Quick Summary
- Pop-up teaser sparked instant buzz. A single “Meet me in the park” text drove thousands to Washington Square Park on April 22, 2025.
- A guerrilla stunt fed the content pipeline. Lorde made police shutdown footage the heart of the “What Was That” music video, released 48 hours later.
- Social ripple proved the payoff. #WhatWasThat? topped 975K TikTok views in three days and dominated X trending topics.
Lorde’s comeback single “What Was That” didn’t roll out with a press conference or a glossy TV spot. Instead, the 28-year-old singer dropped a cryptic text blast, ambushed Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, and let the NYPD provide the plot twist.
The result was a fan-shot frenzy that became both free advertising and the centerpiece of her official video—demonstrating how a well-timed guerilla marketing can out-punch multimillion-dollar media buys.
The official “What Was That” video.
Lorde’s Pre-Release Playbook
Lorde had not released new music since her album “Solar Power” in 2021. On April 9, 2025, after wiping her social channels clean, she posted a 12-second teaser on her TikTok account, to prime the algorithm weeks before the single dropped.
@lordeMy new music video What Was That. As little between us as possible. Aliveness over prowess. Naïveté over disenchantment. I LOVE YOU WE START HERE 𝑳ĿŁု⑷♶♬ What Was That – Lorde
The teaser.
Campaign Overview
- The bait. On April 22 at 2 p.m., fans on her text line got the now-iconic message: “Meet me in the park Tonight 7 pm – x x.” Screenshots ricocheted across Reddit (since removed), X, and group chats, turning NYC’s student corridor into a pilgrimage route.
- The set-up: (Planned? Anyone’s guess!) TimeOut published an article announcing that Lorde would be performing at Washington Square that day at 7 p.m.
- The switch-up. Minutes before showtime, park rangers and NYPD officers shut down the impromptu stage because Lorde lacked sound and park permits.
Lorde’s 7:54 p.m. Instagram post.
- The payoff. At 8 p.m., Lorde returned with a portable speaker, hit play, and lip-synced as thousands of phones lit up. Those shaky vertical clips became the spine of the official video that premiered on April 24, 2025.
Lorde finally arrives!!! @ Washington Square Park pic.twitter.com/T03RZJCjCi
— resident laurel canyon know it all (@aramis_nizar) April 23, 2025
Fan post: “Lorde finally arrives!!!”
Key Success Factors
- Scarcity drives stampedes. Four years of radio silence made any Lorde update newsworthy. The surprise text created time-boxed FOMO that her fan base couldn’t resist.
- Earned media beats paid media. Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, and Time Out all ran same-day pieces—free front-page coverage worth six figures in ad equivalency.
- User-generated content fuels virality. Fan clips captured raw emotion—tree-climbing, chorus belting, police sirens—that the polished video repurposed for authenticity at scale.
- Platform stacking keeps momentum. TikTok snippet ➜ live teaser ➜ music video ➜ streaming drop created four news beats in two weeks, keeping “Lorde Summer” in constant rotation.
- Metrics that matter.
– 3,000+ on-site fans forced the shutdown (NYPD estimate reported by multiple outlets).
– #WhatWasThat? amassed ~1M TikTok views within 72 hours of release.
– The track entered Spotify’s U.S. Top 10 on day one, according to industry newsletter HitsDailyDouble.
The scene: Washington Square Park.
Innovative Elements
- Fan-first location reveal. Using a community SMS list instead of mainstream channels underscored exclusivity and rewarded superfans.
- Narrative recycling. The crisis moment (police intervention) wasn’t a setback; it became the hook—proof that controlled chaos can double as creative asset.
- Cross-channel breadcrumbing. Wiping socials, cryptic TikTok, SMS drop, then guerrilla gig formed a suspense arc straight out of episodic TV.
Impact and Results
- Beyond TikTok buzz and YouTube’s trending tab, traditional press framed the stunt as a culture moment—The Daily Beast called it “the risen Lorde.”
- Radio adds spiked; SiriusXM’s Alt Nation added the single within 24 hours of release.
- Early Shazam data placed “What Was That” in the app’s U.S. Top 20 the week of April 25, signaling broad mainstream curiosity.
Marketer Takeaways
- Turn obstacles into plot points. When controversy (or authorities) intervene, lean in; the conflict gives journalists a headline.
- Seed micro-content before macro-events. Short-form teases prime algorithms and audiences for real-world activations.
- Own the audience database. A direct SMS line cuts through algorithmic clutter and delivers 100% reach to your core fans.
- Edit fan footage into official creative. Crowdsourced visuals lower production costs, and user-generated content boosts perceived authenticity.
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