Big moments of creativity can come in small packages, like the five-foot pop princess Sabrina Carpenter. To help you inject some fun back into your creative process, I list my key marketing takeaways from Sabrina Carpenter below.

How Did Sabrina Carpenter Get Famous?

“Espresso” has been named the song of the summer for 2024, so if you haven’t heard it yet, believe it’s on its way to being omnipresent. So, who is this Polly Pocket all over your social media feeds? How did Sabrina Carpenter get famous? 

Here’s the shortened version: She just got off Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and has since released two singles that hit Billboard’s top ten: “Espresso” and “Please, Please, Please.” Her next album is being released in August 2024, and her “Short n’ Sweet” tour will follow. 

The list of Sabrina Carpenter movies and tv shows stems from the Disney universe. She was on Girl Meets World, Adventures in Babysitting, and Broadway’s Mean Girls. It’s even more impressive that she hasn’t been pigeonholed as a perpetual Disney darling, similar to what they tried to do with Miley, Demi, Hilary Duff, and the like. 

Let’s get into the marketing tips I’ve learned from Sabrina Carpenter.

A Playful Creative Process

Sabrina Carpenter first entered my orbit when I heard “Nonsense” on the radio. Then her customized outros for each city on her tour started infiltrating my TikTok algorithm. Underneath their overtly explicit nature is an undeniable creativity. She’s a modern poet, if you will. 

Her creative process starts with listing out whatever rhymes with the city they’re performing in. Believe it or not, her original ideas start at the more explicit end of the spectrum and she reels it back in from there. They’re having fun and writing literal nonsense that gets edited down into a catchy final product.

The genesis of Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso also reminds us that you need to be living your life to have material for your creative endeavors. The idea for this song came about while sipping espresso at a crêperie in a small French village. Coffee is the ultimate experiential beverage, after all. 

The Marketing Takeaway: Your real-life experiences feed your creativity. You have to get off the internet and live your life. 

The Comments Section

Sabrina Carpenter routinely reposts her fans on TikTok and can be seen in comments sections all over the internet. Part of the thrill of posting TikTok videos to her songs is that you have a chance of the artist herself reposting it. 

Her presence in the comments section of both favorable and unfavorable videos reminds us that we don’t need to take ourselves too seriously. We can be snarky, sassy, and funny without being rude or getting offended. After all, why be bothered about something when you’ve had a number one song? 

The Marketing Takeaway: You’re not too cool to get down in the weeds. The comments section contains a treasure trove of ideas and engagement opportunities.

Jesus Was a Carpenter: How to Respond to Controversy

You won’t be liked by everyone, and you need to have thick enough skin to carry you through those moments of criticism.

Sabrina Carpenter’s “Feather” music video was shot inside a Catholic church in New York, so naturally people found a way to be offended about it. When asked about the backlash, she simply clarified, “Jesus was a carpenter.”

Case closed. 

The Marketing Takeaway: If people are talking negatively about you online, respond in a way that’s authentic to you. You can use humor (almost) anywhere. 

Who is Sabrina Carpenter Dating?

Sabrina Carpenter is dating Barry Keoghan, an Irish actor who’s famous for drinking Jacob Elordi’s bathwater in Saltburn. 

Barry Keoghan’s dating history is muddy, which made his appearance in her music video for “Please, Please, Please” that much better. In this ABBA-esque song, she pleads with him not to embarrass her and make her cry. 

The Sabrina Carpenter Barry Keoghan crossover in her music video is as the youth would say, so meta. She’s famously never confirmed their relationship title publicly, expertly dodging it in her Cosmopolitan interview as she’s known to do. This is what makes his appearance that much better. She knows what we’re saying about her man, and her art is her response.

The Marketing Takeaway: Give people what they want. If you know what your audience is saying about you, good or bad, lean into it. When your audience knows that you’re listening, they experience an entirely new level of validation. 

What Blush Does Sabrina Carpenter Use?

Sabrina Carpenter’s signature blushed cheeks can teach us a lot about organic marketing and product placement.

Blush-heavy makeup is Sabrina’s signature look, inspiring all sorts of emulations across the internet. Even as “blush blindness” has become the latest shaming trend, the heavily blushed look is still going strong.

She didn’t follow an existing beauty trend. She’s able to confidently wear what looks good on her, which sprouted her own trend. Knowing what works for you means you don’t have to follow ever-shortening trend cycles. 

The Marketing Takeaway: Leading with your authentic self will translate to your audience, and they’ll want to follow what you’re doing. When you’re genuinely excited about what you’re creating, you can spawn your own trends.

So, what blush does Sabrina Carpenter use? I’ve seen videos of her saying she uses Makeup by Mario’s blush in shade Rose Crush. 

The Ultimate Marketing Takeaway: Have Fun

Above all, you can tell she’s having fun. Every time Sabrina Carpenter performs, she treats it like she’s singing in her bedroom.

We could all use a reminder to have fun and play more.