Rashida
2020 has been a year of unexpected events. One of which is the recent announcement that the Kardashians will air the final season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in early 2021. KUWTK has had a very interesting 21 season run, undoubtedly fueling the popularity of the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan.
The show has set the stage for two of the most successful brands the family has launched: Kim K’s SKIMS and Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics (namely the lip kits).
Of course, their fame played a huge role in the success of their brands, but it’s not the only factor. Other attempted Kardashian brands haven’t had nearly the same level of success, for example, Kim’s KKW Beauty and the disbanded Khroma makeup brand.
So what did Kylie and Kim do differently this time to land some of the most successful launches of all time? Here are some marketing lessons we can take from the world’s youngest billionaire and solution wear that sold over $2 million in garments in just a few minutes.
Influencer Marketing and Social Media
Yes, the Kardashians are influencers, and they’ve always promoted their own brands. Kylie has 196 million followers on Instagram and Kim has 188 million. In general, SKIMS and Kylie Cosmetics have been very driven by social media, focusing on attracting a younger audience.
The popularity of Kim and Kylie certainly helps boost brand awareness, but prior to Kylie Cosmetics, the sisters weren’t known for actually using other influencers. What was exceptionally different about Kylie Cosmetics and SKIMS was the use of influencer marketing, especially with nano and micro-influencers. Partnering with smaller influencers helped generate buzz outside of the Kardashian fanbase, especially with a more diverse audience.
Diversity
The Kardashians have been on several different sides of inclusion debates, but Kim made a very conscious and clear decision with SKIMS. For one, SKIMS replicated the Fenty Beauty strategy of providing several different “skin color” options for the shapewear. Unlike the competitors in the industry, she had SKIMS skin color options extend far outside of the range of Caucasian tones, including multiple shades of brown. She hired models who were different sizes, shapes, and ethnicities for her ads and in influencer marketing. A smart Instagram campaign was specifically designed to demonstrate how the product works well on many body types.
Arielle is one plus-sized nano influencer that SKIMS worked with. Her SKIMS post received 400% more likes and an engagement rate 4x higher than her average post. Based on the comments she received, it’s clear that her post is one that was pivotal to the campaign, as she drew many people “like her” to the brand.
Drive Demand with Scarcity
Both Kardashian (/Jenner) sisters used the power of scarcity to drive demand for their brands. I was in my young 20s when Kylie Cosmetics came out, and I remember watching every influencer I followed in a mad dash to get the newest lip kit. People would be waiting online, refreshing every two seconds to try to be the first to enter their credit card information and hit “enter” before the kits sold out. The six limited-edition lip kit shades for Valentine’s day in 2016 sold out within 10 minutes.
Kim K definitely took a page from her little sister’s book as SKIMS had a similar impact. SKIMS sold $2 million worth of shapewear and foundation garments within the first few minutes…the largest competitor and predecessor, Spanx, made $4 million in its first year.
Scarcity is annoying to customers, we always complain when the items we want aren’t in stock. But it also creates urgency and fuels desire, it makes us want the thing more. We don’t have time to debate the purchase and carefully decide, we sit there like ravenous hawks repeatedly tapping refresh until the next ones are back in stock. That’s the reason several people bought lip kits in colors they didn’t even want or SKIMS that didn’t actually match their skin tone. Just so they could be in, so they could have what everyone else wanted.
Marketing 101 from the Kardashians
Most of us will never land into the fame that the Kardashian/Jenner family has, but that doesn’t mean we can’t replicate some of their marketing genius. The biggest lessons SKIMS and Kylie Cosmetics can teach us are:
- To reach a younger audience, focus on Instagram, and leverage influencer marketing.
- Diversity increases brand awareness and inclusive efforts to position your brand in a more favorable light.
- Scarcity sells. Think Black Friday but any time of the year.
As you watch (or try your best to ignore) the final season of KUWTK, keep in mind that the daily antics are only one part of the powerhouse Kardashian brands. The Kardashians and their teams are doing marketing right.
