The word ‘influencer’ is relatively new in our 21st century vocabulary – even those born in the 1970’s must be often educated as to what influencers influence, and the answer
is, a lot. Influencers are a consequence of our digital age – they entertain and educate about new products and functions of those products, shaping trends and influencing industries. If they are celebrities beforehand, then becoming internet entrepreneurs, they are often called celepreneurs.
In general, most are born in the 2000’s, new to the world of digital marketing, and certainly new to influ- encer marketing, but is now an often-babbling dimension of our talkative digital landscape. This topography has become an often-lucrative profession, especially within social media. The few who opened and led the field, had, and still have strong, truth-telling personalities, often with wicked senses of humor. One of the early influ- encers who has remained successful so much so that she could be considered a luminary – is Bethenny Frankel
– She continues to lead the field. She talks quickly, ideas morphing into clear opinions about almost everything. Her marketing and financial expertise is manifold in multiple fields. People listen when she speaks.
Her celebrity platform began years ago, with The Real Housewives of New York City. She has moved beyond this, though it gave her a springboard into the collective consciousness of many. In a recent conversation, we admitted, “Don’t hold it against us that we never saw The Real Housewives,” to which Bethenny immediately replied, “Don’t hold it against me that I was on that show.”
Such unexpected, candid honesty, combining both wit
and irony, is both text and subtext in her digital landscape. Her TikTok and Instagram testing programs, where she
tests make up, lipstick and skin care products have become needful watching if the viewer wants to see a person experience and immediately comment on their efficacy and worth. There, she is brutally honest about the use and cost of many things, both luxury and mid-level.
An example on a recent Instagram: she shows the viewers a $5,000 handbag she believes is badly made and overpriced. In other episodes, she discusses drugstore brand cosmetics that, she believes, are often better than expensive ones, and comments on quality and lack thereof, of moderately priced shoes, clothes, and luggage. Her education of the social media public combines what to look for, and, what to look OUT for when buying these things. Her podcast’s tag line is, "If you can't handle the truth, you can't handle this podcast." So true.
Her voice, no matter whether she is on TV – or on social media – is, to us, needful, educational, refreshing, and often attitude-changing. “What bothers me,” she exclaimed recently, “is that many drug store brands of makeup are as good as the more expensive brands. But people don’t know that, or if they do, they still buy expensive brands. With luxury, the public often pay for the brand design, not for the quality of the product itself.” A needful, cold shower method of looking at product design vs product essence. We will remember this.
We also remember that she is the founder and CEO of Skinnygirl, a brand that seemed to be, like the movie, everything, everywhere all at once. Skinnygirl partnered with Beam Suntory in 2011, to include wines, flavored vodkas, and ready-to-drink cocktails. Since the launch of Skinnygirl cocktails, and after selling a part of her brand to Beam Suntory, she expanded the Skinnygirl brand into a global lifestyle empire, that now includes, as of 2018, a Jeanswear collection, which sold out in hours on HSN – and further, into food – microwave popcorn, candy, salad dressings, coffee, tea, liquid sweeteners, water enhancers, shapewear, and most recently candles, skin, and body care.
She also is an investor in a new line of youthful mocktails called Mingle. This company rides the crest of alcohol-free cocktails and has fascinating nomenclature in the product line: Mimosas, Cranberry Cosmos, Cucumber Melon Mo- jitos, Key Lime Margaritas, Blackberry Hibiscus Bellini’s, Blood Orange Elderflowers. She has also tried some of them and gives unadulterated opinions on her Instagram and TikTok feeds. But the voice behind all of this, not selling exactly, but explaining opinions, and educating the public as to why her opinions have relevance is Bethenny herself – a memorable identity on her podcast, her Instagram, and TikTok. She is often a co-host of the Today show, she is the author of ten books, has had her own TV show, and seems at times, a hu- man primum mobile, a visual, vocal, always moving sphere – a combination of celebrity, educator, social media influencer, and now, most recently, a libations marketer of her new wine brand, Forever Young, a rosé wine whose birthplace is in Provence, France at the Chateau Roubine vineyard. This is one of the few vineyards whose roots go back to the 14th century, as it was one of the only 18 properties of the Order of the Templar in France. And only one of 18 vineyards that produce this Forever Young Cru Classe Rosé. Because of the vineyard’s classic east/west orientation, its clay-limestone soil, and good drainage, the Chateau has created great wines since the 1300’s. Now, with the expan- sion of the vineyard, Bethenny teamed with the owner of the Chateau, Valerie Rousselle, to create the new brand. This Provençal Rosé joins other international and national Forever Young wines – a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, a Central Coast (California) Cab Sauvignon, and an Argentine Malbec.
This marketing challenge – combining message with memorability – might be complex to others, but it is not new to Bethenny, as she started out, over a decade ago marketing her Skinnygirl cocktails and Margaritas. In a recent Wine Spectator interview, she said, “Skinnygirl was a brand that I developed more than a decade ago as a young woman on a budget with fewer responsibilities and a different taste level. Forever Young is a more sophisticated wine for a person who really cares and knows the difference. This is the next level.” As is she.
