{"id":2069366,"date":"2026-07-30T16:02:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T13:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2069366"},"modified":"2026-07-30T16:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T13:02:50","slug":"meet-the-merch-maven-behind-behind-morgan-wallens-gods-country-drop-post-malones-big-ass-ciggy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2069366","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Merch Maven Behind Behind Morgan Wallen\u2019s \u2018God\u2019s Country\u2019 Drop & Post Malone\u2019s \u2018Big Ass Ciggy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rachel-zucco-cr-aaron-rosa-2026-bb8-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tHow do you turn an unexpected viral moment into must-have merchandise? Just ask Bravado\u2019s senior director of brand management, Rachel Zucco. In her role at Universal Music Group\u2019s merch and brand management division (where she \u201cstarted at the bottom\u201d nine years ago), Zucco is, as she puts it, \u201cthe glue\u201d that connects artists, their management and Bravado\u2019s own internal teams to handle all aspects and stages of merch development.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe coolest part is, nothing is cookie-cutter here,\u201d the 33-year-old says. \u201cFrom tour to e-comm to retail to licensing, we touch it all and we connect it all.\u201d Here\u2019s how she\u2019s done that for a variety of stars.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tBillboard\u2019s 2026 40 Under 40 List\u00a0Revealed\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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    Eric Renner Brown<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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    Post Malone<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \n\tZucco collaborates directly with Post\u2019s co-\u00admanager Bobby Greenleaf and creative director Grant Kratzer to dream up big partnerships (exclusive merch items with the Dallas Cowboys, first sold at a pop-up at a Dallas Raising Cane\u2019s that Post owns: \u201cPost is a die-hard [Cowboys] fan, so it just makes sense\u201d), limited-edition commemorative drops (a Reebok hoodie for the 10th anniversary of breakout hit \u201cWhite Iverson\u201d \u2014 which Allen Iverson later wore onstage at a Post show) and Post-specific one-offs (like Big Ass Ciggy \u2014 an $80 four-foot-tall cigarette body pillow: \u201cThey wanted to do something funny, it hit, and it\u2019s doing really well\u201d).<\/p>\n

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    \"Post<\/div>\n<\/div>
    Courtesy of Bravado<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    Morgan Wallen<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \n\tIn March 2025, Wallen quickly left the Saturday Night Live<\/em> stage after appearing as the show\u2019s musical guest, and what happened next nearly broke the internet: He posted a photo of his private jet on a runway with the caption \u201cGet me to God\u2019s country.\u201d \u201cThe only way to react to a cultural moment like that is to get really scrappy,\u201d Zucco says. Within 48 hours of the post, she was able to get a T-shirt with the phrase made \u2014 with the blessing of Wallen and his brand manager, Tyler Davis. (Wallen\u2019s prior Bravado projects had included a collaboration between the Tennessee native and his beloved University of Tennessee Volunteers.) \u201cThey liked the idea, they thought it was funny,\u201d she says. \u201cYou definitely have to be careful with those moments, but [Morgan\u2019s] team understood the humor in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    \"Morgan<\/div>\n<\/div>
    Courtesy of Bravado<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    Blink-182<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \n\t\u201cWhen you\u2019re working with artists that some people consider heritage and they want to be considered contemporary, [it\u2019s about] trying to flip that in the customer and fan\u2019s mind without losing everything that [the artist] stands for,\u201d Zucco says. For the band\u2019s 2024 One More Time tour, she and the Bravado team aimed for a happy medium: \u201cWe took a lot of [products] that they really liked and always used in the past and we let them have those, and then slowly introduced more elevated items, collectible pieces that they\u2019ve never done before\u201d \u2014 ranging from city-specific posters and T-shirts to sticker packs and trading cards.<\/p>\n

    Camila Cabello<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \n\tCabello\u2019s 2024 album, C,XOXO<\/em>, was \u201ca big rebrand moment for her,\u201d Zucco says. Zucco\u2019s merch approach for it \u201cwent really elevated,\u201d matching the album\u2019s neon Miami aesthetic with \u201ccool accessories\u201d like a rhinestone-studded flask and a translucent tote, plus apparel with spray-painted designs. \u201cThey\u2019re cool things that get the fans excited, and [Camila] was really excited about them,\u201d she says. \u201cShe leaned in a lot; she was always wearing the merch and promoting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Gigi Perez<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \n\tWorking with a developing artist presents an opportunity to \u201chelp elevate a brand from the start \u2014 whereas all these other artists, they are who they are already.\u201d Perez favors minimalist, black-and-white designs incorporating her own doodles \u2014 \u201cthat\u2019s her thing, and fans really resonate with it,\u201d Zucco says. But for Perez\u2019s current merch, sold as she opens for Noah Kahan\u2019s stadium tour, Zucco has helped her slowly \u201cbranch out a little bit and do more colorful [pieces] outside of the standard apparel that she was used to before.\u201d<\/p>\n

    This story appears in the Aug. 1, 2026, issue of\u00a0<\/em>Billboard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/bravado-rachel-zucco-post-malone-morgan-wallen-40-under-40\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rachel-zucco-cr-aaron-rosa-2026-bb8-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard How do you turn an unexpected viral moment into must-have merchandise? Just ask Bravado\u2019s senior director of brand management, Rachel Zucco. In her role at Universal Music Group\u2019s merch and brand management division (where she \u201cstarted at the bottom\u201d nine years ago), Zucco is, as she puts it, \u201cthe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2069366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2069366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2069366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2069366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2069366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}