Ice Spice, Viral Marketing, & How to Sustain a Buzz in 2023 & Beyond

On August 22, 2022, a song created by Isis Gatson, the Bronx rapper we now know as Ice Spice spread across the internet.

The song was hypnotic.

It had a Drill beat, deep 808 drums, and a silky smooth voice that weaved through the fast-paced production. When those elements combined, it created an infectious song named “Munch.”

Although “Munch” was only released 9 months ago, it seems like ages when you look at where Ice Spice’s career is now.

2023 has been nothing short of an all-star year for Ice, and her rise to stardom is a really great case study for brands, marketers,and creatives of all walks of life to learn from.

It involves several forms of marketing, branding, and shows the power of community as well.

That said, this week’s piece is about the Princess Diana of the Bronx. Let’s get it mayne!

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“You thought I was Feeling You?”

Look. Going viral is difficult.

Some people claim to have it down to a science, while others know there’s an art to it (and a good amount of luck/budget).

Nevertheless, our first mainstream look at Ice Spice came because of the virality of her record that we mentioned earlier, “Munch.”

Munch hit social media and immediately became a topic of conversation, not just because of Ice Spice’s unique look but also due to the song itself.

It spread because of The People

Conventional thought is that you seed something to an influencer, and by virtue, it will spread. That is the case often, but again, the influencers don’t make things go. Especially these days. And especially in music.

It’s the everyday content creators. 

Gen Z’s affinity for mashups has steadily grown as the years have gone by, and as artists create songs that experience a viral moment, a big part of that is regular non-influencer creators taking a shot at adding their “spin” to the record.

As “Munch” began to make its way across Twitter, people who resonated with it started using the sound behind their videos & reels.

Even budding music producers remixed the record, which helped create word of mouth around the original. And when coupled with the UGC on TikTok using the Munch sound, radio had no choice but to pick it up.

Speaking of TikTok…

Time magazine says that the hashtag #Munch has over 2 billion views, and #IceSpice has over 4 billion views. This set the stage for TikTok to break her next single, “In Ha Mood.”

Lifestyle Marketing Helped Manifest

While music alone can be enough to hold people’s attention, lifestyle marketing takes an artist to another level of commercial viability.

Ice Spice has had a ton of brand partnerships pop up in the short time she’s been on the scene, but the reason they are impactful is that they are all

INTENTIONAL.

She probably gets a ton of pitches for brand collaborations, but the few she's done not only reflect who she is now but where she belongs in terms of the cultural conversation.

Think About Her Met Gala appearance powered by Vogue & Ebay

This partnership was a stroke of genius & a nod to high-low culture. Ice released a curated collection courtesy of her partners and in the process gave the world a cinderella-esque moment that brought her story to new heights.

While the Vogue partnership (imo) is the most standout collaboration that Ice Spice has done, she’s also starred in Marc Jacobs ads for its spring collection, and was even tapped by Bey to star in some Ivy Park promo work on social.

The intent behind these collaborations has made her rise to the top even more storied, and as a result, people who don’t even listen to music like that see her as an inspiration for their style, and how they live their lives.

You need a signature “something”

The hard part about making a product stick in culture is that it has to be ubiquitous.

It needs that special “something” that people love (and marketers like me can sell).

The something could be a look (which Ice Spice has) or a sound which, in the case of Ice Spice, comes in part from her voice & the sound bed was given to her by producer RIOTUSA.

Courtesy of Producer Spotlight

In a piece with Billboard, Ice talks about how producers wouldn’t take her seriously, but Riot was the one who chose to lock in with her.

As a result they created a sound together that changed the trajectory of their respective careers.

Marquee Collaborators Gave The Co-Sign

Collabs have always been a part of creating an audience and expanding into different markets. And whether it’s Tiffany & Nike or Off-White & Mercedes, that message always rings true because resources are finite.

You don’t have enough budget to reach everyone, nor will you genuinely appeal to everyone you hope to reach. Partners help close the gap between budgets and extend your reach in the process.

That said, Ice Spice has had a few key collaborations this year who have helped her reach new audiences and continue to solidify herself as a cultural figure — something that’s stronger & longer lasting than a musician.

Nicki Minaj Entered The Chat…

Nicki Minaj has reached icon status, and if sustaining a buzz is like collecting infinity stones, then this was another stone for Ice Spice to collect.

As Ice Spice’s new single “Princess Diana” began to pick up steam across the radio, rumors of a potential appearance from Nicki began to swirl across social media.

When the two finally announced the collaboration, their video (and news of Ice Spice partnering with Nicki Minaj business-wise) broke the internet. The video has only been out for a month and has 53 million views.

Her Collab with Pink Pantheress made people dance

Ice stepped out of the world of Drill when she and Pink Pantheress linked up. For dance fans like the one in the comment above it was nostalgic, fun and refreshing.

The collab was lofi, retro, and ultimately cemented that Ice Spice had range outside of hip-hop and provided people with another viral TikTok sound to vibe out to.

Taylor Swift Helped Her Cross Over

Marketing science often talks about the need to reach new audiences to gain market share or, at the very least, maintain your position in a competitive landscape.

That said, if you look at the picture below, you’ll see the search volume around Ice Spice’s name on Google.

While it's been consistent this month, there’s a spike around May 27th & if you’ve been in the loop, then you know it’s because of her recent collaboration with Taylor Swift.

Taylor connected with Ice Spice for the remix of her record “Karma” after someone in her circle said some pretty offensive things about her on a podcast. I won’t rehash it, but Taylor reaching out created an opportunity for Ice Spice to reach an entirely new audience that immediately went to Google to search for her.

While it’s not an ideal scenario for a collab of this magnitude, Karma does expose Spice to a new audience and in the process helps ensure that she’ll have even more fans checking for her deluxe edition album this Summer.

And, All Roads Lead to Sustained Fandom

As we’ve established, Ice Spice is cultural figure who can go from the Bronx to the Met Gala at the drop of dime.

The by-product of all this momentum is that a Fandom will eventually materialize.

That brings us to the Spice Cabinet… Or the Munchkins. Whichever you prefer.

if you go on Twitter, or YouTube you’ll see the Munchkins/Spice Cabinet in the comments showing their avid support for Ice Spice. They love her early 2000s fashion, lush flow, and the confidence she gives them daily.

Check out the tweets below from Ice Spice and decide which name you prefer:

What Now?

According to the interview she did with Billboard, Ice Spice is gonna drop her deluxe album sometime this Summer.

If the past few months are any indication of what we’re in for, then it’s going to be big budget star studded affair.

As for brand collabs? Who’s to say what’s next. But one thing is for sure:

Ice Spice is a superstar. Full stop.

I wouldn’t be surprised if 2024 is bigger than 2023. I’ll probably revisit this a year from now to see if I’m right.

Peace.