Which celebrity has the strongest overall brand? What makes the brand so strong and what are some of the ways that the celebrity leverages their brand in the marketplace? Which celebrity’s brand needs to be revamped and why? What are some of the current problems with the brand? Limit: 7 responses
Ashley Shankar Part 1
ReplyDeleteThe article The World’s Highest Paid Celebrities 2020 states “The top earning celebrities were Kylie Jenner and Kanye West, who brought in $590 million and $170 million, respectively. West collected most of his earnings from his Yeezy sneakers deal with Adidas.” I believe Kanye West has the strongest overall brand for 2020. Since he is claimed to be the richest black man in America, I believe he was able to accomplish this through the strength of his brand. His branding consisting of uniqueness and freedom is strong because it is featured throughout his music, fashion and events he holds. I believe he makes leverages his brand by producing limited amounts of his products at high prices that make investing in them almost a luxury. Everyone will want it but not everyone can get it.
In addition, in the article Kanye West is the richest Black American, the bank finds, states “That figure includes West's Yeezy clothing and shoe deal with Adidas and Gap, which investment bank UBS valued at $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion. Bloomberg also estimated that West has $122 million in cash or stock, along with a $110 million music catalog and $1.7 billion in other investments. Sales of Yeezy's Adidas sneakers grew 31% during the coronavirus pandemic to annual revenue of nearly $1.7 billion last year, netting West $191 million in royalties, Bloomberg said in citing UBS [...] As Yeezy continued to gain steam, its success caught the attention of West's then-wife Kim Kardashian. Kardashian tweeted about how proud she was of West turning around his fortune.” This further explains how Kayne has a strong brand. This is through the leverages of partnering with other strong branded companies like Adidas and Gap. I think this helps build the credibility and desire for his fashion and his brand. Another leverage I believe he has is being (formerly) married to Kim Kardashian, this is because she is very high profile along with her sisters and other family members. The Kardashians also have strong branding and being connected to them also helps his popularity and free attention.
Ashley Shankar Part 2
DeleteIn the article, Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace, it states, “ ‘Ellen’ has lost more than a million viewers since September, according to the research firm Nielsen, averaging 1.5 million viewers over the last six months, down from 2.6 million in the same period last year [...] Public perception of Ms. DeGeneres started to change in July when BuzzFeed reported that several of the show’s former and current staff members said they had confronted “racism, fear and intimidation” on the set. Several staff members also said producers had sexually harassed them. Warner Bros. investigated the workplace and found “deficiencies.” Three high-level producers were fired, including Ed Glavin, an executive producer; Jonathan Norman, a co-executive producer; and Kevin Leman, the head writer. Ms. DeGeneres apologized to her staff before addressing her viewers in September.”
This is important because it shows that Ellen’s branding is struggling and needs to be revamped. Although any publicity can be good publicity, I believe in her case it was not with the declining viewership and dislike in her public perception. In addition, her branding is struggling due to her staff had made complaints of racism and sexual harassment during a year that has emphasized the importance of equality and many people are taking action to cancel out anyone who thinks/acts otherwise. Another issue she is facing is from the article, is that her motto is “be kind” and she often talks about pressing issues and for her to not be kind to her staff and turn around and be a part of problems like racism is hypocritical to her motto. Ellen should take the time to talk with her staff and brand. I believe if her brand is not improved soon, (since it is currently making her very weak) she is in danger of becoming irrelevant.
Works cited
Brooks, Khristopher J. “Kanye West Is the Richest Black American, Bank Finds.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 19 Mar. 2021, www.cbsnews.com/news/kanye-west-net-worth-6-billion-richest-black-man-america/.
GREENBURG, ZACH O’MALLEY, and ROB LAFRANCO. “The Celebrity 100: The World's Highest-Paid Celebrities 2020.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, Sept. 2020, www.forbes.com/celebrities/.
Koblin, John. “Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/business/media/ellen-degeneres-ratings-decline.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimesbusiness.
Kasey Kerrick
ReplyDeleteIn order for celebrities to be successful, they need to have a strong and reliable brand. An example of a celebrity with an extremely strong brand is Dwayne Johnson. Dwyane Johnson is a former WWE wrestler and has a track record of being a very popular actor. Last year, he reached a milestone of 200 million followers on Instagram making him the most followed man on the platform (Shewfelt, Raechal). An important tactic he used in order to spread and leverage his brand was endorsing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the past election. Since he did this, he gained over 200,000 more followers. Introducing politics in a celebrities band could be a hit or a miss. However, by him explaining that he has previously voted for both Republicans and Democrats in the past, he received positive feedback by most of his followers (Shewfelt, Raechal). Once he reached 200 million followers, he made an effort to formerly say thank you to everyone who has supported him. He ended his thanks by giving inspiration to others abut speaking your own truth. This proves his authenticity to the public and helped his brand even more by being personal with his audience. An example of someone who needs to revamp their brand is Ellen DeGeneres. Recent allegations from former employees and guests on her show against her character diminished her brand of ‘being kind to one another’. YouTube beauty vlogger NikkieTutorials was one of the first people to speak out. She explains Ellen was ‘cold and distant’ and did not make the effort to say hi to her before the show (Torres, Libby). Former employees went on to say that there was even some sexual harassment by other employees of The Ellen Show. Ellen addressed the accusations and formerly apologized to all of those effected by this. After her apology she lost 1 million viewers during her 18th season of the talk show. She also suffered a 38 percent decline in her core audience and a significant decrease in revenue from advertisers (Koblin, John). These allegations against Ellen held a huge impact on her overall brand. She built the brand to be a place of kindness and inclusion which is something of the exact opposite in reality. Because of this, her viewers are skeptical of who she really is and question her trustworthiness. Being authentic to one’s brand is something that is extremely important. In order for her to fix her image, she needs to show her personal life for people to get to know who she really is. This should include a personalized Instagram page as she solely has one for her show. In conclusion, a celebrities brand and authenticity greatly effects their success and it is essential that any drawbacks with it be addressed and fixed properly.
Shewfelt, Raechal. "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Breaks Instagram Records After Endorsing Biden-Harris for President." Yahoo Entertainment 8 Oct. 2020,
Koblin, John. "Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace." New York Times 22 March 2021,
Torres, Libby. “Why 2020 Was the Year of Backlash against Ellen DeGeneres.” Insider, Insider, 26 Jan. 2021, www.insider.com/ellen-degeneres-mean-backlash-nikkietutorials-timeline-2020-4.
Chris Giorgio
ReplyDeleteBlog 7
Celebrities need a strong brand now to be successful and have a long lasting career. Establishing a brand is extremely important and I believe Dwayne “the Rock “Johnson has established a great brand for himself. Starting out as a Miami University Football player, he then ventured into the WWE. While this is considered professional wrestling it is not because its obviously staged, but he had an incredible fan base behind him and his persona. He then started his acting career in films like “The Mummy Returns” and even got placed into the “Fast and Furious” franchise. As his career is flourishing so are the endorsements, he has a deal with under amour and his own line of gear. While he was young and pursing different careers acting suits him and now he’s a great actor with many known movies and shows and large fan base. In an article from Yahoo entertainment, he endorsed President Joe Biden on Instagram and became the “most followed man in America on the platform” which is an insane achievement. He also gave this very humble and inspirational quote in the article, “The life lesson I wanna share with you guys is to always speak your truth,” Johnson said. “Always speak your truth and do your best to speak your truth with compassion, with a little bit of poise, with a little bit of dignity, with respect and with empathy, even when speaking your truth means you’re gonna dive into some conversations that might make people a little uncomfortable.” Dwayne Johnson is also 10th on the Forbes highest paid celebrity list of 2020 making 87.5 million dollars this past year. He is only one example of a celebrity with a strong brand and uses it to his advantage making him one of the wealthiest celebrities. An example of a celebrity with a poor brand or a brand that needs to be revamped is Ellen DeGeneres who most recently lost 1 million followers due to having a “Toxic Workplace”. The New York times published an article on the situation and had this to say” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” a sturdy daytime hit, has had a steep ratings decline since the host addressed accusations by former staff members that led to firings and an internal investigation.” For Ellen who is such a big TV personality and celebrity, this was a big hit to her fun quirky and generous personality. In an article from BuzzFeed news, The workplace scenario is also discussed and the author mentions that employees that worked for the Ellen show faced “racism fear and intimidation.” This needs to be improved as it is the exact opposite of Ellen’s brand and she has to be more involved to resolve these issues that could still be on going. For her to come back she will need to put in some serious work and deliver lots of apologies and try to overcome the cancel culture that is going to be headed her way.
Works Cited
Koblin, John. "Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace." New York Times 22 March 2021,
Shewfelt, Raechal. "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Breaks Instagram Records After Endorsing Biden-Harris for President." Yahoo Entertainment 8 Oct. 2020,
Greenberg, Zach O'Malley and Rob LaFranco. "The World’s Highest Paid Celebrities 2020." Forbes Sept. 2020,
“Dwayne Johnson.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 18 Mar. 2021, www.biography.com/actor/dwayne-johnson.
Yandoli, Krystie Lee. “Former Employees Say Ellen's ‘Be Kind’ Talk Show Mantra Masks A Toxic Work Culture.” BuzzFeed News, BuzzFeed News, 12 Feb. 2021, www.buzzfeednews.com/article/krystieyandoli/ellen-employees-allege-toxic-workplace-culture.
Fiona Doull
ReplyDelete28 March 2021
Blog 7, Question 1
In my opinion, the celebrity that has the strongest overall brand is Kylie Jenner. According to Forbes, Kylie Jenner, followed by Kanye West, is the top-earning celebrity of 2020 after selling 51% of her brand, Kylie Cosmetics, for $600 million, pocketing $540 million for herself (Greenberg). Kylie Jenner not only was the highest-earning celebrity of 2020 but also continued to grow her mass media following, television appearances, and more.
Starting in the spotlight at a young age, Kylie Jenner has been appearing on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” for upwards of a decade, eventually leading to her spinoff show, “Life of Kylie” (Warren). Her television appearances give an inside look at her life and her personality, providing insight into her brand she is building. In addition to building her brand through allowing her audiences to view her life through watching her on television, she has also built her brand through her huge social media followings, for both her personal account and her social media profiles for Kylie Cosmetics. As of March 2021, Kylie Jenner is the fourth most followed person on Instagram with 218.2 million followers (Schultz). The article “Kylie Jenner and the Most followed Celebrity Accounts on Instagram 2021” explains that Instagram acts as a “social platform that has long been for a place for fans to interact with their favorite stars and brands” as well as a “place for celebrities to reach their audiences in a direct way with sneak peeks at their latest projects, peeks inside their personal lives” and more (Shultz). Kylie Jenner utilizes her social media to strengthen her brand and to keep her brand a pillar amidst the marketplace. Jenner herself noted that “social media is an amazing platform” that gives her “such easy access to [her] fans and customers” (Warren).
Kylie Jenner somehow manages to immerse herself in many different markets, all important and equal to her success. Jenner has turned to Instagram to promote products including advertisements as well as her clothing line with Pacsun and her products from Kylie Cosmetics. Much of the brand marketing for Kylie Cosmetics takes place on social media, she frequently promotes and announces releases of new products on those social media profiles. Although not everyone is her biggest fan and sometimes controversial, Kylie Jenner is certainly doing something correctly in terms of building her brand as a celebrity and entering many different marketplaces to reach all different audiences and maintain her status as a social media mogul and businesswoman.
Part 2 -
DeleteWhere Kylie Jenner is an example of someone who is creating a strong brand, someone whose celebrity brand needs to be revamped is Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen DeGeneres is a pillar in daytime talk shows, known for her show “Ellen”. When information came to light that “Ellen” facilitated a toxic workplace behind the scenes, current and former staff members noted that there were issues of “racism, fear, and intimidation” on the set as well as “sexual harassment” (Koblin). The show hit a loss of a 38% decline in her core audience and ratings declined further amid the pandemic (Koblin). The public perception of Ellen began to change after this information came to light and it showed in the show’s ratings. Although Ellen apologized to her staff and her viewers, she has not fully been able to recover from this crisis and regain her previously good reputation. Some current problems with the brand are obviously the accusations at hand and the idea that Ellen is not who she has been portraying to her audience for years. Ellen and her show are currently fighting a lack of popularity; the issues Ellen is facing go against everything her brand has represented for years, kindness and inclusivity - her catchphrase even being “be kind” (Koblin). This will be very tough to come back from in my opinion; these accusations are serious and it will take Ellen being able to show her audiences a change and that she practices what she preaches for her to regain her status before this all occurred.
Work Cited:
Greenberg, Zach O'Malley and Rob LaFranco. "The World’s Highest Paid Celebrities 2020." Forbes Sept. 2020, https://www.forbes.com/celebrities/
Koblin, John. "Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace." New York Times 22 March 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/business/media/ellen-degeneres-ratings-decline.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimesbusiness
Liscomb, Megan. "30 Highest-Paying Celebrity Endorsements." Finance 101 10 Nov. 2020, https://www.finance101.com/celebrity-endorsements/
Schultz, Cody. "Kylie Jenner and the Most Followed Celebrity Accounts on Instagram 2021." Fansided March 2020,
Warren, Katie. “Kylie Jenner Just Turned 23 Years Old - and She's Already Worth $900 Million. Take a Look at How the Mogul Built Her Empire.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 10 Aug. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/how-does-kylie-jenner-make-money-2018-7.
Morgan Tencza
ReplyDeletePart 1
The celebrity who has a hand in the fight for the best brand is definitely Cristiano Ronaldo. Though he is not necessarily a big name in America and American sports, he is a worldwide household name, that can’t be said for the majority of people on this list. Though they may be popular in America, names like the Kardashians and Jenners do not mean as much worldwide as Ronaldo does. According to Fansided, Ronaldo is the most followed celebrity on Instagram so far in 2021 with 266.3 million followers (Schultz). He is also one of the highest paid celebrities between his contract with Juventus and branding deals. According to Forbes, Ronaldo was the 4th highest paid celebrity in 2020, making a total of $105 million (Badenhausen et al). That is during a pandemic year where he did not play as many games as normal, and even took a pay cut from his club. Ronaldo was also “the first team player to earn $1 billion during his career,” (Badenhausen et al). Ronaldo is a world-class soccer player and that definitely leverages his brand. He is also known to be a strong family man and a lot of people find that respectable. The aspect of his brand that may differentiate himself from most in the sports world is his branding deals. In 2019, Ronaldo brought in $109 million, $64 million coming from his contract and $44 million from branding deals (Lauletta & Warren). His biggest brand deals include a life-time contract with Nike as well as DAZN, Altice, and Electronic Arts (EA). Besides being a star player on the field, Ronaldo has turned into a global superstar off the pitch.
Part 2
DeleteA celebrity that certainly needs help with their branding is Ellen DeGeneres. Recently, the talk show host has gone viral, but not in a good way. After allegations and testimonials of a hostile working environment, racism, and sexual harassment, Ellen came out with an apology on her show. However, the apology seemed to be problematic and resulted in a loss of one million viewers from one week to the next (Koblin). It is really easy to be ‘cancelled’ nowadays on social media. With the power of technology and that once something is posted online, it will never go away, users are finding evidence of celebrities doing some not-so-good things from their past or present. Ellen is just another to be a victim of the cancellation process, but for good reason. With more and more information coming out about the toxic work environment, Ellen needs some serious help with her branding if she wants to remain on screen. A half-assed apology will not be enough for her to gain back her reputation. As someone who was so important for the LGBTQ+ community throughout the 90s and 2000s, Ellen brought a lot of change to the media and television world. If they try to save her image through that angle it may help bring back some good to her name, but I’m afraid she’ll never fully recover from the many allegations against her.
Works Cited
Badenhausen, Kurt et al. “The Celebrity 100: The World's Highest-Paid Celebrities 2020.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 2021, www.forbes.com/celebrities/.
Koblin, John. “Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/business/media/ellen-degeneres-ratings-decline.html?smtyp=cur&%3Bsmid=tw-nytimesbusiness.
Lauletta, Tyler, and Kate Warren. “Cristiano Ronaldo Has Tested Positive for COVID-19. Here's How the 2nd Highest-Paid Athlete on the Planet Makes and Spends His Millions.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 13 Oct. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/how-real-madrids-cristiano-ronaldo-spends-all-his-money-2016-6.
Schultz, Cody. “Kylie Jenner and the Most Followed Celebrity Accounts on Instagram 2021.” Kardashian Dish, FanSided, 1 Mar. 2021, kardashiandish.com/2021/03/01/most-followers-instagram-2021/.
Gina Auletta
ReplyDeletePart 1
Rihanna is a celebrity with a very strong overall brand. According to Forbes, she is one of the most publicly charitable celebrities as she has donated over $8 million to coronavirus relief. On top of her musical success, she has also acquired immense fortune from her beauty brands called Fenty Beauty which she co-owns with a luxury goods group – LVMH, and Fenty Skin. She also co-owns a lingerie line called Savage x Fenty which has brought her a lot of success as well. Rihanna appears 23rd on the list of Finance 101’s “30 Highest-Paying Celebrity Endorsements” which explains the fortune that she has gained from her brand. The article states that “Every February 22, the people of Barbados celebrate Rihanna day” yet she should be celebrated every day… “With her inclusive makeup line Fenty, Rihanna is on a mission to make makeup for all women of every shade. Fenty’s incredible array of shades is changing the beauty industry, pushing other lines to be inclusive too. Not to mention Fenty is expected to hit $1 billion in value any day now.” Clearly, Rihanna has been able to move away from her music to build a very successful brand for herself in the beauty industry while inspiring other brands to be more inclusive too. Additionally, The Guardian discusses that Rihanna is looking to launch a new brand called Fenty Hair to capitalize on the growing Black haircare market in the U.S. The article states, “Like other arms of the Fenty brand, it is expected that Fenty Hair will push an ethos of inclusivity and diversity, which, in market terms, are key brand qualities for younger, generation Z shoppers.” All in all, I find that Rihanna is doing a great job of creating a name for herself outside of the music industry and she is clearly building a successful brand with several different sectors – each promoting inclusivity and diversity.
Gina Auletta
DeletePart 2
After doing some research, I found that Sia’s brand needs to be revamped. After the release of her film, “Music”, she has received a lot of backlash from the autism community who, in my opinion, have a right to be upset. As USA Today states, “Sia’s new movie “Music” has outrages the autism community, for both the casting of a neurotypical actress in the role of an autistic character as well as for showing scenes where the character is being restrained.” It is clear that Sia did not do enough research before making a movie about a young autistic woman and has now found herself being one of the many canceled celebrities in the past year. Many people felt like Maddie Ziegler, the actress playing the young autistic woman, was doing a parody rather than accurately representing the community. On top of this, there is a lot of misinformation in the film like the use of restraints which, the autistic community has said, “traumatize and kill.” Sia has since apologized for her wrongdoings and lack of research and has said that the scenes of restraint will be removed from all future printings. However, her overall brand and public image has now been tainted because of these ignorant mistakes. It will likely be extremely difficult for Sia to come back from this incident, but she may be able to revamp her brand with the right intentions in mind.
Works Cited
Elan, Priya. "Rihanna to Launch Fenty Brand Black Haircare Product Line." The Guardian 13 March 2021
Liscomb, Megan. "30 Highest-Paying Celebrity Endorsements." Finance 101 10 Nov. 2020
Oliver, David. “Sia's 'Music' Angers the Autism Community: 'I Don't Even Know Where to Start'.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 1 Mar. 2021.
“Rihanna.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, www.forbes.com/profile/rihanna/?sh=4ead4da81400.
Roberto Casillas
ReplyDeletePart 1
We live in an age where celebrities dominate the world. Their platforms as taller and louder than ever because they have so many different ways to put themselves out there. Social media has changed the landscape of celebrity culture, and now more than ever, celebrities are making – a lot! – of money from endorsements, advertising, and other campaigns. I’m a sports guy, so I gravitate towards athletes. Lionel Messi is a guy I’ve always admired, and I think that his brand is the strongest there is. I know a big argument could be made for one of his contemporaries, Cristiano Ronaldo, but that’s an argument for another time. Lionel Messi is the best player in the most popular (and rich) sport in the world.
Earlier this year, the exact figures of Lionel Messi’s, F.C. Barcelona contract were leaked and became the front cover of one of Spain’s biggest newspapers. The contract is obscene, it blows every other athlete contract out of the water, including the one Patrick Mahomes signed last summer. “Here are the numbers, €555,237,619 over four years, with an annual salary of €138 million including variables, a €115 million “renewal fee” and a €77 million loyalty bonus.
With five months left on the deal, Messi will have already earned €511 million. Those numbers translate out to $674 million for the entire contract, $167 million per year, $139 million renewal fee and a $94.6 million loyalty bonus in 2020 dollars” (Baer). Those figures are obscene, and yet, many Barcelona fans came out and said that he was underpaid! If that contract doesn’t tell you just how much value Lionel Messi brings to the table, not only because of his play but of his profitable brand, then I don’t know what will.
Messi has been at the top for a consistent period of time, he’s currently the second highest earning athlete only behind Roger Federer (Badenhousen). But his consistency is what’s even more impressive, he’s been on the top three for the last 5 years. We should also mention that he probably would’ve topped the list, but Covid-19 had an influence on his salary, “The two soccer icons earned a combined $209 million during the past 12 months, a $28 million drop from 2019, due to salary reductions at many European soccer clubs when league play was halted in March” (Badenhousen). Messi has a massive contract with Adidas, by far the brands most signature athlete across sports. All this, combined with his good reputation and role model lifestyle, only suggests that his peak will last a while. Messi’s marketability is incomparable, because there has never been another player like him.
Roberto Casillas
ReplyDeletePart 2
A celebrity that has seen his brand and personal image take a beating in the last few months is Armie Hammer. The actor began to trend during the first few days of 2021 for being a cannibal. Social media got in a frenzy when many messages that were allegedly form Hammer became public in which he said some very explicit and problematic texts. He came out and said the story wasn’t true, but “after he dropped out of two high-profile projects – which Variety hears from multiple well-placed sources he was asked to leave – it’s not clear if his career can, or will, recover” (Wagmeister). The current problems with the brand are obvious, the scandal is still ongoing, and his name is tarnished as of this moment. He hasn’t really been seen or heard publicly since the beginning of the year, and things appear to only be getting worse.“Hollywood is an all-too-forgiving business that loves a comeback story, but another industry source believes that Hammer may not recover professionally – because of the current climate, but also because of Hammer’s career track record” (Wagmeister).
Works Cited:
Badenhousen, Kurt. “The World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2020.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 21
May 2020, www.forbes.com/athletes/#1732449c55ae.
Baer, Jack. “Lionel Messi's Barcelona Contract Got Leaked, and It's Bigger than Patrick
Mahomes's $500 Million Deal.” Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo!, 31 Jan. 2021, sports.yahoo.com/lionel-messi-fc-barcelona-contract-leaked-patrick-mahomes-500-million-deal-055104463.html.
Wagmeister, Elizabeth. “Armie Hammer's Hollywood Career Is in Freefall as Sex Scandal
Explodes on Social Media.” Variety, Variety, 5 Feb. 2021, variety.com/2021/film/news/armie-hammer-sex-cannibal-allegations-hollywood-career-1234901106/.