OSP: Kim Kardashian - Context + LIAR

Our OSP CSPs are the online presence of former Manchester Utd and England footballer Marcus Rashford and celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian.

These are in-depth CSPs so we need to study all four areas of the theoretical framework: Language, Industry, Audience and Representation. This first case study will focus on Language and Representation.

Who is she? Kim Kardashian

In Summary: She is one of the most successful ‘Influencers’ of all time.

- She has over 360m followers across her social media platforms – enormous reach

- She has several successful businesses and brands built exclusively around her online presence

- She has an estimated worth of around $2 Billion – Largely due to her monetising the attention she receives to a high level

Why Study Her? Kim Kardashian

The influencer phenomenon

A textbook example of how an individual becomes a media brand online.

Huge, multi-platform reach

Active across Instagram, TikTok and linked websites — scale to analyse.

Business from her presence

Brands, products and lucrative endorsements built on her following.

Rich representation issues

Gender, ethnicity, age, wealth, fame, family — lots to unpack.

Industry & regulation

Shows how platforms profit and how influencers are regulated.

'Famous for being famous'

An icon of celebrity culture and the commodification of fame.

Where does LIAR come in?

Media Language

HOW meaning is made: codes, conventions, semiotics. Main focus = Her Social Media and Websites

Genre and narrative

Kim Kardashian has created a strong personal brand that merges different genres – influencer, celebrity, reality TV star,.

Her online presence emphasises her businesses and drive (largely financial), furthered by her families collective efforts to raise their brand and status. It's a story of how publicity across many varied formats can lead to global recognition (whether good or bad).

Media Industries

HOW her platforms are made, owned, funded and regulated.

Kim Kardashian net worth

Kim Kardashian has an estimated net worth of approximately $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion, according to recent Forbes estimates.

Main Sources of Wealth

• Skims: The shapewear and clothing brand is the largest driver of her fortune. Following funding rounds valuing the company at $5 billion, her substantial stake makes up the vast majority of her billionaire status.

• SKKN BY KIM & Beauty Ventures: Her skincare and previous cosmetics lines (including KKW Beauty, which famously sold a 20% stake to Coty) have added hundreds of millions to her overall net worth.

• Television and Media: Earnings from reality television shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Kardashians on Hulu provide steady, high-tier entertainment income.

• Endorsements & Social Media: She commands millions per sponsored post and serves as a global brand ambassador for major luxury houses like Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana.

• Private Equity & Real Estate: Her private equity firm SKKY Partners and a valuable portfolio of high-end real estate in California round out her diverse asset portfolio.

Media Audiences

WHO are her platforms for, why they use it, how they read it.

Target audience: demographics and psychographics

What is the target audience for the CSP? 

- Demographics: CAGE? 

- Psychographics? 

Audience engagement

Instagram engagement rate is a measure of how much audiences engage with posts (e.g. likes, comments). An engagement rate of 1-3% is considered good and anything 6%+ is extremely high.

Kim Kardashian's role as an influencer is shown by her engagement rate of 2.56% (although this has dropped and risen over time due to increasing herfollower count and change in brand focus throughout her public career.

What is the appeal of Kim Kardashian to audiences? Think about their campaigns (branded and otherwise), use of social media and public associations. Also, consider their appeal to different audiences.

Use Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory:

• Diversion
• Personal Identity
• Personal Relationships
• Surveillance/information

Media Representations

WHO/WHAT is shown and how: selection, construction, mediation.

Kim Kardashian's online presence offers a real mix of representations – some reinforcing stereotypes of femininity, influencers and race/ethnicity but others subverting them. She also regularly both subverts and upholds stereotypes regarding fame, controversy and celebrity culture.

Use Daniel Chandler’s representation theory of CAGE to analyse representations in the media. Here's an example for Kim Kardashian’s online presence:

C – Class (social class – upper class celebrities)

A – Age (growing from youth to middle aged)

G – Gender (femininity)

E – Ethnicity (Armenian American)

Glossary Terms:

Technical Codes - Design and image choices: photography, colour, layout, typography, video.

Genre Conventions - Expected ingredients of a personal/official website and of social platforms (menus, feeds, captions).

Semiotics - Reading signs: denotation (what we literally see) and connotation (what it suggests).

Convergence - When two or more media forms can be accessed in one place or one device e.g Marcus Rashford’s website also links to his books, social media feeds and video content. 

Online engagement/dialogue - Communication online e.g between a celebrity and a fan. 

Endorsement - When a celebrity or influential figure recommends something to the public. 

Blog Tasks

Context

1. What is her background? Where is her family from? Who are her parents? Where did she appear early in her career?

Language

1. Describe 3 differences you can see between her Instagram and TikTok (look / pace / type of content).

2. Explain how the genre features of TikTok change the tone of her content compared with Instagram.

3. Evaluate which platform gives her the most control over her brand image, and why.

4. Open her public Instagram feed. Find ONE post that best shows a consistent 'brand look' and note the media-language choices.

    a. Screenshot/sketch the post; note colour palette, shot type, caption style.

    b. Write 2 sentences: What does this post want the audience to think of her?

Industry

1. List 2 ways Instagram makes money from Kim Kardashian and 1 risk of influencer marketing.

2. Explain why concentration of ownership might be a concern for audiences.

3. What companies/brands are Kardashian associated with? Why might they want to be linked to those celebrities?

Audience

1. Name the four Uses & Gratifications needs and give one example of each for her feed.

2. Explain how her style of address makes followers feel personally spoken to.

3. Look at the COMMENTS and engagement on one official post (likes, comments, shares). What do they tell you about her audience and how it participates?

    a. What sort of participation numbers does she get? (likes, comments, shares, saves).

    b. Find evidence of a preferred AND a more critical reading in the response.

    c. Write one sentence on what the audience response reveals.

Representation

1. Find a post showing either family, a product, or a cause.

    a. Selection: What is shown? What is left out?

    b. Construction: Which media-language choices build the representation?

    c. Stereotype Check: is the representation positive, negative, or both? Justify.

2. Describe one positive and one negative stereotype you can find on her feed.

3, Explain how SELECTION (Choosing what to show carefully) shapes the representation of her family life.

Challenge: Analyse how Kim Kardashian’s online presence has been constructed to create a controversial and newsworthy representation of the celebrity. (6 Marks)