Meghan Markle Speeches Won’t Help Her ‘Billion-Dollar Brand’
The Meghan Markle speaking tour has a shelf-life that isn't likely to be very lucrative. | Source: Girl Up/The Duchess of Sussex via AP
- A PR expert has claimed that Meghan Markle could make hundreds of thousands of dollars in public-speaking appearances on the way to her “billion-dollar brand.”
- We’ve heard this all before, and up until now, there’s absolutely nothing to warrant claims of that level.
- Meghan Markle has spent the past few months vilifying the very people who tend to pay thousands of dollars for speeches. Why would they pay to have her lecture them?
It seems that after a couple of decidedly iffy public speeches, Meghan Markle is set to become an all-conquering force in the public speaking world.
Well, according to a PR expert.
The reasons for her undeniable success? Her message on topics such as Black Lives Matter and mental health.
Speaking to The Sun, Mark Borkowski claims:
She’s very much on the message with Black Lives Matter, the cancel culture, and issues related to mental health.
Should we take Meghan Markle as seriously as some media pundits claim?
This is the big question for me.
I tend to believe that many within the media bubble are getting carried away by the news surrounding Meghan Markle and her recent public speaking engagements.
First of all, delivering a speech to an undetermined audience over Skype or Zoom is an entirely different proposition to stepping on-stage and addressing an audience that has paid thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars to hear what you have to say.
The Express claims that Meghan’s speech at the virtual Girl Up summit has been seen over 100,000 times.
That’s fantastic, but it’s also worth bearing in mind that there are videos on YouTube of sleeping dogs comically falling off couches that have garnered over a million views.
Does Meghan Markle have the kind of audience required to make this work?
While Meghan Markle undoubtedly has her fair share of fans, is her audience anywhere near broad enough to make paying her the kind of money being mentioned a worthwhile venture for companies?
Let’s be honest, the people who want to hear Meghan talk aren’t paying tens of thousands of dollars to do so.
This isn’t Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, or Rudy Giuliani. The profile of the listener who attends those kinds of talks isn’t paying to listen to Meghan Markle lecture them on diversity or how to deal with mental health issues.
In fact, Meghan’s Girl Up Summit speech actively attacked many of the people who routinely spend top dollar attending public speaking events.
When you attempt to rally the troops against “those in the halls and corridors of power,” you shouldn’t then expect those same people to later pay thousands of dollars to hear you vilify them.
Is Meghan ‘inspiring’ enough to crack the motivational speaker’s circuit?
What about the motivational speaker circuit? I’ve heard Meghan’s recent mutterings described as inspirational.
The problem is that the inspirational speakers market is frequented by people who are more engaging and captivating, and all have one crucial advantage over Meghan Markle.
They’ve actually achieved things.
Les Brown? Eric Thomas? I mean, we’re talking two guys here who have fought back respectively from being labeled as having a learning disability and being homeless as a young teenager.
Brown became a Member of the Ohio House of Representatives. At the same time, Eric Thomas has worked as an academic advisor to disadvantaged youth while developing an undergrad retention program for high-risk minority students.
And that’s before I even mention Tony Robbins. Sheesh, Meghan ain’t toppling him on any lists (his talk videos routinely see 3-4 million views, for those keeping score)
I think people are being caught up in “Meghan-mania” when it comes to Meghan Markle
In The Sun Borkowski is quoted as saying:
In the short term, this is a billion-dollar brand. Meghan could earn at least £200,000 per speech, but if it is a keynote big speech for one of the big banks, many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Again, the big banks are the mostly white, middle-aged, and elderly males that Meghan is railing against in her speeches we’ve seen thus far. Why would they pay money to be talked down to? Greta Thunberg already has that market well and truly covered.
The kind of money that Borkowski is talking about would place Meghan Markle far above speakers like Richard Branson, Al Gore, Rudy Giuliani, Condoleeza Rice, and Tony Blair.
Is Meghan on that level? I’ll leave you to make up your own mind on that!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
