Release a sex tape. Launch a multimillion-dollar reality TV franchise on the back of the aforementioned "accidental" scandal. Cash in on your newfound celebrity, expand your fledgling clothing line, secure profitable product endorsements and get paid exorbitant amounts of money to appear at events. All the while, start and end various much-publicised relationships with high profile people - including two failed marriages ? and pose for a series of eye-catching magazine spreads and selfies, regularly flaunting your famous (and rather sizable) derriere for all the world to see.
And just when you thought your near-religious empire was well established enough, release a mobile game that rakes in $74 million within six months of its debut.
Seems like a simple formula, no? Well that's how Kim Kardashian did it. Mrs Kanye West's (for now) "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" app sees users exchange their hard-earned dough to work their way up the social ranks in the hope of eventually securing an invite to an A-list event.
A popular feature of the app is the fact that it mirrors Kim's real life wardrobe and activities, which means users can send their avatar on holiday at the same time Kardashian herself is lounging on a beach in Bali.
Famous for being famous, she partnered with San Francisco-based mobile games publisher Glu Mobile to develop the Android and iOS compatible app, which ranks as one of the most downloaded free games on Apple's US App Store and is projected to earn a pretty $200 million this year.
To put this success in context, Kardashian's Hollywood app has been downloaded 28 million times since its release in June last year. In roughly the same amount of time, the insanely popular and unbelievably frustrating viral sensation that was Flappy Bird, which made it to number one on both Apple and Android charts, was downloaded 50 million times before its creator unceremoniously took the app down. Kardashian isn't trailing too far behind.
Taking over tech
But Kardashian's strategy to ride the mobile tech wave in an effort to achieve total brand domination isn't the only way she making her presence known online. Appearing on the latest cover of Adweek, the TV personality and big-bottomed, business-savvy socialite explained her current ambitions include having a bigger presence in the tech world, adding she has already been bitten by the "creative bug" and is brainstorming new app ideas.
Last year, this endeavour involved "breaking the Internet" by posing on the cover of Paper Magazine so oiled up that I can only assume the objective must have been to make her appear like a piece of candied confectionary. In another snap, the reality star mimics a 1976 image by photographer JeaPaul Goude ? commonly known as the "Champagne Incident" ? and can be seen shooting champagne out of a bottle and into a glass positioned atop her pert posterior.
According to the editors of Paper, while the images didn't exactly break the Internet, traffic on the magazine's Web site on the day following the release of the full story measured nearly 1% of the entire Web browsing activity in the US.
Kardashian has 29 million Twitter followers and 26.5 million Instagram followers, which she credits as being a significant contributor to her success.
Another recent conquest includes a 2015 Super Bowl commercial for T-Mobile. In the satirical PSA-style commercial, Kardashian calls on mobile phone owners to "help save the data"; explaining how tragic it is when wireless companies take back unused data from customers.
Kardashian pokes fun at her own narcissism and celebrity by outlining this unused data could be used by subscribers to see pictures of her make-up, sporting endeavours, her outfits, vacations and her... outfits.
Given the success of her reality TV series, the popularity of her mobile game and the viral quality of her various online endeavours ? Kardashian has 29 million Twitter followers and 26.5 million Instagram followers, which she credits as being a significant contributor to her success - it is not surprising Time magazine has named her one of the 30 Most Influential People On The Internet.
She appears on the list alongside notable figures such as JK Rowling and Barack Obama. Similarly, last year, hype around her mobile app saw her avatar in the Hollywood game being named the second most influential fictional character of 2014 in a similar ranking by Time.
Love her or loath her, few can deny Kardashian's influence. Something she herself admits would not be anywhere near its current magnitude without a skilful understanding of how to leverage various platforms to promote her brand.
Booty AND brains? Sounds like bankable combo to me.
* A former ITWeb journalist, Joanne Carew now resides in the Mother City, where she is admiring the mountain and completing her Masters studies at UCT.
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