![Picture](/uploads/2/4/4/0/24406681/600227608.png)
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/4/0/24406681/903047036.jpg?331)
Not only has Jenner influenced trans but is also a massive coup for Vanity Fair, whose newsstand sales (which fell 20% in the second half of 2014, per the alliance for audited media) are sure to get a major boost when the issue comes out June 9. Ad week also reports that subscription sales are likely to benefit, too, with the magazine offering early access to the cover features with the purchase of a digital subscription (Adweek 2015). The cover instantly went viral upon its release, with “Caitlyn Jenner” rising to the top of Twitter’s trending list just minutes after Vanity Fair posted the cover on its website.
Jenner set up social media accounts under new name and broke a world record after amassing 1million followers in four hours. Shown support from ex family members, stepdaughter, Kim Kardashian tweeted support to 32 million followers, while Kourtney, Kendall and Kylie have also spoken out, President Barack Obama also praised Caitlyn’s “courage”. Caitlyn has received an outpouring of support from her family and celebrities as well as friends around the world, following the breath taking reveal. This generated a viral buzz and Caitlyn’s net worth is estimated to be $100,000,000 (OK Magazine 2015). The transition on the cover of Vanity Fair into the most famous trans woman in the world has earned her a massive global platform in under 24 hours. It expressed delight at the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Vanity Fair’s photoshoot, many wishing she had done more to use her celebrity power to help the many thousands of embattled transgender people, causing positive and negative views but breaking the internet.
The vision of Jenner as a trans woman captured by Vanity Fair Annie Leibovitz, in designer clothes against a backdrop of her multimillion dollar Malibu home and $180,000 Porsche- set up a contrast with the known experience of so many transgender people, particularly African Americans. Learning that almost one in six transgender people have annual incomes of below $10,000 four times the rate of the general population (The Guardian 2015). Therefore, Vanity Fair said Jenner was “aware of the appalling conditions in which many transgender women and men live” adding that she is launching an E! Reality TV show that will track her life post transition to focus on ways to bring down suicide rate. As it is founded that 41% of transgender people have attempted suicide- nine times the national average. This is brand communication used through the use of people. From promoting trans issues through celebrity icons and preventing trans from suicide attempts. American Civil Liberties Union who specialises in trans issues, said that they jey mark of success would be whether Jenner’s huge new platform could be used to highlight the horrible discrimination and violence trans people face. “so many people are dying because they cannot access the healthcare that Jenner as a wealthy white woman was able to get”.
“Caitlyn Jenner has a whole lot of power. It’s what she does with it that matters,” Luckett said. “A huge number of Americans are on her side. Now let’s really start opening up hearts and minds.” – Tommy Luckett, a trans woman (The Guardian 2015)
What we can learn from this is that society changes and so does image. For example when Michael Jackson made the transition from black to white, there was an uproar, whereas when Caitlyn revealed herself as a woman, she was praised and called brave for it. This indicates that although changing colour is one thing and gender is the other, they had one thing in common and that is change, however how people dealt with it is different considering the way it is portrayed by the media today than it was several years ago.
From this, we realise that there is a difference between brand identity and brand image.
Brand identity is “who the brand is” and brand image is “how the brand is perceived by the market”.
“A brand image is derived from the words that come to mind when a brand is described” whereas a brand identity is any audio or visual element that allows people to easily recognise a brand name (Sestili T 2014). Another thing I noticed was the difference between brand identity and image could be as simple as who is doing the perceiving- the brand or the people? This can be applied to the example above, brand image and identity can be brought about from the way it is perceived by the people. Visual aspects are part of what keeps a brand powerful & influential, while consistency across multiple channels that lead to a strong reputation (Roberts A 2012).By Caitlyn Jenner unveiling her identity through a powerful image on a magazine cover that was later spread all over social media platforms confirms the power of visual elements. Grayson Perry stated ‘Identity is a performance, for global appeal, you need to be authentically bland"(Marketing Magazine 2015).