Kim Kardashian's efforts to market herself as a viable brand in Fashion and Entertainment is interesting to me.
In Pareto's theory, she would be labeled as a Speculator: one who is constantly preoccupied with the possibilities of new combinations.
She - or her publicist, marketing team, whatevs - has applied one of the principles of advertising, that is: finding the relationship that combines two existing ideas; in order to sell herself as a brand. But, what exactly is her brand identity and what does she stand for? When you think of Kim Kardashian, what does her image say to you?
Let's look at all that she endorses and puts her name behind (in no particular order):
- she has a perfume named after herself
- she endorses a weight loss supplement called "Quick Trim"
- she debuted a clothing line at NY Fashion Week F/W 2010
- she has a shoe line that supports cancer
- she will be executive producing a television show on a major network (I think it's Lifetime Network? don't quote me on it)
- she has a show titled "Keeping up with the Kardashians" on E! network
- she has a clothing boutique in L.A. named "Dash" (anybody know if this is this still operating?)
- she has partnered with a skin care line called "Perfect Skin"
- she receives endorsement money, in the thousands of dollars, for mentioning a specific product through her twitter account.
(I may have left some out, not on purpose though).
So, are you confused yet? I'm getting exhausted just thinking about all that she reps. Here's some Marketing 101 for you: the principles of Marketing teaches us how to communicate a message about a product or service, and more so how to do it strategically and effectively in order to produce a desired outcome/response.
The rule of thumb is to clearly define the product or service. The next step would be to determine the value(s) and benefit(s) associated with the product. Then, you would identify who i.e. the market, will receive the product.
Let's analyze her from that perspective. To society, she's a Socialite, a Model, an Entrepreneur, and Celebrity - only one out of these four labels really give credibility, don't you think? That is, unless, she doesn't actually run the business herself and only hires people to do it for her...does that still make her an Entrepreneur?
Ok, getting off topic here...The product is clearly Kim Kardashian, the Socialite. The value behind her being a Socialite is that she has a well connected influential social circle. For example, if she were to throw a party and invite everyone in her social network, her social networth would probably amount to ten times her new $4.8 million dollar mansion in Beverly Hills. So what? There are plenty of multi-millionaires who probably make more money than her and are more influential, but you don't see these individuals plastered all over the internet and magazines etc. Oh, wait, that's because she's a Model. Hold on, I thought she was an Entrepreneur? Or, is she more like a Socialite with major pull? Ball of confusion - you see what I mean?
I still don't get the message here - and THAT is one of the biggest mistakes people make in Marketing; especially in marketing themself.
I am spending way too much time writing about this woman, even though she kinda fascinates me. My point has come to this: through deductive reasoning, I would have to say that Kim Kardashian doesn't really know who she wants to be. I'm not saying she is a bad person, I'm sure she's a very nice person; what I'm saying is from a marketing perspective, she is a complete mess. Although, all hail to a Capitalist society, she is definitely heading in the right direction.
