounded, strong yet vulnerable, clumsy yet graceful. This emotional closeness became the heart of The Art of Loving campaign.

Rather than simply telling Olivia’s story, we amplified her fans’ stories—highlighting how her music soundtracks their lives. Originally a tool to reduce artist lift on Instagram, Olivia Dean Worldwide was reimagined as a dynamic community hub, activating both IRL and virtual touchpoints throughout the campaign.

Fans were at the centre of every moment: from sip ’n’ paint sessions (bringing the “Art” in The Art of Loving to life), to fan speed-dating events built around shared love of Olivia’s songs. To reveal the album tracklist, fans in 12 global locations posed next to billboards for us. They also sent tens of thousands of e-cards to unlock exclusive album snippets.

Whilst Olivia sings “come be the man I need,” we asked fans to “come be the fan I need.” These shared experiences deepened loyalty and gave the campaign an emotional edge.

Marketing Categories:

• Short-form Content
• Influencer Marketing
• Community & Fan Engagement
• D2C & E-Commerce
• Global Marketing Campaign
• Live & Experiential Marketing
• Social Media Strategy
• User-Generated Content (UGC)

Marketing Avenues & Channels:

• TikTok YouTube Instagram Facebook
• Influencer Marketing, PR & Media Coverage
• User-Generated Content (UGC
• Email & CRM

Campaign Images

Campaign Assets

PERFORMANCE & INSIGHTS

The Turning Point: With pop fans crying out for a 2025 song of the summer, Olivia delivered with her second single, Man I Need.

The track marked a major breakthrough. Although we’d always had great ambition for this song, the level of virality it sparked was unprecedented. Man I Need became the biggest launch of Olivia’s career, surpassing 1.1M global streams on day one. It debuted at #8 on the UK Singles Chart, held #2 for five consecutive weeks, and hit #1 the same week the album dropped.

Global support across streaming, radio, and fans felt like the culmination of years of groundwork. The single pushed Olivia beyond her core fanbase and into mainstream consciousness, unlocking new milestones—including her first U.S. TV performance on the Today Show.

On the heels of the single’s success, Olivia announced four O2 Arena dates—all of which sold out—cementing her arrival as a true headline act.

But more than a chart hit, Man I Need captured the spirit of The Art of Loving, bringing in new fans and amplifying Olivia’s mission of self-love, friendship, and joy to a wider audience than ever before.

Standout Statistics:
The campaign achieved truly global reach, with all territories growing at the same time. The long-term community focus culminated in a profound connection, both culturally and commercially, with Olivia’s authentic character, talent, and vision.

• UK Official Charts: double #1 (first solo British female artist since Adele, 2021), album 52k & Man I Need single 77k, highest-selling single OTY (as October 6).
• Billboard 200 debut #8 at 43k (equivalent album units); within this 40.5m on-demand official streams, Top Streaming Albums #8 debut; 11k album sales Top Album Sales #7 debut. MIN Top 10 on Streaming Songs #8 peak and Hot 100 #25 peak.
• International (album): #1 Australia/ Ireland/ Netherlands/ New Zealand, #2 Belgium, #6 Sweden, #7 Norway, #9 Germany, #26 France, #64 Finland.
• Ireland: release-week charts ‘quadruple’ #1 – Albums, Singles, Official Airplay, Spotify Albums.
• Spotify UK: MIN top song at the end of week 1 (weekly & daily), top weekly album, #1 artist (weekly & daily), #1 debut album, 9/10 debut top song positions.

Further stats:

• Global streams to date: 2.2BN (76% International)
• Spotify: monthly listener peaks 31.4M // Spotify global daily streaming peak, 5.5M (Jan 1st – 391k)
• Charts: UK OCC #1 single (Man I Need), UK OCC #1 album (The Art of Loving), US Billboard #8 album, Global Spotify #5 single (Man I Need)
• Overall socials: 23.2M online followers. Over 445M total views across platforms
• CRM list: 96.5k (Jan 1st: 37.4k) 158% increase
• Live shows: ticket sales for 2026 so far – 350k
• Final album pre-orders: UK: 27,644 // Total Global Spotify pre-adds: 664,691 // Total Global Apple pre-adds: 179,802

Most Effective Marketing Channels: TikTok proved to be the strongest platform of the campaign. A consistent stream of content from Olivia—centered on live moments and key highlights—paired with frequent personality and music posts from Olivia Dean Worldwide, created numerous opportunities to engage fans.

Early in the campaign, significant focus was placed on creator collaborations around the February Australian tour and Bridget Jones soundtrack release. This foundation set the stage for a stronger launch of the album and lead single Nice To Each Other. When Man I Need dropped, UGC skyrocketed—96k global creations and 72M views in the first week, now totaling 795k creations, with the song reaching #1 on the UK Chart.

The viral success deepened TikTok’s support, amplified by an inclusive fanbase of girls who love love, fashion, music, matcha, and sunshine—core groups that celebrate discovery and champion Olivia’s rise.

To date, Olivia now has 756k TikTok followers & 14.7M likes.

Long-Term Artist Impact: 2025 has cemented Olivia Dean as an artist built for longevity, not just viral success. Her growth has been driven by depth across her catalogue—multiple songs rising together rather than a single breakout.

She’s consistently dominated Spotify UK with up to 18 tracks in the Top 200, while daily streams have surged from 817k in January to 18–20 million, showing sustained, organic engagement. Each tour sparks renewed discovery, strengthening her long-term fanbase.

The overwhelming demand for live shows and an album launch that saw all 12 songs in Spotify’s Top 40 underscore a rare connection: fans aren’t chasing moments, they’re committing to Olivia’s music for the long run.

CAMPAIGN CREDITS

• Jamie Ahye|Head of Marketing (Pop)
• Andrew Bunton|Senior Audience Strategist
• Yazz James|Senior Account Manager
• Hannah Tyler & Lucrezia Sanzeri|Account Managers (CYOA)
• Will Rowe-Parr|Senior Streaming Manager
• Georgie Barradale|Creator Marketing Lead
• Holly Shaw|Senior Campaign Manager (Intl.)
• Justine Perret|CRM Manager
• Emily Braham & Sarah Howell|Yo & Co Management
• Tom Paul & Jo Charrington|Capitol UK