Whatever you may think about the Kardashians, their reality TV show, social media dominance and growing presence on runways, commercial beauty and other products makes them a fascinating business story.
Where Would the Kardashians Be Without Kris Jenner?, a feature profile in The New York Times Magazine by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, tells the inside story about how Kris Jenner, the mother of the Kardashian children and Bruce Jenner’s former wife, built the family brand and fortune. That process began with hard work and sweat equity promoting Bruce Jenner’s early motivational speaking career.
In a world where businesses and high-visibility people go to great lengths to manage their reputational capital, Kris Jenner offers an almost unparalleled level of transparency for the world to discuss, debate or disdain. She has leveraged that transparency into a core element of her family’s brand. That’s why they are the focus of cultural conversations and icons of the new celebrity. You might not approve of her, but her drive, vision and strategic approach to brand building is something we can all learn from.
Kylie Jenner, 17, is an American reality television personality, socialite, model and fashion designer. She is Kris Jenner’s daughter and the stepsister to Kim, Courtney, Khloe and Rob Kardashian. She been on the cover of Seventeen magazine, modeled for Sears and other brands, raised money for charity and has nine million Twitter followers.
Last week she launched the #kyliejennerchallenge on social media. It encouraged girls to give themselves fashionably puffy lips using a natural technique: blowing hard on a shot glass with a closed mouth. It backfired. Yes, there was backlash. But it increased her visibility without undermining her brand. From a reputation management point of view, she is in a prime position to make a real impact.
Here are five ways she can. Once a week:
1. Tweet about the rising number of Syrian refugees. The crisis has driven ten million people from their homes. Of those, 51% are female. Many are between 12 and 17, the age of most Kylie Jenner fans. Don’t let them be forgotten.
@Refugees
2. Spread the word about lost, missing and runaway children and teenagers who might be in serious danger. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has sharable facts about how communities can help autistic children from becoming lost, as well as a hotline runaways can call for help. (According to their statistics, one in six runaways in 2014 was likely a sex trafficking victim.)
@missingkids
3. Launch a challenge to pledge one million monthly donations of $10 to Doctors Without Borders, which serves citizens in countries facing the worst humanitarian crises. Right now they are sending eight teams to assist those affected by the earthquake in Nepal.
5. Support the Human Rights campaign for lesbian, gay and transgender rights. The violence facing transgender people is a national crisis.
@HRC
Kylie already leverages her celebrity to support philanthropic causes. As a supporter of The Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, she auctions off her used clothing on eBay and all profits go to it. She has helped raise serious money for several other organizations, including the Robin Hood Foundation. We say take the #KylieJennerChallenge to the next level—and keep it there for a year. The results will be big…and show the power of #truebeauty.
About You(Online)
Reputation Communications publishes You(Online) to help educate CEOs, C-Suite executives, rising stars and high net worth individuals about online reputation management.
Reputation Reboot addresses real-life online reputation management (ORM) challenges faced by CEOs, executives, VIPs and their organizations. Unless they are public figures, their names and related descriptions of all individuals and companies discussed are changed to protect their privacy. For a quick look at the types of situations facing many professionals, scroll down and check out the headlines.
Online reputation management enables you to take more ownership over what appears about you on the Internet.
Without it, the world controls how you look online.
Here are ten examples of the ways online reputation management is used by individuals, companies and organizations.
To ensure up-to-date and accurate information dominates search results for an organization or individual’s name.
To ensure that factual, credible reference material is readily available online.
That reduces the chance that fraudulent information will impact a brand.
To remove unwanted or inappropriate information, photographs or other content from the first few pages of Google search results.
To monitor social media and online forums for red flags signaling potential on- and offline threats against high-profile individuals and their organizations.
To create a strong online presence about a topic.
That presence acts as a barrier against potential distortions from third-party content, including anonymous and defamatory material. Without it, such items can go straight to the top of searches – and stay.
To ensure that your story is told by you and not by former partners or other potentially biased parties.
To establish a reputation within your area of expertise on multiple online platforms.
To create an online legacy for a VIP who is preparing for retirement or to exit an organization.
