How the Bad Bunny Brand Strategy Avoided Every Crime the Industry Wants You to Commit

There are brand crimes the industry pretends are “best practices.”

They sound responsible. Strategic. Mature. Scalable.

They’re not.

They’re compromises dressed up as intelligence.

And almost every artist at a certain level commits them without thinking twice.

The Bad Bunny brand strategy didn’t.

At the Super Bowl, in front of roughly 138 million viewers, he had every incentive to do what artists typically do at that moment:

Sing in English
Wear luxury
Play neutral
Flex status
Make it digestible
Make it scalable

Instead, he wore Zara, not Gucci.
Performed primarily in Spanish.
Spotlighted immigrant-owned small businesses.
Centered Puerto Rican labor, history, and politics.

And while refusing every compromise the industry expects, he built a $100M+ empire, generated hundreds of millions in tour revenue, and solidified category ownership in branding.

This isn’t about halftime theatrics.

It’s about the Bad Bunny brand strategy — and what founders, creatives, and operators can learn about brand positioning strategy, cultural branding strategy, and building a brand without compromise.

Crime #1: Chasing Visibility Before Infrastructure (A Failure in Brand Positioning Strategy)

The industry worships virality.

“Go viral fast.”
“Get famous early.”
“Get on the biggest stages as quickly as possible.”

Foundation? Later.

That’s backwards.

Before Billboard history. Before Grammys. Before the Super Bowl, there was Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.

Born in Bayamón, raised in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. His father, Tito Martínez, was a truck driver. His mother, Lysaurie Ocasio, was an English teacher. No industry pipeline. No family leverage.

He worked as a grocery bagger at an Econo supermarket.
Recorded music at home.
Uploaded tracks to SoundCloud with no audience.
Studied audiovisual communication at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo — and didn’t finish.

From roughly 2010 to 2016, he built quietly.

No crossover pivot.
No English-language strategy.
No chase for American validation.

In 2016, “Diles” caught DJ Luian’s attention. Later that year, “Soy Peor” began gaining traction in Puerto Rico’s underground reggaeton scene.

That’s infrastructure.

Catalog. Credibility. Cultural authority.

Most artists want the stage before they have signal. And when they get attention, they don’t know how to sustain it.

The Bad Bunny brand strategy proves that visibility without infrastructure creates noise. Infrastructure before visibility creates durability.

If you are serious about category ownership in branding, you build signal before scale.

Crime #2: Assimilation Disguised as Collaboration (Cultural Branding Strategy in Action)

By 2018, Bad Bunny had collided with the mainstream.

“I Like It” with Cardi B and J Balvin went #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Mía” with Drake peaked at #5.

This is usually the assimilation moment.

The whispers begin:

“Now sing more in English.”
“Now broaden your appeal.”
“Now make pop records.”
“Don’t alienate the American audience.”

Translation: Sand down the specificity.

Bad Bunny didn’t.

He used those collaborations as distribution, not transformation.

He didn’t change language.
He didn’t soften cultural identity.
He didn’t reposition for a different audience.

He leveraged the reach — and returned to his core.

That’s cultural branding strategy.

Most artists believe collaboration is the strategy.

It isn’t.

Collaboration is borrowed attention.
Brand positioning strategy is what you refuse to compromise once people are watching.

Amplification, not assimilation.

Crime #3: Choosing Short-Term Revenue Over Category Ownership in Branding

This is the crime that separates brands from movements.

In 2025, Bad Bunny announced a Puerto Rico residency — roughly 30 shows — titled No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí.

Over 400,000 tickets sold.
An estimated $176–$200 million in direct economic impact for Puerto Rico.

Then came the world tour announcement.

Latin America.
Europe.
Asia.
Oceania.

No U.S. mainland dates.

From a traditional industry lens, this looks irrational.

But the Bad Bunny brand strategy prioritized category ownership in branding over short-term revenue expansion.

Instead of maximizing U.S. revenue, he consolidated leverage.

The Super Bowl became his only U.S. performance.

That’s not missing money.

That’s owning your lane so fully the market adjusts to you.

When you own the category, you don’t chase the market.
The market moves toward you.

Crime #4: Partnering to Elevate Instead of Reflect (Brand Authenticity Strategy)

At the Super Bowl, artists usually signal status.

Luxury fashion.
Exclusivity.
Aspiration.

Bad Bunny chose differently.

He wore Zara.
Highlighted his Adidas BadBo 1.0 sneaker.
Partnered with Mitchell & Ness for a “Super Tazón” jersey release.

Accessible. Familiar. Real.

Most brands partner to elevate perception.

The Bad Bunny brand authenticity strategy partnered to reflect lived reality.

When your audience can afford what you wear, they don’t just admire you — they identify with you.

Reflection builds loyalty faster than aspiration.

And loyalty builds durable brand equity.

Crime #5: Using the Platform for Yourself Instead of Your Community (A Masterclass in Cultural Branding Strategy)

The Super Bowl is typically a résumé moment.

Bad Bunny turned it into redistribution.

He featured:

Villa’s Tacos in Highland Park, Los Angeles
Toñita’s Caribbean Social Club in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Puerto Rican cultural staples like piraguas and coco frío vendors
Nail salon culture representing the side-hustle beauty economy
Visual references to jíbaros and sugar cane labor

These weren’t props.

They were cultural touchpoints.

Most performers ask, “How do I elevate myself?”

Bad Bunny asked, “How do I amplify my community?”

That is cultural branding strategy at scale.

One builds a personal brand.

The other builds category authority.

Crime #6: Staying Neutral to Avoid Controversy (A Failure of Brand Positioning Strategy)

Neutrality is often framed as maturity.

In reality, it’s usually fear.

Bad Bunny’s performance included:

“El Apagón” referencing Puerto Rico’s power crisis
Visual nods to colonialism and displacement
A mock Trump voice addressing immigrants
A closing moment reframing “America” as a continent

This wasn’t accidental.

It was positioning.

Brands fear political alignment because they fear loss.

But neutrality doesn’t guarantee safety — it guarantees invisibility.

When your identity is inherently political, silence is the compromise.

Brand positioning strategy requires clarity.

And clarity requires courage.

Crime #7: Diluting Cultural Specificity to Scale (The Opposite of Category Ownership)

The final lie brands believe:

“If you’re too specific, you limit scale.”

The Bad Bunny brand strategy proves the opposite.

He performed a halftime show saturated in Puerto Rican symbolism and Spanish-language music — and 138 million viewers leaned in.

He didn’t dilute culture for mass appeal.

He made mass appeal meet him where he stands.

Generic brands compete on volume.

Specific brands own territory.

Specificity creates authority.
Authority creates pricing power.
Pricing power creates freedom.

That’s category ownership in branding.

The Verdict: What the Bad Bunny Brand Strategy Teaches Founders

The industry expected him to:

Chase visibility before foundation
Assimilate through collaboration
Prioritize U.S. revenue above all else
Signal status through luxury
Center himself instead of community
Stay politically neutral
Dilute culture to scale

He refused every one.

The measurable outcomes?

First all-Spanish album to debut at #1 on Billboard 200
First Spanish-language Album of the Year Grammy winner
Tours grossing hundreds of millions
A $100M+ empire
Cultural authority competitors cannot replicate

The real crime isn’t boldness.

It’s safety.

Compromising your signal.
Partnering for validation.
Diluting culture in pursuit of broader appeal.

That’s how brands become generic. Replaceable. Forgettable.

The Bad Bunny brand strategy scaled because authenticity was built on infrastructure.

He didn’t scale by softening.

He scaled by building a system that made authenticity repeatable.

Don’t commit crimes.

Own categories.