At his concert in Atlantic City on Sunday night, Kanye West told the crowd that his girlfriend, Kim Kardashian is pregnant with his baby. Is there any problem here? They are not married, and Kim is technically still “hitched” to Kris Humphries since the dissolution of their 72-day marriage has not been finalized. Details. Details. In the celebrity world in which Kim and Kanye live, being married does not seem to be a requirement. In fact, being “bad” is actually good. At the very least, their “bad” boy and girl images are good for their pocketbooks. Kim Kardashian’s net worth is estimated to be between $35 and $40 million, whereas Kanye’s net worth is pegged at $90 million. As of this post, Kim has nearly 17 million and Kanye has over 9 million followers on Twitter. It seems that Kanye fits well with Kardashian branding since his name, as with Kris Humphries, begins with a “K” – or could that be another koincidence. How do I tap into that “K” Klub?
Brief History
Ever since they came “on the scene” in 2007 with their reality TV Show on the E! channel “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” the Kardashian women led by mother Kris and including daughters Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe have developed a brand that brought in $65 million as of 2011. This indicates that there is a significant market for the wide variety of Kardashian-branded products that include apparel, fragrances, skin care, tanning lotions, jewelry, candles, and expensive bottled water. Even if you are in the sizeable segment of Americans that believes the Kardashians have little or no talent, these numbers should get your attention. That’s more than the combined earnings of A-list actors Angelina Jolie, Sandra Bullock and Tom Cruise during the same year. That’s not all. With her nearly 17 million Twitter followers, Kim Kardashian alone receives $10,000 per Tweet from her contract with in-stream advertiser Adly.
First signs of trouble.
However, all is not well with the Kardashian brand. Over the last two years, it has taken a series of hits that is causing increasing damage to the Kardashian image. It got slammed in November of 2010 when the Kardashians received a letter from the Attorney General of Connecticut. The letter claimed a prepaid debit card branded as the Kardashian Kard, which targeted young girls, had hidden predatory fees. Information about the card spread like wildfire in the news media. CBS news interviewed me for the story, and because of the resulting negative PR conflagration, the Kardashians terminated their association with the card. This termination, however, caused the Revenue Resource Group, LLC to sue them for $75 million and breach of contract.
72-day marriage fiasco
The wedding of Kim Kardashian to New Jersey Nets basketball forward Kris Humphries took place on August 20, 2011. It is estimated to have cost $10 million. However, by most reports, it did not cost the Kardashians a dime since it was financed by a variety of media and sponsors that used the wedding to promote their products. Unfortunately, the marriage lasted a mere 72 days when Kim announced through her publicist that she is filing for divorce. This caused the segment of anti-Kardashians to grow and for many to label the wedding a sham and a publicity stunt. Even noted saxophonist, Dave Koz, who played during the ceremony, told the press that he thought the wedding lacked authenticity and seemed more like a scene in a movie than a real wedding.
Anti-Kardashian petitions and boycotts
Two days after the marriage ended, petitions were circulated online to boycott the Kardashians. At the time of this writing, the Boycott Kim.com petition had amassed 285,692 signatures. The objective of the petition signers is to get the E! Channel to cancel the Kardashian’s reality show, and to encourage Sears to stop selling a line of Kardashian clothing in their stores. In addition to these boycotts, PETA has created a billboard in Hollywood criticizing Kim Kardashian for wearing fur. And human rights organizations are accusing the Kardashians of manufacturing their clothing in Chinese sweatshops. Upon doing an image damage assessment, it seems as if the American public is divided into three camps – the Kardashian lovers, the Kardashian haters, and those that really don’t care one way or the other about the Kardashian brand.
Will this celebrity brand continue to thrive?
Even before the anti-Kardashian movement gained traction, some believed the brand would not have staying power because they saw little talent behind it. In a story by Andrea Chang in the Los Angeles Times,marketing expert Eli Portnoy said, “The Kardashians are a great example of, in my mind, talentless celebrities or celebrity for celebrity’s sake who took advantage of their looks, a sex tape, a lot of pretty raw and low-level stuff that titillated and fascinated the American public.” While the anti-Kardashian camp would wholeheartedly agree, the Kardashians are still being talked about everywhere you turn – talk shows, news programs, and Saturday Night Live. Kim’s Twitter following continues to grow, and companies are willing to pay Kim and her sisters a sizeable amount for their Tweets. Tyler Perry even cast Kim Kardashian in his movie “The Marriage Counselor.” While he has taken some heat for that decision, he knows that Kim Kardashian has a lot of followers, and they go to movies and buy products. Now with her pairing with Kanye West, everyone is calling them a Hollywood power couple. Some have even branded their pairing with the power-couple handle “Kimye.” I like “Kimkan” better to get that double-meaning vibe, but nobody asked me.
After all, what is a brand? It’s a shortcut to purchase comprised of two main components – (1) a target audience that has a need and (2) an image of the product that fills that need better than competitors. As long as the Kardashians have a large audience, their brand will be alive and well. While no brand likes haters, marketers know that detractors go with the territory. As George Bernard Shaw once said, “Better that half of them love you and half of them hate you than everyone think you are nice.” Perhaps more importantly, it appears that in the celebrity universe, it is good to be “bad.” You must admit that, with a combined net worth nearing $130 million, being “bad” is not so bad for their bank accounts.
Please follow Business Insider on Twitter and Facebook.