Rebecca Minkoff of Real Housewives of New York told a reporter recently that she joined the show for her business. She claimed that participating in Season 15 of RHONY was a sound strategy for promoting her brand and she stands by that.
Granted her statement ignited a firestorm with fans of the show. Many accused her of just being in it for her business. But at the end of the day, Rebecca got the last laugh because she got to enjoy her time on the show and promote her brand effectively too!
Rebecca Minkoff says RHONY was good for business
Rebecca recently attended the Inc. 5000 conference in Palm Desert and addressed the reactions that she just did the show for her business. “I’m like, why would anyone come on this show?” she shared. “For the betterment of society?”
She stands by her decision and it’s already paid off. Rebecca shared that the publicity from the show has already given her brand extensive customer exposure. She’s enjoyed a significant feature in Elle Magazine and visibility for the brand and her name while the show is airing. After all, it’s all about work-life integration she shared.
Not that the brand needed a lot of help. Rebecca founded her eponymous fashion and bag and recently celebrated her 20th anniversary of success in the fashion industry. Over the years, she’s been a fashion innovator, and her Morning After Bag is a classic staple in many closets of fashionable working women.
At the event, Rebecca was eager to dig into the reality TV trope of doing things for “the right reasons.” She highlighted the fact that people did TV shows to increase exposure or even sell products. And she’s absolutely right considering how many housewives and other reality stars are entrepreneurs and trying to build a brand.
“Everyone here is doing it for business,” Rebecca shared. “And you’re a liar if you’re not admitting that. So I came out and said. I said, ‘It’s good for business, it’s good for brand building.’”
The numbers to prove it
Rebecca said the proof is in the pudding. Her search-referral traffic numbers and her retail website numbers have seen an increase of more than 40% since the show began airing on October 1.
“We’re getting new eyeballs,” Rebecca said. She paired this with prep work by her and her teams in terms of social media, styling, and retail planning. She made sure any Rebecca Minkoff items she wore on camera or gave as gifts on RHONY were easily available for purchase during the episode’s airing.
“I was very thoughtful about what I wore. I tried to wear the season for the show airing now,” Rebecca said. “My bag was on the table in every scene because you are going to like that bag and buy it, dammit!”
She may or may not have even suggested fake fighting on the show with Jenna Lyons for more drama (i.e. air time) for them both. Jenna though quickly shot that idea down. She probably had an outfit all picked out for dramatic flair.
At the end of the day, you can’t begrudge a businesswoman for working hard for her label. I mean, at least she’s honest, right?
TELL US – DO YOU THINK REBECCA SHOULD HAVE BEEN SO HONEST? DO YOU THINK REALITY TV STARS SHOULD BE SELF-PROMOTING ON THE SHOW?
