Kim Kardashian in Krisis - The Kris Humphries & Kim Kardashian Split

The Kardashians, especially Kim, have a history of surviving crisis after crisis, be it a sex tape (Kim), a DUI (Khloe), an out-of-wedlock pregnancy or two (Kourtney). Kim's most recent crisis: her split-up with husband Kris Humphries. Will this make the "Kim Kardashian" brand stronger or weaker?

After the ostentatious, no-apologies $$$$ million sham of a wedding, learning she's filing for divorce after 72 days of being married really casts suspicion and doubt on the authenticity of the event itself. It is enough to make cynics out of romantics at heart. To my surprise, the backlash on the Kris-Kim divorce issue seems strong. Even self-professed die-hard Kim Kardashian fans I know are upset. Most people whom I've spoken to rolled their eyes and claimed it's probably another publicity stunt by Kardashian Inc.

Since her brand is finely tethered to her celebrity status, now her reputation is at stake. Did she marry for love or for love of money (via her wedding's product sponsorships)?

Before I delve into Kim Kardashian's crisis communication strategy, here were some questions that came to mind when I heard about it: How legitimate a crisis was it really? It seemed sudden, yes, but was it a smoldering crisis? Was there even a need to douse the fire? Would the world come to a screeching halt because of this crisis?

Sure, this was a crisis--Kim's personal crisis, a self-initiated crisis. Admittedly, it was bound to reach the press. But it doesn't affect you or me directly at all, as Professor Bindig pointed out in class. Nevertheless, since we all live in a world where mass media is dominated by the Kardashians, it seems only fitting to figure out how they deal with such things.

E! Reported It First
On October 31, 2011, E!’s breaking news for the day was "Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries Divorcing!".

Here are her tweets starting from the day the news broke out and a few days later.

Meanwhile, in the Kim Kardashian Facebook page...

E! Entertainment Television paved the way for the Kardashian Konquest by getting their show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" on air in the first place. Is it safe to assume that E! gets first dibs on Kardashian-related news? Other possibilities: E! probably makes sure that they stay in the news, helps them manage crises, and makes them look good. After all, the Kardashians are E!'s biggest moneymakers.

This crisis affected three audiences:

1. The victim, Kris Humphries, the hapless guy who seemed not to have seen the divorce coming.
2. The customers (otherwise, her fans and followers) who, like Kris, were surprised by news of the divorce.
3. The media who covered Kim and Kris's story from the moment they got engaged until they got married.

Of course, the effects of this crisis on the victim is far worse than on the last two audiences who can potentially view the whole split merely as fodder for gossip.

As discussed in class, crisis communication usually involves these objectives: "resolve the situation, recover public trust, and rehabilitate/retain reputation". With the sudden divorce announcement, Kim needs to keep all those objectives in mind.

Her message was that getting married was an error of judgment. She initiated the divorce because she claims that she made a mistake.

Victim or Perpetrator?
Kim Kardashian filed for divorce, yet she is supposed to be the victim. The whole blame shifted down to Kris, unusual given Kris is actually a victim in this scenario. But for Kim to present herself as the bad guy would be bad for the brand, right? "But the company as the perpetrator versus the company as the victim is the distinction on which public perception often hangs," according to Argenti and Barnes in their book "Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications"(2009). For a PR-savvy gal, Kim surely knows that.

But is it possible that it was a way of "supplying the information, not just responding to it" before news of the divorce filing leaked to the press? As Professor Bindig said in class last Tuesday, "allowing wild speculation generates the story more." Was it a preemptive strike on her part?

She was the spokesperson for her own crisis. Yet did she ever address Kris directly? Did she express sympathy for Kris? I'm not quite sure that she did. What I'm sure of is that she definitely addressed her fans.

As part of her crisis communication strategy, she used her blog, Twitter page, Facebook page, TV, newspapers, radio and magazines to let people know of her mistake. She grabbed the bull by its horns by blogging about her feelings about the divorce ("A Message To My Fans"). Numerous sympathetic comments came from her fans after that. In addition, she also presented her side in various magazines (too many to list here - go to your local newsstands, it's there).

If I were in Kim Kardashian's designer stilettos, then how would I alter or augment what she did in such a crisis? First, I'd tell Kris Humphries before announcing it to the world. Once that's done, I would issue a press release, tweet, blog and announce it in Facebook. Then I'd grant interviews to magazines and publications who want to hear what I have to say. But I'll probably be picky which magazines I'll say yes to.

The way I see it, the most important strategy during a crisis is summed up by Widner's November 17, 2008 note posted in JNJ BTW, "'When you make a mistake - own up to it, and say you're sorry."

This is exactly what Kim Kardashian did correctly. Whether or not the Kris-Kim divorce crisis was a publicity stunt is a different matter altogether. However, as long as she continues to appear authentic in her dealings with her fans, own up when she makes mistakes and apologize, then her brand will come out stronger after this crisis whether we like it or not.