THE KARDASHIANS: A MARKETING MASTERCLASS

Breaking Down The Strategy

A decade ago the Kardashians were the laughing stock of the internet.

A bunch of low-lifes who scrounged for attention by any means necessary.

• Affairs

• Scandals

• Relationships

Whatever the news outlets were willing to print, the Kardashians would push it to them.

They were seen as scum of the earth by most people.

Yet today, in 2023:

• Kylie has been named world’s youngest self-made billionaire

• Kim has taken over with SKIMS (now valued at $4 billion)

• Kendall has 818 Tequila (rumoured to be worth $400M+)

This is without mentioning 10’s of other businesses worth under $100M. Plus their infamous reality TV show and the rest of the social media stuff they do.

They’re no longer the laughing stock of the internet.

They’re billion-dollar business people.

But how in the world did they do it?

How did they take all the attention they were getting and turn it into successful businesses that have become household names?

The answer: Some incredible marketing.

I spent the last 5 hours studying their journey from internet bums → billionaire business owners.

The journey is a marketing masterclass.

Here are the 7 key lessons you need to know:

Lesson 1: Ride Coattails

Pre-2002 the Kardashians were far from the powerhouse family you see today.

In fact, the most famous thing about the family was that Rob Kardashian (the dad of the family) was O.J. Simpson’s defence attorney during the infamous murder trial.

Then in the early 2000’s Kim took up the role as Paris Hilton’s assistant.

This was Kim’s first taste of the public eye and her foot in the door to fame.

But she wasn’t ready to settle for a backstage slot in Paris Hilton’s life - oh no!

She wanted to be the main character. So she did all she could to leverage her small spotlight to put her on a bigger stage, even if it meant selling her own stories to the press.

An editor at ‘In Touch Weekly’ once said:

Kim grabbed onto those coattails and pulled on them until she dragged all of her family into the spotlight.

But this isn’t something only Kim can do, it’s something all brands should be looking to do too.

See who is getting attention → Ride their coattails.

Hoka have done an awesome job at this with “The Hardest Geezer” who is running the length of Africa.

Very early on they sponsored him and sent him Hoka gear.

Now millions of eyes tune into his journey each week and when they do they see him wearing Hoka’s.

(Fun fact: I recently bought a pair of Hoka’s for this exact reason)

Lesson 2: Copy What Works

In 2003, Paris Hilton was a reasonably famous woman who was become the figurehead of what was trendy at the time.

Then her sex tape was leaked and overnight her fame rocketed.

She was THE celebrity of the hour and every single newspaper, reporter and paparazzi wanted a piece of her.

The leak/release was so big that it even has it’s own Wikipedia page (see here).

It’s important to note that this all happened at the time Kim Kardashian was Paris’ personal assistant.

Which is a pretty peculiar fact when you realise Kim’s rise to fame almost mirrored Paris’ when 4 years later her sex tape was mysteriously leaked.

Overnight - just like Paris - Kim became THE celebrity of the hour.

Funnily enough, this viral “leak” also coincided with the launch of the families new show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”.

Interesting…

But the lesson here isn’t to leak a sex tape before a product launch.

Instead, it’s to stop trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your marketing.

Find what works → Find a way to use it for your company.

Lesson 3: Get Lemons? Make Lemonade

When it comes to the Kardashians drama, it’s almost impossible to separate drama they created and drama that was out of their control.

Mainly because no matter how they get attention, they leverage it to grow their brand.

For example, let’s say Kim’s sex tape wasn’t actually leaked by them, and was out of their control.

They still launched their reality show off the back of the attention.

The same thing happened again when Kim was robbed in Paris.

They used the attention to push the newest season of the reality show that would showcase behind the scenes of what happened.

The marketing lesson here is simple: Never let attention go to waste.

Lesson 4: Understand What Draws Eyeballs

Have you noticed how most famous people are surrounded by chaos?

That isn’t because famous people have chaotic lives, it’s because chaos makes people famous.

The Kardashians get this better than anyone, so they regularly go about causing it.

Here are just a few of the huge Kardashian dramas over the last few years:

• Tristan cheating on Khloe with Kylie’s best friend

• Rob Kardashian & Blac Chyna fall out

• Khloe marries Lamar Odom after 9 days together

• Kim’s 72-day marriage to an NBA star

• Kendal & Kylie sell T-shirts with them as Tupac

• Kanye West & Kim divorce saga

It’s chaos, but that’s what gets attention.

Just look at the recent attention Taylor Swift has gotten. Yes, Taylor was always popular, but would she have this big of a fanbase if:

• She hadn’t had the huge dispute about her music rights

• She hadn’t just broken up with her long-term boyfriend

• She hadn’t just started dating an NFL player

Absolutely not.

With chaos, comes attention.

So find a way to work it into your marketing - without murdering your brand reputation.

Lesson 5: Keep The Conversation Going

Do you notice how every single week of the year there seems to be something going on with the Kardashians?

That’s because the key to staying relevant over a long period of time isn’t to get in the headlines, it’s to stay in them.

The second you’re old news and out of the headlines, no one wants to hear about the next thing you do.

If you’re out, you’re out.

But if your story constantly progresses week-on-week, the news publications don’t have a choice but to keep writing about you.

And that’s exactly what the Kardashians do.

• For 6 months it’s all about one of them having a kid.

• The next 2 it’s rumoured one has been cheated on

• Then Kim is rumoured to be dating someone famous

• Then another is rumoured to be on the brink of divorce

• Then one gets exposed for something

• Then another is seen kissing a superstar

Every. Single. Week. There is a story.

This is not luck or chance.

This is them understanding that it’s much easier to keep attention on them than constantly have to win it back.

They make sure there is always a Kardashian narrative going, no matter what time of year it is.

I’m not sure why more companies don’t use a similar strategy in their marketing.

Rather than going dark and then launching a huge campaign, they could just constantly launch mini-campaigns all year round.

Keep attention > Constantly have to win it.

Lesson 6: Sex Sells

If the Kardashians were a bunch of fat sisters none of them would be rich.

(There’s a reason they’ve all spent thousands on surgery to look the best they possibly can.)

It’s a harsh truth, but it is just that… the truth.

Naturally human beings enjoy watching and listening to attractive people.

Marketing lesson?

I’m reaching for this one… but find a way to link your product/service to attractive people.

I feel like that’s a tad controversial nowadays, but it’s impossible not to mention this when talking about the Kardashians success.

Lesson 7: Use The Rumour Mill

The rumour mill often gets a bad rap by companies. Yet, when it’s used right it can be a super effective marketing weapon.

Kris Jenner is a master at using it to her advantage.

The perfect example of this is in 2017 when Kylie secretly became pregnant with rapper Travis Scott.

At the time, she was at the height of her popularity. But rather than flaunting her pregnancy news like she usually would, her and Kris kept all information under wraps.

Instead, she disappeared from her normal social media antics, leaving media outlets and fans to speculate 24/7.

The rumour mill got going → Free press was coming from all over the place → Next minute, the world became obsessed with knowing the truth.

When she finally did release her pregnancy news, it was a huge story.

Too many companies avoid the rumour mill when they actually should be using it to their advantage.

As much as it’s fun to hate on the Kardashians, sometimes you have to give credit when it’s due.

On this occasion, the credit is very much due.

They’re masters at getting attention, they’re masters at keeping it, and masters at turning it into hard cold cash.

Right, that’s all I’ve got to you today. Shoot me a reply back and let me know how you found this one.

Until next Sunday.

— Niall

This has been a breakdown of the Kardashian’s marketing strategy. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!

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