1. The Kardashian Effect:
Branding and monetisation of the self in a web 2.0 world
a research project by rebecca bozin, bonnie dunleavy,
neeve fagan, kerri gordon and shae mccormack

2. PITCH
We live in a world that’s technologically driven, with a
phone permanently glued to our hand and notifications
from social media chiming by the minute; where the daily
news is permeated by the new dramas of actors, the
scandalous outfits famous women are wearing, the
discriminatory issues that these celebrities are facing. The
USA has an elitist celebrity for a presidential candidate.
Kim Kardashian - who is supposedly famous for not having
any ‘talent’ - is the world’s 42nd most profitable influencer
in 2016 (Forbes, 2016). We live in a world almost wholly
driven by celebrity influencers, their actions and their
appearances. For this reason, this report will dive into
understanding these influencers and how they have come
to manipulate the web 2.0 world in which we live, further
embedding themselves into our quotidian lives.
With the growth of self-branding complementing the
accessibility of social media platforms, these celebrities
and online influencers have found ways to utilise the
popularity of new mobile applications such as Snapchat,
Instagram, Facebook,YouTube and Twitter to profitably
increase their reach and fame. This report will discuss
these platforms, while looking into the successful self-
branding, monetisation and ‘celebritisation’ of the
Kardashian family, as well as the way in which everyday
users are now able to make a brand of themselves.This will
all be accomplished with an in-depth delve into the finer
workings of the correlation between social media and self-
branding, as well as a look into the future of social media
and how it’ll change the way we look at online influencers,
social media and celebrity endorsement.

3. Introduction
In as recent years as the 1990s, the line between fame and obscurity was very easy to find
— this was obviously before the advent of the likes of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian,
when you were generally famous for being an actor, a model, an athlete, politician or
specialist. While, yes, there were many paths to becoming a household name, they all
involved rigorous networking, the hiring of agents, attending all the right events and
making all the right connections. Once you had experienced your ‘big break,' you then
became a public figure, breaking the barrier of fame.
However, the times have changed and — more importantly — technology has changed.
With the rise of social media and smartphone culture, the treatment of celebrities and how
they maintain their fame have been substantially altered. Where audiences
used to dream of knowing the brands a celebrity was
wearing, the makeup or treatments they use and their
ultimate secrets, they’re now revealed almost
instantaneously - directly from the source - via Twitter,
Instagram and Snapchat. Brands are tagged in images on Instagram, whether
voluntarily or as a paid advertisements, celebrities flaunt who and where they eat and visit
glossary
influencer // noun // a person who has the power to influence many people, as
through social media or traditional media.
Youtuber // noun // a content creator and sharer on video-sharing platform,
YouTube.
fandom // noun // the fans of a particular person, team, fictional series, etc.
regarded collectively as a community or subculture.
vlogger // noun // video-blogger. a person who records and shares a log of their
day via video, typically on youtube.
Instagrammer // noun // popular user of the photo-sharing and social
networking service Instagram.
kylie jenner lip kit // noun // cosmetic line of lip liners and lipsticks developed,
promoted and sold by Kylie Jenner

4. on Snapchat, and thoughts about world events and dramatic fights envelop over Twitter.
As an audience, we feel connected to these influencers, as we feel we know the details of
their everyday lives, who their closest friends are, and what their true personality is. For this
reason, celebrities are gaining more fame as they’re translating to audiences as more
‘relatable’. This is the power of ‘self-branding’. While previous “self-help management
techniques were about self-improvement, the personal-branding concept suggests
instead that success comes from self-packaging” (Leir, Sullivan, Cheney, 2005).
In 2016, this information is vital for us as future media producers; we need to know the ins
and outs of how to optimise the use of social media to gain the most amount of reach,
following and influence. Long gone are the days where centrefold magazine campaigns
were enough - now, it is expected that personality and interaction are behind each brand
and their endorsements. As an audience, we’ve come to expect more from these celebrity
influencers purely brought on by the sheer amount of purpose these social media
platforms hold. Social media platforms are evidently changing the way in which we
perceive figures of influence, but also how we interpret media and its influence. We see
companies and individuals alike striving to maintain their personal brand with significant
social media followings and engaged communities in order to retain their notability.
The use of self-branding can be epitomised by the Kardashian-Jenner clan. From having a
mobile application each, to video games, cosmetic ranges and being the ‘face’ of
numerous notable brands, you cannot go a day without somehow absorbing Kardashian-
Jenner branded media. They’re active across all social media platforms, and boisterous of
their own individual personalities, making for the picture perfect exemplification of the
power of social media influence. While these powerful women do still conform to
traditional forms of media — for example, Kendall has recently featured on the front cover
of US Vogue and Kim regularly features in tabloid and high fashion magazines alike — it’s
important to look at how active social media interaction has powered their following. In
2010, Kim had 5.3 million Twitter followers. Now, she has 47.5 million followers (plus an
extra 109.6 million on Facebook and Instagram). This alone represents the way in which
years of rigorous self-branding and promotion — through her apps, reality TV shows and
spin-offs, and promotional exclusive lines — she really has created an empire for herself.
This subsequently paves the way for aspiring online influencers, as anyone and everyone
has the capability to grow their own personal brand online within the easily accessed
multi-platform environment in which we exist.

5. Context
The utilisation of five key platforms provide a basis for creating the “self-brand”. As
audience expectations are built and met on these platforms, the self-branding individual
will utilise the features it offers to introduce and reinforce their brand, whether that be
luxurious, funny, quirky, relatable, friendly, rude or a combination of such traits. The
Kardashian brand as a whole, for example, capitalises on the
family’s appeal as an entity, as well as their interactions with each other and
with other high profile people, products and events. To maintain this, each member has an
active presence on various social channels to constantly relay this to the world.
Instagram
Instagram has become a way for people to create and maintain their ‘visual aesthetic’ as
both a brand and an individual - celebrities in particular utilise this platform as a way to
showcase a personal photo album in a very public way. Very commonly, intertwined with
these personal photos and videos are strategically placed branding and marketing ploys.
As discussed by Burns, “the economic models of media today are
based almost exclusively on “pushing” the information and
entertainment out into the public”, whereby public figures are
strategically doing so in a very public way (Burns, 2009, p. 151).
It is commonly perceived that a celebrity chooses to keep their private lives private, but
this is not the case for the contemporary celebrity; the celebrity whose success is based
upon their upholding of an online brand and presence. Instagram is well known for it’s
narcissistic appeal and heavily curated nature, while its layout remains simplistic as content
reigns as king. Instagram can arguably be leading the game when it comes to self
promotion as it is the norm for users to post photos of themselves/their possessions/their
travels and ventures on a daily basis with its largest demographic aged between 16 and
24. Celebrities utilise the nature of this platform to release images and videos of
themselves into the media and to their millions of followers, before the paparazzi can do
so themselves. In order to maximise their audience and simultaneously maintain a
following, celebrities on Instagram have a strict reputation to uphold in terms of what they
post, making sure to remain on-brand and targeted towards a specific audience in most
cases. A well-planned and organised Instagram account relates to individual’s brand
narrative and engages audiences in their “private” lives; as “how you present your brand
on social media can directly affect your reputation... you may only be physically ‘on’ while
in the room, but online, your brand is ‘on’ 24 hours a day” (Friend, 2014, p. 12).
Visual representations along with captions are a vital part in the way by which online
celebrities relay their constructed message. They have the opportunity to check into

6. locations, tag fellow celebrities or brands in their content and accompany his with written
copy, as well as utilise the hashtag feature (promoting ‘virality'). The comment section of
an Instagram post is made up of a combination between fan comments, hate comments,
spam and users tagging their friends, drawing more and more attention to said post.
If releasing a product into the market, celebrities will often use Instagram to create hype
around its release, drawing attention to the content, product, brand, individual and the
account in general. In some cases, a separate account will be created solely for the new
product/business, such as Kylie Jenner’s @kyliecosmetics. Users are encouraged to post
their own photos with such products on the platform using specific hashtags and
“tagging” the celebrity or brand in order to receive acknowledgement for their
participation, and buying into this notion of inclusivity.
Twitter
A platform offering more direct contact with the general public, Twitter is used in similar
ways; likewise, “stars like Kim Kardashian are still routinely paid
five figures for a single tweet promoting a product” (Delo, 2013).
Maintaining a social voice is imperative when keeping up with a changing industry that can
turn its tables at the click of a button. In other words, high consideration of what is being
said - when and to whom - must consistently be taken into account in order for followers to
keep revisiting a page for more content, while generating positive buzz around your
brand. It is acknowledged that "celebrities who engage actively on the social media space
are getting paid at least 25%-30% higher than those who don't, even if the latter have
huge mass connect” (Bhushan, 2014).

7. The culture created around constant celebrity updates on Twitter has therefore created a
new criteria to fill when it comes to succeeding financially.The pressure to churn out new
and engaging content is due to the wants and needs that have been created in fanbases.
A 2013 Internet Trends report suggests that most smartphone users are
checking their device almost 150 times a day (Kleiner, 2013).
Audience engagement on Twitter has been its dominant appealing factor since the
platform’s introduction in 2006, a mere 10 years ago. Many people take to Twitter to
connect with people they view as “larger than life”, which is subsequently used to the
advantage of social media stars in order to publicise themselves as well as gain a positive
rapport with their existing supporters. Encouraging followers to tweet a hashtag or get
something “trending” worldwide is free publicity for online influencers and celebrities as it
draws attention to whatever it is they want to draw attention to, whether it be a new
album, single, clothing or beauty line, piece of content or an event. Keeping an active
Twitter presence has become less important over the years with the rise of Instagram and
Snapchat, however depending on personal brand, some online celebrities will be more
active on Twitter than others. For example, YouTubers utilise the platform as a means to
get fans involved in videos or as a means for fans to share their newest upload, bringing
traffic to their page and in turn, generating higher profits.
Compared to Instagram, Twitter has a rapport for being more candid and less planned,
much more Snapchat-like in nature. Celebrities and online creators have a history of
causing controversy with the content of their tweets (or their team’s tweets), which in some
cases work to their advantage, keeping them relevant and “relatable” in many people’s
eyes. Twitter is free and easy to follow, with its 140 character limit keeping things short and
sweet. While celebrities choose Instagram and Facebook to promote themselves, Twitter
is reserved for interaction, updates and personal thoughts, creating the bond shared
between an individual and their fans, while appealing to the public’s parasocial needs to
be noticed by someone seemingly larger than life.
Facebook:
Facebook is a platform that delivers an extensive number of ways to portray oneself and
their online persona. It gives users the opportunity to reflect and portray aspects of their
lives, which would commonly go unacknowledged in their offline lives. It is also argued
that Facebook “agency is complex and contestable” (Van House, 2011) meaning
individuals can mediate the difference between who people perceive them as, and who
they want to be. Facebook can be used to reflect oneself in a way that is appealing.
The platform also offers users a sense of digital self-affirmation in the form of likes,
comments, messages and friends. With a widespread use of social media and interest in
fame, users with “narcissistic tendencies” may use Facebook with the intent of self-
promotion and seeking fame. This ability for Facebook to satisfy ego needs may also be
due to a number of “power users” (Hampton, Goulet, Marlow, & Rainie, 2012) who have
attained a large following. These power users, or Facebook celebrities, are embedded in

8. posts within a Facebook account on the newsfeed, to appear as a friend to the individual.
An example of a power user on Facebook is Dan Bilzerian, who is a professional poker
player with over 10 million followers. The majority of his posts on Facebook are notably
egocentric and feature his wealthy lifestyle, over his career. Scholars have identified that
both “self presentation and belonging” (Nadkarni & Hoffman, 2012) are primary
motivations for using Facebook in order for users to see themselves as socially attractive,
embedded into the network and fulfilling meaningful relationships with a much larger
audience.
Snapchat:
Snapchat is defined as a “self-destructing”(MccRatic, 2016) messaging app that allows
users to send pictures and videos to friends for 10 seconds or less, and to post Snapchat
Stories, which can be viewed by all friends for 24 hours. According to data shared by
Snapchat, 60% of American people aged 13-24 are using the app, which equates to just
over half of America’s youth.
A feature that is unique to Snapchat is a series of motion-capture selfie filters. Most of
these filters are created by Snapchat – and allow users to do things like applying dog and
cat ears to their photos as they are taking them. Recently, brands have been approaching
Snapchat in order to create their own promotional filters. An example of this in America
was during the time of the Super Bowl when Gatorade released a filter that appeared as
though an esky of Gatorade was being tipped on users heads. In Australia during the
recent Federal Election, the Liberal party paid to release a filter that made it appear as if
users were putting a voting paper in the Liberal box. However, it was deemed unfair by
users of Snapchat that there wasn’t the same kind of filter for the Labour party.
An alternative effective way for brands and individuals to promote themselves is to
approach a celebrity/influencer and pay for them to ‘takeover’ the brand’s account for a
specific event or period of time. Influencer campaigns as such are an effective form of
modern-day cross-promotion - in the case of Wet Seal partnering with blogger
MissMeghanMakeup, after a two-day account takeover the brand
“gained more than 900 new followers” (MccRatic, 2016).

9. YouTube:
As of 2015, “over 300 hours of video per minute” (Blatterg, 2015) were uploaded onto
popular video streaming website, YouTube. YouTube has been a platform
for expression, entertainment and information for over a
decade now, acting as a hub for beauty, gaming, travel and
lifestyle content creators, influencers and audiences. This is due
to a natural progression in the advancement of technology – users have seen the changes
in videos go from webcams and handy-cams to DSLRS and Drones. The technological
advancement in editing software has also been noticeable – shifting from Windows Movie
Maker to Final Cut Pro over time.
YouTube is not just a platform but both a multifaceted industry and community. It is
important for a YouTuber to not only find an area of interest but also establish credibility in
that area. Outrigger’s Henry identifies that “you can always find these people and target
them, but it’s a completely different value proposition if you can target them in the
mindset they’re in with a message that fits.” (Blatterg, 2015) meaning that it is essential to
form some kind of bond between the youtuber and their subscribers in order to connect
on a more personal level. This becomes crucial in the success of the youtuber, because
without connection and conversation there is no way for the channel to grow.
However, a common way in which youtubers grow their channel is through collaboration,
whereby two (or more) youtubers will film together and in an “effort made to gain more
exposure and grow their audience” (Vlognation, 2016). The collaboration or “collab” as it
is referred to on YouTube, can occur between two people from the same area of YouTube,
or two different areas such as a gamer influencer collaborating with a cooking influencer.
These videos are often the most successful and hilarious to watch, as it is interesting to see
a gamer trying to cook, or a chef trying to play video games. Another tactic that is
effective but commonly frowned upon in the YouTube community is by titling videos in the
style of “clickbait”. Clickbait is defined as a type of hyperlink on a webpage, which entices
a visitor to start viewing, or continue viewing something. The reason why it isn’t highly
regarded on YouTube is because often the clickbait titles of videos are misleading. Titles
such as “I can’t believe this really happened” often lead to underwhelming outcomes.
Channels that are most successful are the ones where the YouTuber influencers are
genuine and candid about their thoughts and opinions.

10. case study
The “hyper-successful” (Scheiner McClain, 2013) and ultra-famous (or
infamous – depending on who you ask) Kardashian family is a prime case
study on the branding, monetisation and ‘celebritisation’ of the self in
the web 2.0 environment in which our society currently sits.
As well as a daughter, sister and mother, Kim Kardashian (in addition to her family) is seen
to be a “contemporary cultural touchstone”, whose impact is evident not only on
television, but throughout the entire media landscape, with emphasis on the digital space
(Scheiner McClain, 2013).

11. Following socialite status - a celebrity-type heavily prioritised in the early 2000’s – a leaked
sex tape and a friendship with Paris Hilton, Kim’s initial rise to fame extended off her
family’s reality television program, Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Fast forward through
to 2016, and Kim’s empire has expanded across multiple spin-off television series as well as
a trio of mobile apps, in addition to her 156.6 million* strong following across Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram, popular Snapchat presence, personal blog, clothing range, books,
fragrance collection, hair and cosmetic ranges and more, tapping into both digital and
physical markets with profound gravitas. Scheiner McClain mentions that Kim is
“omnipresent”, and her multi-platform presence is a testament to that. In a millennial’s
average day, it is almost impossible to experience a full 24-hours without hearing or seeing
a glimpse of Kardashian.
As mentioned in a Vanity Fair article earlier this year, Kim’s “innate ability to
spot trends and identify what people want before they even
know they want it” is a defining factor of her entrepreneurial nature, and the way
in which she continually sets the bar, while sparking epidemically popular global trends
(Tracy, 2016). If Kim Kardashian is wearing, eating or doing anything, it is a surety that the
rest of the world will follow.
As discussed by Turner, “the Kardashians represent the pinnacle of consumption…”
thereby being represented as and translating to “…consumer behavior as means of
constructing the everydayness”, or rather, their similarity to us (Turner, 2005). When
factoring in the concept of all-consuming social media, this leads directly into Horton and
Wohl’s theory of ‘parasocial interaction’, which theorises the way in which the one-sided
relationship between media personae and their fans has increased in impact as media
technologies have changed the definition of proximity within the entertainment industry
(Horton and Wohl,1956). This ‘illusion of intimacy’ upheld by the Kardashian family across
essentially every modern media platform is the crux of their success, achieving a perceived
authenticity and aforementioned ‘everydayness’ that celebrities have previously been
unable to achieve.
Each family member – from Kim to Kylie, to Kris to Caitlyn – are as much a brand in their
independence as they are as a collective. As written by Scheiner McClain, the family is a
“business model that uses Keeping up with the Kardashians as a hum for all the family’s
other business ventures”. The show and its digital and physical
counterparts are seen to be a “centralized distribution
system through which the family sells products, stories and
themselves” (Scheiner McClain, 2013). The fact that Kim was able to collate a gallery
of ‘selfies’ and translate that into a bestselling coffee-table book (in Australia) with sales
comparable to George Orwell’s 1984 is a testament to her power as a brand (Bowden,
2015).

12. Continuing to lead the Kardashian clan in kicking modern day goal posts and setting
global trends is Kim’s 18 year-old half-sister, Kylie Jenner. This second generation of the
Kardashian clan has become the millennial icon of the twenty-teens, dominating both the
social and beauty spaces, banking in on her popularity and generating revenue based off
the public’s desire to become more like her.
Like the rest of her family, Kylie’s presence spans across television, multiple apps, social
media, fashion, and most notably beauty, having become an ‘it girl’ and subsequently the
face of style, popularity, ‘coolness’ and 21st century narcissism. Kylie has become so,
predominantly by means of social media, especially via the relatively new instant-photo
sharing platform, Snapchat.
As younger audiences became familiar with the Kardashian family, the popularity of the
second generation (Kendall and Kylie Jenner) grew, particularly in regards to their
appearance, and Kylie’s infamously plumped lips. Prior to public acknowledgment of the
use of artificial lip fillers, Kylie claimed her new look was due to a regime in which she
would suction her lips to increase in volume, which then went viral and became known
globally as the ‘Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge’, provoking users around the world to record
and publish their attempt at achieving her look. Once the viral craze had calmed down,
Kardashian/Jenner Sisters’
TOTAL Instagram Followers*
*as of the 24th of August 2016

13. Kylie went on to admit that she had in fact undergone cosmetic alterations in achieving
her plumped look, in addition to over-lining her lips in bold and nude lip liners.
While the Kylie epidemic was highly documented across traditional media sources, the
consistent and heavy use of social media and its subsequent immediacy enabled Kylie to
let fans into her life before the media had a chance to themselves. As discussed by
Scheiner McCain, “the Kardashians strategically use social media
to interweave and bolster celebrity, branding and finances”,
and Kylie’s approach to the global, social and digital fascination with her lips is a prime
example of this (2013).
Kylie Jenner’s branded lip kits quickly became the most in-demand cosmetic line across
the world, with the first three shades selling out in 30 seconds (Falletta, 2015). As Professor
Z. John Zhang of the Wharton School told Forbes, “there are lots of
substitutes if you want your lips to look a certain color, the
problem is people aren’t buying functionality, they are
buying desirability” (Canal, 2016). Through the use of social media and
particularly Snapchat, Kylie has crafted this sense of desirability by positioning herself
through a false sense of intimacy and vicinity with her millions of fans.

14. Young adults, the primary users of Snapchat, indicated that the platform was reserved for
their closest interpersonal relationships (Vaterlaus et al., 2016). The fact that Kylie’s content
sits in the midst of her audience’s friends and family is a significant factor in the positioning
of herself in users’ day to day social activity. Social media enables celebrities such as the
Kardashian family to grow and maintain their fame and fortune by constructing a portrayal
of authenticity and ‘reality’, while simultaneously self-promoting, turning their obtuse
follower counts into revenue (Schneider McCain, 2013).
Social media has undoubtedly democratised the entertainment industry, lessening the
power of Hollywood big shots in the determination of whom ‘the next big thing’ is, with
the power shifting to the consumer (Burns, 2009). As this has been witnessed following the
escalation of the Kardashians’ fame from their television show, which has now been shifted
across social media, it has also meant that everyday users are able to self-brand and
promote themselves, achieving Kardashian-like success through their camera phones and
social media accounts. YouTube stars Zoe Sugg (Zoella), Jenna Marbles and Justin Bieber
as well as bloggers and ‘instagrammers’ such as Bakerella and @thefatjewish (respectively),
are prime examples of this.
The progressive aspect of social media that has made it such a significant aspect of our
society is its original objective and intended capability to remove the ‘us and them’
mentality of traditional media formats. Considering the growth and popularity within the
digital space and of particular content producers, the community aspect of social media in
conjunction with the accessibility of the internet has allowed people to “act on their
traditional impulses towards admiration”, and in the case of the content producers, being
admired (Choi and Berger, 2008).
The beauty space in particular (in which the Kardashian’s lead) is filled with bloggers,
vloggers and instagrammers known as ‘influencers’, who use their personal brands to sell
themselves, their lifestyle, and products on behalf of other brands. This self-made,
‘celebrity 2.0’, status stems directly from Axel Brun’s idea of
the ‘produser’ and has set up highly profitable avenues in
the digital space for marketing, endorsement,
entertainment and self-employability (2008).
Like Kylie, the extremely successful UK-based beauty blogger, Zoe Sugg (known under the
alias Zoella), has managed to turn her hobby for fashion and beauty - as well as her overall
likability - into a profitable career through sponsorship deals, books, beauty products and
appearances. Her success would be impossible without the sense of intimacy and
friendship her online presence exudes. As theorized prior to the existence of the internet
by Horton and Wohl in 1956, “one of the striking characteristics of the new mass media…
is that they give the illusion of face-to-face relationship with the performer”. The success
of the modern day celebrity and personal brand is dependent on this factor.

15. Future
The future of self-branding in the digital sphere is very ambiguous for future media
practitioners. As these trends continue to manifest, social media has become more
prominent than ever in our daily routines. It is with confidence that we can assume that the
emphasis on personal digital branding will continue to increase and infiltrate the lives of
users who may not have the prominence, follower count or perceived influence of the
typical celebrity.
As platforms develop further and users become content producers themselves, (much like
Axel Bruns’ ‘produser’ concept (2008)) it’s evident that consumers are
beginning to tap into their own potential, mimicking the
trends and techniques performed by mega-influencers like
the Kardashians, and self-made bloggers such as Zoella. As we
have seen following the impact of Kylie Jenner in the millennial space, the digital future
looks opportunistic, with young females already aiming to follow in her steps. With
traditional media forms nearing endangerment, we look to this new generation to pave
the way for self-branding, monetisation and ‘celebritisation’ across web 2.0 platforms.
Our predictions stem from the current activity in the digital spectrum, and the way in which
we see these activities will continue to play out. Influencer endorsement has already
become a common marketing tactic, to a point whereby consumers are becoming
increasingly aware of the strategies evident within their feeds. As constant product
placement across social becomes the norm, it is only natural that interest and application
will dissolve - in similarity to the way by which we currently see TVCs, magazine spreads
and billboards.
PREDICTIONS
1. Celebrity/influencer endorsement will become the equivalent of our ‘traditional
advertising media’ of the 2020s - it will lose its relevance as consumers become
educated and technology continues to advance at a rapid pace.
2. New laws will be enforced in regards to the way by which individuals and brands
are able to exist online, whereby we will see less native and seemingly organic
advertising in our feeds.
3. The gravitas of the influencer will lose sight (and influence) due to industry

16. As web 2.0 platforms are still seen to be relatively green, the laws in place are scarce to
none. The discourse around this is already evident in the social space, therefore we see it
fitting that more concrete laws will be enforced with increased credibility. For example, this
could be in regards to sponsorship transparency, fan and follower conduct and privacy.
As we have mentioned, anyone and everyone has the capability to be an online influencer,
and subsequently become a brand in themselves. This sparks the necessity
for gatekeeping, whereby meaning can be diluted through
over saturation of each platform. The ideals surrounding influencers are
based on the premise that they showcase an ‘unobtainable obtainable’ lifestyle that
consumers desire and wish to achieve (even if this requires a monetary sacrifice).
Ultimately, this means that in order to create a balance of media production and
consumption, a hierarchy (although somewhat flattened) still needs to exist.
As media producers and consumers who are heavily invested in the social media realm, we
look forward to discovering whether our predictions come to fruition. It is astounding to
consider the simultaneous growth of social media platforms and the Kardashian empire
over the past decade, and the way in which they have correlated promises an exciting
projection for the future of branding and monetisation of the self on digital.

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Photo Credits:
1. Refinery29’s Snapchat story, August 10th, 2016.
2. Image via instagram.com/kendalljenner
3. Image via instagram.com/designbyaikonik
4. Image via Kim Kardashian’s Snapchat story (date unknown)
5. Image via Zoe Sugg’s (Zoella) Snapchat story (date unknown)
6. Goude, J.P., Cover, Paper Magazine, December 2014.
7. Lipsticks in featured in graphs sourced from kyliecosmetics.com.
8. 8, 9 & 10; images via instagram.com/kyliecosmetics