Heidi Klum In The Valley Of The (Star)Dolls
Eric Newman
Brandweek
December 10, 2007
NEW
YORK—Virtual shopping/social play Web site Stardoll.com,
which targets young women 9-17, has signed
supermodel/entrepreneur Heidi Klum to promote her Heidi
Klum Runway jewelry collection. The deal is part of
Stardoll.com’s strategy to court their audience with
upscale products and other offerings mainly from
celebrities.
The site, similar in nature to Second Life, also has
shops for singer Avril Lavigne and actress Hillary Duff
and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. In October, through a
deal with LVMH, the company added shops for DKNY and
Sephora.
Klum will have a “store” in the “Star Plaza” section,
where visitors can purchase virtual items from the
supermodel’s jewelry line for their digital avatars, and
check out her favorite clothes, bags, shoes and awards
show outfits.
“I don’t just think about it as selling jewelry, [but] I
try to make it about who I am,” said Klum. “I think it’s
great to be in connection with young girls who are
interested in fashion . . . It allows [the girls] to
interact with those celebrities they are fans of and get
an insight into what that person’s favorite clothes
are.”
The Hollywood, Calif.-based Web site, which claims to
have 12 million visitors, is seeking other high-end
partnerships with such name brands as Stella McCartney,
Vivienne Tam, Liz Claiborne and Henri Bendel. The goal
is not only to offer young consumers more brands in
which they’re interested , but also to enhance the
site’s function as a destination for fashion news and
play.
“For any brand that wants to reach the coveted [youth]
demo, it’s a great marketing tactic,” said Matt Palmer,
evp and gm at Stardoll.com. “The brands get a presence
that’s integrated, and the [girls] are able to touch and
play with their clothing virtually, reinforcing their
brands and eventually leading to real world sales
opportunities.”
However, this strategy has raised some red flags among
consumer advocates.
“The real purpose of social networking sites for young
kids like Stardoll, BarbieGirl and even Webkinz and
Penguin, is to train kids to shop,” said Susan Linn,
director at Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood,
Boston. “It’s a good thing for the corporations to make
a lot of bucks, but it’s not a good thing for kids. What
these companies want to do it get children in the habit
of consumption . . . and instill the idea that they
deserve luxury products. It’s aimed at creating what the
industry calls ‘cradle to grave’ brand loyalty.”
Others argue that children are already exposed to a
hyper-consumer culture with the extravagant lifestyles
portrayed on television shows such as the CW's Gossip
Girl and reality shows like MTV's The Hills.
“Luxury is aspiration and a lot of those brands and
those celebrities are fashion and lifestyle brand badges
that today's teen and tween girls want a piece of,” said
Paul Kurnit, president at Kid Shop, New York and a
professor of marketing at Pace University, adding that
he feels Stardoll does a good job of delivering for both
its users and brands.