发帖
雷达卡
Fame in its modern form has redefined talent（630 words）
By Jeetendr Sehdev
-----------------------------------------------------
The need to conform is human. Some of us do it to fit a pre-approved mould or to be accepted by those around us. Others conform because it’s just easier to do what everyone else is doing. But what happens when audiences decide they’ve had enough of the prevailing type? When the blue-eyed golden boy is out and the hot black guy is in? When the Latina promotes herself from toilet cleaner to wedding planner? What happens when there is so much uncertainty that the Hollywood casting director doesn’t know any better?
The power of celebrity and the potential to profit have never been greater. Millennials, with their $200bn in annual buying power, are desperate to be famous because fame is now so tangible and attainable.
Today, everyone can be a star and can engage, inspire and monetise millions. No longer do we need a certain eye colour, cheekbones or body shape to become the next box office draw.
We just need to be ourselves, promoting our virtues and insecurities alike, and feel safe in knowing that we will be both celebrated and shunned for doing so.
[prɪ'veɪlɪŋ]
This is nothing less than a paradigm shift. Stars of leaked sex tapes that were once freely derided are now lauded for being clever strategists who have launched themselves into mainstream success. Talent was a term reserved for the chosen few who attended British drama school Rada; now we prize anyone who knows how to grab an audience and cultivate a following. Why? Because millennials are the most colour-blind, gender-blind and fame-seeking generation in history. They are redefining what it means to be sexy, talented and appealing, and what we look for in our stars today are representations of each of us in our many manifestations. Think less Marilyn Monroe, more Lena Dunham.
This is in large part because of social media, especially YouTube. Stars on this platform engage global audiences simply by being themselves and promoting their often peculiar passions. Nobody tells them how to dress, sound or behave. They are who they are, and millions worship and adore them for it. Take YouTube megastar Zoella. She is now the head of a multimillion-dollar empire, and has more clout than fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld and more influence than many of the most hyped Hollywood A-listers.
Old-school marketing tactics that once generated millions in the world of consumer goods no longer hit the spot. Savvy millennials respond neither to contrived marketing statements nor promises of the perfect life. Fantasy is out. Modern marketing needs to focus on the pursuit of the real. Authenticity is the only way to start a conversation, establish trust and to build your brand. And in 2017, authenticity is big business.
Kim Kardashian has sky-rocketed to fame by following what I identify as the six factors of S.E.L.F.I.E. — Surprise, Expose, Lead, Flaws, Intimate and Execute. This means that you should be unique and innovative — and never apologise.
Remember that it is better to be overexposed than edited. Don’t tap into the existing culture — create it in your own image. Make sure your ideas are you-centric not audience-centric. Celebrate your flaws; we all have them. And don’t sit around waiting for things to happen — go out and make them happen yourself.
Millennials are inspired by Kim Kardashian because she fits nobody’s mould but her own. Her pronounced posterior doesn’t conform to media standards of “ideal” beauty; her Armenian roots don’t exactly put her on the Hollywood hot list.
In owning it — on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat — she has redefined what it means to be a sex symbol. Ideas, products, services and people that follow the Kim Kardashian principle are the ones that will break through against all odds, at all costs, and come out on top — just like Kim.
京公网安备 11010802022788号
