Announced on Saturday, Kendall Jenner is the newest Estée Lauder spokesmodel. Yahoo Style reports that when it comes to a model’s social media following, size does matter.
It’s no wonder that the iconic brand choose Jenner. A relative newcomer to the modeling world, she only has one full season under her PacSun belt. But, in this newfangled age of social media, 30 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter speaks volumes.
Jane Hertzmark Hudis, the brand’s Global Brand President, stated in the release that, ”[Kendall] is the ultimate instagirl, and we are excited to leverage her image, voice, energy and extraordinary social media power to introduce Estée Lauder to millions of young women around the world.”
It’s a pretty genius move that is already paying off. Estée Lauder managed to nab 30k new Instagram followers over the weekend, and that social currency translates to a lot of lipsticks. A heritage brand like this one will suddenly find a KJ-obsessed crowd of millennials rushing to buy the makeup that was typically worn by their mothers.
It’s the perfect synergy, and Jenner must be being paid handsomely as the Pied Piper of the young and fabulous. One model agent that we spoke to said that while contracts like these typically go for anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000 per year, Kendall’s contract could be at least a million per year based on her impressive following. Not bad for a 19-year-old who reportedly is already worth $2.5m through her reality show and ongoing endorsements.
Another agent that we spoke to said that that figure could be exaggerated since Kendall has never asked for special treatment and would rather go through the paces like any young model. She reportedly doesn’t get paid any differently than the other girls to walk in runway shows (those rates are quite meager), attends all the castings, and wants to build her career from the ground up based on reputation alone.
