Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian: Two peas in a Pod

In the immortal words of Juliet to her star-crossed lover Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” However, little did Juliet know, a name is so much more than a collection of sounds we use to refer to one another. In the case of a select few, a name could refer to loyalty and strength, fame and power, or any characteristic we choose it to be — a name is a personality, a name is a brand.

In recent times many celebrities have associated their names to brands that align with their personalities and characteristics. David Beckham and Calvin Klein, George Clooney and Nespresso, Beyonce and Pepsi; all of these major celebrities have made millions from their brand pairings. However, only two “celebrities”, for lack of a better word, spring to mind when separating names from a physical brand — Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump.

Carrying on from the K initial tradition that the Kardiashian brand fully utilises, I have dubbed this couple of self-branding masterminds Krumpdashian. Together this dynamic duo is worth over $4.52 billion. Yes, most can be attributed to Trump and his business empire, however for Kim her millions have come from what? An over-rated sex tape from 2003? Although this infamous tape did sky-rocket her name to fame, it is Kim’s savvy business ability to self-brand and dominate popular culture that has made her, and her family, the celebrities they are today. She has no tangible product. What she sells is herself, the idea of celebrity, and confidence. In a Forbes article about Kim’s fame, Professor Cameron Anderson states that

“Confident people are more likely to attract social attention than less confident people; they are more interesting to watch and listen to. So Kim Kardashian’s success could be in part due to the fact that human beings are fascinated by confident individuals, even when their confidence is unjustified.”

When researching the Kardashian name, a few recurring words appear: fame, sex, celebrity, beauty, confidence, cheap. However one book, Keeping Up the Kardashian Brand, describes a disconnection between Kardashian fans, and those who critique them in the media. No matter the opinion, the majority seem to agree on one thing that this book words perfectly, “the Kardashian brand signifies the cultural fascination with wealth, beauty, celebrity, and ourselves”.

Kim understands that her fan base is her income, and with this in mind she continually uploads new content to shock and inspire conversation on and off social media. Utilising social media platforms allows Kim fans to easily share and distribute photos, videos and other material promoting viral content. One article highlights this, stating that when Kim shares her knowledge, expertise and life experiences she is not only building, and promoting her brand, but also building the trust and strength of her fan base.

As we all know in 2015 Kim ‘broke the internet’ with a cover picture of her famous ass catching champagne, more recently Kim’s curves have been in the spotlight again with an Instagram photo of her censored naked body with the caption “When you’re like I have nothing to wear LOL”. Since this upload, Kim has gained over 3 million Instagram followers, adding 316 095 followers on the day of upload alone.

Despite their seemingly opposite brands, Trump also utilises his fan base and fame in a Kardashian-esque manner to promote and further his name. Shock has become a new characteristic added to the strong personality that is the Trump brand. Until recently, Trump has been synonymous with quality, stability, viability, success, and strength. This can be seen from his impressive portfolio of global real estate, other business ventures and supported by John Oliver as viewed on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (a video definitely worth a watch). Time Magazine supported this expressing that the brand of the “no-nonsense businessman” could be defined as five characteristics: outlaw, creator, success symbol, upfront/brash, and authentic feel. It’s no wonder with characteristics like these, people are drawn to his outlandish behaviour believing it has an underlying sense of security.

This brand Trump has created goes beyond tangible products, and similarly to Kim Kardashian, has created an unfading and relentless following that money cannot buy. Referring back to the quote by Professor Cameron Anderson, Trump’s confidence in what he is saying, no matter how true or how likely it is that his opinion will change, seduces some to believe he is a man of the people, speaking his mind, and shaking the status quo.

Additionally similarly to Kim Kardashian, the Trump brand has the ability to polarise people. Challenge: stand in a crowded room and say “I think it’s interesting how Donald Trump/Kim Kardashian has *insert situation here* ” and just wait for the opinions to roll in and the fists to start flying.

Polarisation makes your fans defend you harder while still encouraging the haters to talk about you — seems like a win-win situation for Krumpdashian. Where these two create waves, the press follows knowingly that whether good or bad, attention is attention and will only strengthen their brand fan base. In many ways it could be said that Trump and Kardashian keep their friends close, and their enemies closer.

As one blogger put it, Kim’s “brand image thrives on her constant presence”. Whether on clothes, shoes, fragrance, or diet pills her consistent presence and name is her marketing and advertising strategy in lieu of traditional advertising. The same could be said for Trump, up until his political campaign in 2015, Trump’s brand was mainly visible as a name on buildings and reality television. Now he strives to continue his presence in the media to further his brand strength and visibility. Staying in the media also keeps him front-of-mind with viewers and potential voters. Remember whether or not people are talking well of him, they are still talking about him and that’s what matters.

Putting aside individual opinions on Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump, their savvy and business-like abilities to create empires from names are admirable. The Krumpdashian dynamic duo are shining examples of delivering confident and consistent content to build trust and loyalty to their self-brands.

So dear Juliet, what is in a name? Apparently over $4.52 billion my dear, fame, and the power to become president of the free world.

If you want to see more about how Donald Trumps the media, check out the video below or find out What Percentage Donald Trump Are You.

Originally published at The Isthmus.