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May 6, 2023
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What Ye’s (Kanye West) Recent Media Rage Can Teach Brands & Creators
Introduction
Kanye West has been at the centre of numerous controversies in recent times, ranging from a targeted smear campaign against his ex-wife Kim Kardashian to his barrage of antisemitic comments.
West’s antisemitism has nuked his financial worth, obliterating everything the rapper spent years building up. It demonstrates a cold truth about marketing: what takes years to build up can take seconds to tear down. Adidas very publicly dropped Kanye with a statement and a graphic simply reading “BYE”, a play on the rapper’s preferred nickname, “Ye”.
Not only that, but Kanye has found himself banned from Meta platforms, lost an estimated US $2 billion in a single day last week, and his completely unprovoked repeated tangents and hate speech on social media have induced wide-spread outrage amongst viewers.
What Happened to Adidas?
As a multinational corporation, it is slightly surprising that Adidas took so long to react in the wake of West’s comments. However, it may have cost the brand an estimated $264 million in potential fourth-quarter earnings to part ways with the rap star.
Kanye’s line of Yeezy sneakers accounted for approximately 8% of Adidas’s income, so it perhaps makes sense that this was a tough decision for the team.
But this raises the question: is influencer marketing really worth it? Brands wind up pinning a significant portion of their profits on the success of an influencer, but if that influencer does something to warrant backlash, the whole thing can quickly come crumbling down.
Reputation Is Key
For brands and influencers alike, reputation is extremely important. The Adidas affair has shown the consequences of reputation in action because the company image has been tainted through their association with Kanye and further exacerbated by their delayed rection to cut ties with the rapper.
And it’s not just Adidas. Balenciaga, Gap, and JP Morgan Chase have all been tarred with the same brush, and the artist is none other than Kanye West.
But the street runs both ways. Brands making questionable choices when addressing issues like racism, the LGBTQI+ movement, or environmental sustainability can affect the way an influencer’s fans perceive them. If you associate with a morally provocative brand, it calls into question your values as well.
As for corporations, it’s clear that they put their reputation on the line when making a celebrity their spokesperson.
This is not to say that influencer marketing has no value. In fact, it has the potential to bring in huge revenue streams when both parties work in harmony. However, even if you think that you are working with an influencer or brand that is morally sound, there will always be an inherent risk because naturally, nothing is immune to change.
When Influencers Go Rogue
It’s highly likely that all brands affiliated with Kanye had impermeable contracts in place. A couple of months ago, West started to wage a PR war against the same brands that had put their trust in him. He accused both Adidas and Gap of stealing from him on social media.
At the time, it was probably difficult for anyone to break the contract. After all, both sides were making claims that nobody could legally back up.
Nevertheless, he was already harming company revenue. In part, this was due to his negative press about the brands, and his strange demands that included selling Yeezy GAP out of stuffed sacks instead of on hangers, and banning staff from helping shoppers to find their size.
On the other hand, the ability for social networks like Meta to strip a content creator of their platform can also harm the success of influencer marketing. After all, when an influencer’s platform is removed, it fulfilling the terms of their brand deals and collaborations becomes near impossible.
Nevertheless, if there is nothing in the contract to say that losing your social media account means an automatic loss of partnership, then there is little brands can do to terminate the agreement.
When Ye went completely rogue, however, and began a tirade of antisemitism, his brand partnerships started dropping like flies. Now, why is that?
What Legal Framework Do You Need for Influencer Marketing?
There are plenty of clauses you need to consider in any influencer’s contract. However, one key clause you should never leave out is the morality clause.
A morality clause allows a brand to cut ties with an influencer if they post or say anything morally unacceptable, or which does not align with the brand’s values. Some companies will not only include a clause allowing them to drop the influencer at a moment’s notice, but they may also ensure that the offender is financially responsible for any damage incurred.
Kanye’s downfall is one of a string of examples highlighting the importance of a solid legal contract in influencer marketing. It’s likely that Adidas and other companies had these in place before even considering signing a controversial figure like Ye, but even with brands and content creators that are considered ‘unproblematic’, these clauses should not be forgone.
Final Thoughts
If Kanye West’s demise has taught brands anything, it is that they should be very particular with the influencers and prominent figures they associate themselves with. This situation raises the question of whether it’s worth putting the years of effort and time and money into the hands of a huge celebrity who already has it all. At the end of the day, that’s what influencer marketing is all about: leveraging the clout of an already well-known figure to promote your own brand.
For influencers, Ye’s fall from grace highlights the importance of becoming familiar with your contract and the Terms of Use, and further understanding the magnitude of your influence.
When done correctly, influencer marketing can be one of the best marketing methods employed by a business. However, being in the public eye means that you are always vulnerable to scrutiny. As such, it is essential for brands and content creators to have a solid legal team in their corner in case of emergencies.
Otherwise, when things go wrong – and they often do – you could find yourself helpless and in a world of trouble.
CONTACT IMMERSE
If you find yourself stuck in such a situation, Immerse is here to help you out! We specialise in helping agencies, brands and creators / influencers with all things legal. So, for any legal challenges you may have within the digital and social media space, rest assured that Immerse has you covered.
Mark Lazarus
I am not your typical suit and tie lawyer. As you will note from my LinkedIn Profile, I was the Legal Director of the famous energy drink brand, Monster Energy for almost 6 years (based in London), and currently an Australian and UK qualified lawyer with experience across APAC, EMEA and the US.
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