THE RICHEST OF THEM ALL
Kylie’s on track to become the youngest ever self-made billionaire
of the world,” Jenner wrote on Instagram.
“And equally, Kylie Jenner is making huge strides in the beauty industry,” Gaither said. “She can show that anyone with the right following – you can take your beauty brand to the next level and be right on par with your L’oreals and your Estée Lauders.”
Kylie Cosmetics debuted two years ago with $29 “lip kits” and, according to Forbes, has ballooned into a beauty industry icon valued at nearly $800m. Forbes wrote that the company has sold more than $630m worth of make-up, including roughly $330m in 2017 alone.
Core to that success is a socialmedia presence that convinces consumers they share a personal connection with Jenner, said Vanitha Swaminathan, a professor of marketing at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business.
For scale, Jenner has 111million Instagram followers – more than twice as many as Barack and Michelle Obama combined. According to Mintel data, 55% of consumers ages 18 to 23 used social media or Youtube to get information on beauty brands. Be it Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, those sites make it possible for celebrities like Jenner to not only maintain huge followings but also keep up with their audiences “in a way that’s more authentic, in a way that feels more relevant,” Swaminathan said.
Combine that with the decline in traditional advertising and the speed with which someone can boost their fame on social media.
“All of these things together make it possible for a celebrity to turn themselves into a billionaire,” Swaminathan said.
Jenner counts celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow (Goop) and Rihanna (Fenty Beauty) as fellow powerhouses in the beauty industry. But as Swaminathan noted, name recognition could backfire with any kind of public slip misstep or scandal.
Plus, fame comes and goes, and “what’s hot today might not be tomorrow”, Swaminathan said. Consumers’ attention spans on social media can dry up in a blip.
“The basic product has to have appeal, and you have to keep it updated. It has to be relevant to your audience,” Swaminathan said.
“The minute there’s even the slightest hint of inauthenticity, your audience will just stop. All of those things are hard work.”
Still, having a name like Jenner makes it easier to step up.
“(Celebrities) already have the capital,” Gaither said. “And the capital is in their name.” – Washington Post