The Art of Earned Media: How Duolingo’s Owl Mascot become the Unlikely Star of Charli XCX’s ‘Sweat Tour’

Photo by ilgmyzin on Unsplash

By Jessica Hodges

“Talk to me in French / Talk to me in Spanish” – and actually understand it, with the help of Duolingo. The language-learning app, and its owl mascot, Duo, are no stranger to tapping into social media trends, referencing pop culture, and interacting with fans online in unique ways.

Most recently, Duolingo’s bright green owl showed up at the opening night of the Sweat Tour, co-headlined by British singer Charli XCX and Australian celebrity Troye Sivan, decked in a ‘Brat’ t-shirt- a PR masterstroke that had fans buzzing, phones recording, and social media lighting up overnight, all without a single paid ad.

Such is the power of earned media, defined as media that is generated through organic methods via fans, social media, influencers and more, rather than more traditional ad campaigns and press releases. Duolingo’s PR and Marketing strategy historically has relied heavily on this type of media. The brand’s approach is perfect for its target audience, of those who want to learn a new language but often do not have the time to do so: many of them Gen Z and millennials aged 16-34 who are drawn to the app’s approach of fun, gamified language learning. Duolingo’s informal, meme-rich social media presence appeals to these digital natives with slang-filled language use and nods to current trends. Their TikTok bio alone ‘just an owl tryna vibe,’ captures the brand’s social media voice. Last year, they tapped into “Barbie-mania,” attending the movie’s premiere, and sharing a Tiktok video featuring Duo edited into key scenes from the movie.

And this year, Duolingo embraced Charli XCX’s ‘Brat Summer,’  a pop cultural movement named after Charli’s most recently released album by dressing up their mascot and a team of employees in ‘Brat green’ t-shirts as they handed out Duolingo merch to fans in the pit of the show. During her performance, Charli XCX herself noticed the flock of green shirts, even giving the owl a shoutout before they were kicked out of the venue. 

After the show, an image of the owl sporting its “Brat” shirt made its rounds on X, courtesy of PopBase, a pop culture and entertainment update account with 1.6 million followers. Duolingo re-shared the post with the caption, “Talk to me in French, talk to me in Spanish,” a reference to Charli XCX’s song lyrics, which playfully mention speaking different languages, tying the pop cultural movie in with Duolingo’s core mission. 

While Duolingo’s social media persona may come across as playful and casual, these viral moments are anything but accidental. Each one is meticulously orchestrated, program-managed, and creatively directed by what Zaria Parvez, Duolingo’s Senior Global Social Media Manager, calls a “kick-ass team of creative women,” in her post about the event on LinkedIn. This team masterminded the timing of social content, rallied to secure Duo’s attendance at the show, designed custom signage and shirts, and coordinated a 20-person crew of Duolingo staff, who volunteered their weekend to pull the event off. 

Fans online have been quick to cheer on Duolingo’s innovative approach. ‘Duolingo’s marketing team deserves a raise’ reads one Tiktok comment. ‘The owl really knows how to stay on trend,” says another. For a brand that lives at the intersection of education and pop culture, Duolingo’s bold tactics are redefining how brands capture attention.

“With millions of impressions in UGC [user-generated content], a mention by Pop Base, and a feature from the official SWEAT tour,” says Parvez, “I think it’s safe to say this was a huge success.”