Read a headline recently by the American Marketing Association (AMA) asking the question above,
“Are the Kardashians a brand?” The article was from the LA Times, contending, from one source the Kardashians do not have a brand. The reason given seems to be a combination of, one: brand is an over used word and two: it lacks a “substantive, meaningful relationship with audiences.”
We would like to provide another view.
Unfortunately, the Kardashians do have a brand, it happens to be a brand many are not happy with on a number of levels (including a few of us here at Capsule). But, it is still a brand.
Evidence [three simple pieces]:
1. Visit The Dash store in Miami, LA or NY and you’ll find people opening wallets and buying products.
2. Kim Kardashian has 11,349,249 Followers on Twitter [that's just Kim].
3. The Kardashian empire made $65 million in revenue last year.
4. Sears hired the Kardashian brand to improve the Sears brand image.
There are plenty of “brands” out there in the world who would fall over themselves to have such attention paid to what they are doing. To have such a following of raving fans.
The Kardashian Empire is both a brand and a business.
Now, to the other lingering question, did the divorce hurt the Kardashian brand? It most certainly did have an impact on positive impressions people have of the brand. While it likely will not turn out to be much in the end, having what appeared to be a sham marriage for publicity will certainly have a negative impact on anyone’s reputation.
As is often the case, it isn’t the public, customer, competitor or collaborator who destroys the value of a brand, it’s the original business behind it. And, the Kardashian brand is no different.
