Grab Your Umbrella: How Rihanna’s Super Bowl Performance Brought a Storm of Sales & Streams

Unless you’ve been on a social media cleanse, you probably know that Rihanna did her first live performance in a whopping 7 years at this year’s Super Bowl Halftime show. And boy, it was one to remember! 

From an epic stage setup, product placement surprise pregnancy and more – Rihanna sure knows how to get people talking!

A Halftime Show That Won’t Be Forgotten

Rihanna’s Halftime show was nothing short of a spectacle – and the numbers prove it. With nearly 119 MILLION people tuning in to the performance, it drew in 5% more viewers than the Super Bowl football game itself! Only true legends get the honour of representing themselves and their brand on such a big stage. So as a marketing space, the Super Bowl is basically the jackpot!

And let’s be real –  who wouldn’t want to watch a performance by one of the biggest pop stars on the planet? Especially when it doubles as an epic pregnancy announcement for baby #2 with rap icon, A$AP Rocky! 

Social media sites were popping off at the time, with searches like ‘is Rihanna pregnant?’ trending around the world. We totally understand the excitement – who wouldn’t want a mini Rihanna running the world?

It’s no secret that Rihanna has been killing the game for the last decade and more, and her ability to attract such a wide range of fans from the U.S. to here in New Zealand and beyond is just one of the many reasons why we love her. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or just a casual listener, there’s something about her music and presence that just draws people in. 

Reaping The Royalties 

With a plethora of absolute HITS under her belt, it would have no-doubt been a tricky task to decide which songs to squeeze into a mere 13-minute set. But if we do say so ourselves, she did a pretty damn good job with her setlist, which featured:

• B— Better Have My Money
• Where Have You Been
• Only Girl (In the World)
• We Found Love
• Rude Boy
• Work
• Wild Thoughts
• Pour It Up
• All of the Lights
• Run This Town
• Umbrella
• Diamonds

Luminate, the company that provides the data for Billboard’s hit charts, did a deep dive and found that on the day of the halftime show and the day after, the results were pretty wild.  

On-demand streams of Rihanna’s music in the U.S. skyrocketed to 62.2 million – a crazy increase from just 25.8 million in the two days prior. 

Her most-streamed song from the performance was “Umbrella,” with a whopping 3.8 million official on-demand streams on the Sunday and Monday alone. That’s a 177% increase compared to the previous two days – talk about star power! And “Diamonds” wasn’t far behind, raking in a total of 3.2 million streams. 

Just think of how much money Rihanna made from all those boosted streams – it will probably make your head spin! And we haven’t even talked about Fenty Beauty yet…

Product Placement  – Featuring Fenty Beauty NZ & Savage X Fenty

Not only did Rihanna wear a full face of mesmerising Fenty Beauty during the show, but she also made sure to include a moment of her applying the product, centre stage. Mid-song, the pop superstar decided to apply some of the Fenty Beauty Invisimatte Instant Setting + Blotting Powder – and you bet the camera was zoomed in just in time to catch the moment! While advertisers were paying $7 million for a 30 second ad, Rihanna got to do it for free. In fact, she took home a fat paycheck for it. Talk about winning.

After the show, countless influencers made TikToks and Instagram videos emulating the look with Fenty Beauty Products and what’s more, searches for Fenty Beauty shot up by 833%! Yes…you read that right! 

The products are already popular enough – the Fenty Beauty Foundation and Fenty Beauty Highlighter, amongst others, are often sold out on Fenty Beauty NZ. However, this spike in interest proves just how powerful Rihanna’s Halftime Show was as a marketing platform. You can even shop the exact look on the Fenty Beauty NZ page.

And to top it all off, Rihanna’s Halftime Show crew (and herself, of course) were decked out wearing clothes from her brand, Savage x Fenty. 

Launchmetrics, a media analytics company, reported that in the first 12 hours after the performance, Fenty Beauty scored a massive $5.6 million in Media Impact Value (MIV), while Savage x Fenty brought in $2.6 million in MIV. 

MIV is a metric that measures the value of marketing strategies across different media, like print, online and social media. So basically, Rihanna’s halftime show was a massive win for her brands and resulted in a huge return on investment – especially considering the Super Bowl covered the costs of running the show!

Taking It A Step Further With Limited-Edition Products

Rihanna definitely milked her Super Bowl feature for all it’s worth – and we don’t blame her! 

In addition to all that product placement, Rihanna also released a Super Bowl-themed Savage x Fenty collection a few days before the show. The collection included themed track pants, jumpers and a fan favourite t-shirt stating “Rihanna concert interrupted by a football game, weird but whatever.” Pure facts only. 

Not only did this generate even more hype around her performance, but it also gave her another opportunity to capture those all-important sales.

The devil works hard, but Rihanna works harder after all!

From Barbados Local To Worldwide Billionaire – Why Rihanna Became A Leading Business Woman 

Rihanna may have started her life in fame as a singer, but it’s clear that these days, she’s so much more than that. Now, the musician-turned-businesswoman is worth a jaw-dropping $1.4 BILLION, with Fenty Beauty responsible for a lot of her wealth now.  Here are just a few reasons why Rihanna has become so successful with her business ventures:

Extensive Portfolio

Rihanna has built a diverse portfolio of businesses that range from music to fashion and beauty. She’s the founder of the hugely successful Fenty brand, which includes Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty and now also Fenty Skin. We wouldn’t be surprised if she launches a new line in the future!

Inclusive Branding

She’s known for being inclusive in her branding, which has helped her reach a wider audience. For example, when Fenty Beauty was born in 2017, consumers all around the world praised the brand for featuring a range of skin shades that weren’t previously catered for on the mainstream makeup market. 

In a similar vein, Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie lines cater to people of all body types, making her fans feel seen and heard.

Social Media Presence

Rihanna is a social media powerhouse, with tons of followers (a neat 144 million on Instagram alone) at her fingertips. She clearly understands the marketing potential of social media, using her influence to promote her businesses and connect with her fans on a personal level. Who could forget her recent high-fashion shoot featuring her new family with A$AP Rocky?

So, it’s safe to say that Rihanna knew exactly what she was doing when she was promoting her brands at the Super Bowl stage, and it certainly paid off!

Are You Ready to Make a Social Media Impact Like Rihanna?

If you’re looking to make waves on social media like Rihanna, then you’re in luck because First Page has got you sorted with all things marketing.

Our team of social media experts can help your business grow in popularity through targeted and strategic social media marketing campaigns. With our innovative strategies and techniques, we’ll help your brand stand out in a crowded online space and capture the attention of your desired audience. 

And just like Rihanna’s marketing team, ours is always in-the-know with what’s hot and trending – so what not capitalise on that to make YOUR brand the talk of the town? 

So, whether you’re looking to boost engagement, grow your follower count or simply make a buzz, First Page is the agency for you! Reach out to us today and let’s start making a splash on social media and beyond!