Seventeen years in the past, a multimillion-dollar model was born earlier than the eyes of 1.13 million TV viewers, and none of them knew it.

It started in the course of the first season of The Actual Housewives of New York. In episode six (“Woman’s Night time Out”), Bethenny Frankel and Luann de Lesseps are ordering cocktails. “I solely drink one drink, and I name it the thin woman’s margarita,” Frankel declares. “It’s Patron Silver on the rocks, recent lime juice, and slightly splash of triple sec.”

In a 12 months, Frankel launched Skinnygirl cocktails as a model, beginning with a low-calorie, ready-to-drink cocktail. Three years later, spirits large Beam Suntory acquired it for a reported $120 million.

In fact, a model doesn’t simply come to life from an offhand remark in a restaurant. Frankel is a born entrepreneur. Along with constructing Skinnygirl into an empire that features salad dressings, denims, and shapewear, Frankel has authored a number of bestsellers, cofounded the wine label Endlessly Younger, launched a podcast known as Simply B, and runs a disaster-relief nonprofit known as B Sturdy.

However Frankel’s strongest model stays herself—or, somewhat, the innate marketer inside.

Her shoot-from-the-hip type and strident opinions on virtually any matter (purses, divorce, authorities surveillance by drone) have received her a social-media viewers of 8.5 million—and rising by double digits. As Frankel has developed from creating manufacturers to advising them, giants together with L’Oreal and McCo Magnificence have sought her counsel.

And what kind of steering does Frankel give? What has she realized in 20 years of making merchandise and selling them? Frankel sat down with ADWEEK to speak about branding and social media advertising. Clearly, not each model can get away with the kind of unfiltered content material that Frankel whips up, however a marketer can glean lots from her experiences. She shared 5 with us.



All the time inform the reality

Frankel recollects the event when a serious magnificence model approached her to do a product—not as a result of she was a make-up professional however as a result of she wasn’t afraid to inform it as she noticed it.

“I had in contrast a $2 drugstore cream to love a $500 cream, and mentioned they’re mainly the identical, aside from one little ingredient,” Frankel recalled.

When creating content material—be it advertising or simply riffing—”what works one of the best is humorous chaos with takeaway,” she mentioned.

However the widespread ingredient in all the pieces?  “Simply reality,” she mentioned.