Over the years, the world has borne witness to some of the most influential pop culture artists entering the spotlight and then beginning to fade. However, that has not been the case with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Time and time again, they have proved that they are two of the most influential pop culture artists in the world. However, with a reach as large as theirs, it is no surprise that their influence has extended past the world of music.

Like most famous artists do, the Grammy winners soon found out that they were not confined to only music. Instead, with the whole world at their feet, they dived into sponsorship deals that elevated their careers completely. However, the question still remains: Whose pockets are more sponsor-heavy?

Beyoncé’s sponsorship portfolio

While Beyoncé may have risen to fame with the group Destiny’s Child back in the ’90s, her solo career kicked off in 2003 with her debut album, ‘Dangerously in Love’. The artist followed that up with seven more extremely successful studio albums. Her most recent album was ‘Renaissance’, whose concert tour has been ongoing since May of this year. But that is only half of the story of how the star built her staggering net worth of $540 million, the rest came from the artist’s smart business acumen.

While Beyoncé will always be known as a musician, her management company, Parkwood Entertainment, made sure that she would always have a constant flow of income with her collaborations with various brands.

Brand Collaborations

With 317 million followers on Instagram, it is no surprise that Beyoncé might be the queen of brand deals. Besides that, back in 2014, she was featured in the Time’s list of 100 Women That Defined The Last Century, which spoke volumes about the influence she held back then. Over the years, the artist has teamed up and collaborated with a number of different brands. The list has included brands like Pepsi, H&M, L’oreal Paris, Giorgio Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, Tiffany and Co, and Adidas.

Beyoncé may have started out in the music industry, but her collaborations and brand deals have helped the thirty-two-time Grammy winner branch out into fashion, modeling, cosmetics, jewelry, and even the carbonated soft drink market. All the brand endorsements only proved that the forty-two-year-old singer had much bigger plans in motion for her career.

Endorsement Success

While Beyoncé may have made her millions with her music, her endorsement deals did not hurt either. But along with such success, the ‘Drunk In Love’ singer has had her fair share of backlash for endorsing some large brands. And with her extremely high fees for collaborations, it is no surprise that the companies that can work with the artist may be limited. But thankfully for Yoncé, the good outweighed the bad.

With Beyoncé’s sponsorship portfolio and a collection of huge brand names, let us see what brand deals Taylor Swift has been involved in over the years.

The singer may be an open book to her fans, but is it the same when it comes to her collaborations?

Taylor Swift’s sponsorship portfolio

While Taylor Swift may have a late start compared to Beyoncé, the singer has proved that she can hold her own in a sponsorship battle. The ‘Fearless’ singer may have made her money with her ten original studio albums, but she also has the art of storytelling and connecting with her audiences in a way that most people cannot. That is why it comes as no surprise that the artist has been elbow-deep in sponsorship and endorsement deals since back in the early 2010s.

Brand Collaborations

With 272 million followers on Instagram, Taylor Swift may have fewer followers compared to Queen Bey, but that has not stopped the ‘Lover’ singer from becoming one of the most popular artists on the planet. In fact, she even ended up selling 2 million tickets for her ‘Eras Tour’, which was the most an artist had ever sold in a single day, according to Ticketmaster. She was also named on the Forbes list of ‘America’s Richest Self-Made Women Under Forty’ last year. 

Over the years, the ‘Cruel Summer’ singer has appeared in various ad campaigns and has collaborated with numerous brands since 2013. The list of brands that she has signed with has grown to include Coca-Cola, CoverGirl, Keds, Target, AT&T, Elizabeth Arden, and even Apple Music.

Endorsement Success

Just like most artists, Taylor Swift’s popularity helped her promote brands and bring her fans better products. And soon, the ‘Mean’ singer turned to the world of brand deals in 2013. It elevated her career even further and made her the face of various brands. However, the singer seems to be a little more picky when it comes to choosing which brands to collaborate with. But that might just be a good thing considering how well her handful of endorsements do.

But with both artists having a long list of deals to their names, there is another question that is left in people’s minds. That is: Who has the better reach between Beyoncé and Taylor Swift?

Beyoncé vs. Taylor Swift sponsorship impact

So far both artists, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, have had long lists of sponsorship deals to their names, but not all of them brought the artists success. In fact, their $500 million and $740 million net worths come from their music as well as the impact of their deals. But the question still remains: Who ended up reaching a bigger audience?

Global Reach and Audience Engagement

While Beyoncé may have more followers than Taylor Swift on Instagram, it looks like the ‘Love Story’ singer has outshone the Queen everywhere else. In fact, Swift’s Spotify ranking is also way higher than that of Bey, and she also has more monthly Spotify listeners with a whopping 84,886,852 in total.

However, Beyoncé has the most streamed song on Spotify, ‘CUFF IT’, and is even the artist with the highest ticket prices, which usually means that a lot of people want to go to her concerts. But with over 300 million followers on Instagram, it is possible that the thirty-two-time Grammy winner could have the better reach between the two.

Notable sponsorship campaigns

It is no surprise that Beyoncé has been a part of many different campaigns throughout her time in the spotlight, but there are some that were more memorable than the others. Here is a list of some of the singer’s most notable campaigns that she signed on to.

L’oreal Paris

L’oreal Paris was her first big collaboration to date. It started in 2001 and up until 2013, Beyoncé was the face of the world’s largest cosmetics company. During their collaboration, the ‘I Am Sasha Fierce’ artist endorsed many of the company’s products and even starred in commercials. However, three years into the collaboration, she also signed with one of the largest premium clothing brands in the world.

Tommy Hilfiger

In 2004, Beyoncé was rising to fame with Destiny’s Child and she became the endorser for a Tommy Hilfiger scent that was called True Star. After starring in a few commercials and a surprise release, the star ended up being paid $250,000 for the collaboration. But that was her step into the world of perfumes.

Giorgio Armani

In 2007, the ‘Ave Maria’ singer collaborated with Giorgio Armani to endorse Emporio Armani Diamonds, a perfume range. While the collaboration only lasted for one advertisement campaign, the fragrance range did extremely well. But following such success, here is why the star may not receive many endorsement deals anymore.

Pepsi

Back in 2012, Yoncé collaborated with Pepsi as a brand ambassador and signed a brand deal that led to her being paid $50 million for her endorsement. However, the ‘Halo’ singer also benefitted from Pepsi’s sponsorship of the Super Bowl 2013 Halftime Show, and the company even helped promote the singer’s fifth studio album, ‘Beyoncé’.

H&M

In 2013, the ‘Telephone’ singer signed with the clothing brand, H&M, to be the face of their summer collection. The campaign was named, Mrs. Carter, in reference to the artist’s husband, Jay-Z. But the highlight was the fact that the whole collection was based on Beyoncé’s personal style and she even included her song, ‘Standing on the Sun’ as the soundtrack for the whole campaign.

While there has been no confirmation of how much the artist received from her H&M earnings, it is said to be in the millions.

Adidas

Back in 2019, Beyoncé teamed up with Adidas to give the world her clothing collection, Ivy Park, which initially took the world by storm. But over the years, the hype died down, which led to the company earning only $40 million out of their projected earning of $250 million in 2022.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Adidas would be ending its partnership with the singer. This came after the brand had already terminated its contract and relationship with Kanye West.

Tiffany & Co

Probably her most recent brand collaboration, the ‘Partition’ singer teamed up with the jewelry brand for her Renaissance tour. But the Beyoncé previously teamed up with the company to promote their About Love campaign in 2021. While there might not be a fixed figure put forward yet, with the success of the tour, it is evident that this collaboration could become a success too.

However, while the ‘Lemonade’ artist was busy with her deals, Taylor Swift was paving the way for herself. And it looks like all the hard work with her campaigns and sponsorship deals may have worked after all. Here are Swift’s most notable campaigns from 2010.

Covergirl

Back in 2010, Taylor Swift was announced to be not only a brand ambassador but also the face of Covergirl’s luxury line of make-up called NatureLuxe. While the partnership only lasted about two years, the singer worked on photoshoots and a couple of commercials for the brand. However, one of the ads was pulled due to a complaint that it had been edited to make Swift look nicer.

While it was the singer’s first official collaboration with such a well-known brand, the ‘Red’ album creator has since been a part of many more exciting deals that caught her fan’s attention.

Elizabeth Arden

Back in 2011, a perfume by the name of ‘Wonderstruck’ took over the market and its shelves. The perfume was a collaborative effort between Taylor Swift and the cosmetic brand, Elizabeth Arden, and was named after the singer’s song ‘Enchanted’. But that was not the only product to come out of that collection. It also had shower gels, lotions, and even a coin purse.

Keds

In April 2013, Keds announced that Taylor Swift would be the face of the shoe brand, as they felt that she was the perfect fit for their campaign, Brave Girls. The campaign began as a way of encouraging women to share their stories of strength. The partnership went on for three years before the contract ended. Throughout her time with the brand, the singer said that it was one of her favorites, which pushed sales through the roof.

Coca-Cola

Out of all her brand deals, this one is the most extraordinary. In 2013, Taylor Swift announced that she had signed a deal with Coca-Cola for Diet Coke. A year later, the singer joined the ‘Get a Taste’ campaign which gave the world her iconic Diet Coke shoot and even a commercial featuring the artist. She even gave her fans an exclusive peek at her then-upcoming album, ‘1989‘. So far, her partnership with Coca-Cola seems to be going strong.

Apple Music

In 2016, Taylor Swift was spotted in an Apple Music commercial after a fallout with Spotify over the availability of her music on the streaming app. While it may have surprised the artist’s fans, it only ended up elevating the music giant. However, the deal did not last long as Swift made her entire music catalog available across various streaming services just a year later.

Factors influencing sponsorship deals

As with any deal, there are always specific factors that play a role in whether or not an artist is chosen for any kind of sponsorship deal. The same is to be said for Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. While the reasons why they were chosen could vary, it does not deter the fact that both of them have different qualities that different brands are looking to bring in. Let us see what those factors are for both iconic singers.

Beyoncé’s Artistic Versatility

Beyoncé’s unparalleled versatility has been the reason that the singer has appealed to brands all over the world. The way she has always been able to balance her love for music, fashion, and film has made her one of the most influential artists in pop culture. Be it a new song or a cameo in a film, the singer consistently managed to dazzle her audience, which is exactly what a brand stays on the lookout for.

And her ability to adapt to different brand messages can be taken as a testament to just how brilliant she is. Whether she has to promote a fashion label or a new wellness product that is on the market, she always managed to align herself with the brand and solidified herself as an asset.

Taylor Swift’s Relatability and Reliability 

It is no surprise that Taylor Swift is considered to be someone that her fans can completely relate to. Be it through her music or her storytelling, she always managed to make sure that her authenticity extended past her public persona, which is why brands and fans seem to love the artist so much. Brands love the artist because she shows their target audience that they are ready to connect with their consumers on a much deeper level.

Along with her relatability, Taylor Swift also ensures that she brings a positive public image to the table. Which has only further helped her solidify her status as an that brands want.

Future sponsorship prospects

While Beyoncé and Taylor Swift may have their hands full with their ongoing tours, they always have time for one more brand collaboration. From acting to music, fashion, cosmetics, and even business, the stars have already branched out a lot, but there is still a long way to go and many more industries for them to dip their toes into. However, there have been no revelations about what the singers could be planning on doing next, but that will not stop the world from taking their guesses.

Predicting Beyoncé’s Future Sponsorship Trends 

There is absolutely no doubt that Beyoncé already has plans in store for her next sponsorship trend, but so far nothing has been confirmed. It is likely that her deals will continue evolving and may even explore partnerships with sustainable fashion brands to promote saving the planet. It is also possible that she could venture into a collaboration with an AI company to give her fans a lifetime experience at her next concert. But for the time being, fans will just have to wait for an announcement.

Over the years, Beyoncé has proved that she has what it takes to diversify her brand and influence various audiences. In the coming years, there is a high chance that fans could see the singer venture into the world of technology or even film production considering her time in films.

Predicting Taylor Swift’s Future Sponsorship Trends 

Taylor Swift may have begun her collaborations only a decade ago, but the pop artist has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years. She is considered one of the most influential artists in the music industry and has time and time again proved that she can work with any brand that is put before her. From what fans have seen so far, in the coming years, it is possible that audiences could see the artist aligning her values with those of sustainability and even social justice as she has proved that is something very important to her.

She has immense potential to dive into industries beyond music, and she already has. Hopefully, fans of the artist will get to see her step into the world of virtual reality soon, and with the way her concerts are going, it might happen sooner than we think. It is also likely that the artist could venture into the world of cat treats and care considering her love for the four-legged fluff balls. However, none of this has been confirmed and it may be a while before she announces another sponsorship deal.

Conclusion

While both Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have a wide array of different deals, it proves that it is true that these two are the most influential pop icons of their time. The one difference between the two has to be the fact that Beyoncé’s collaborations usually have a strong emphasis on diversity and female empowerment in her deals with Pepsi, L’oreal, and even Adidas. Whereas, the ’22’ singer tends to focus more on her authenticity and gift of storytelling in her deals with Apple, Diet Coke, and even Keds.

And with the industry constantly growing, it brings forth a huge impact on the sponsorship deals for the two artists. While they adapted to the changes so far, they have also redefined how consumers interact with their favorite stars. Hopefully, the growth of the industry will only bring Beyoncé and Taylor Swift even more iconic deals than they had before.

Who do you think is the more influential artist, Beyonce or Taylor Swift? Let us know in the comments below.