Quite want Megan to start The Tig up again, anyone else?

[Embelline]

Ignoring everything that's been said about them, on a completely shallow surface level I quite want her to restart this and do the influencer type thing that's being bandied about. The pictures were all very pretty and I would definitely give it a visit as I love her make up and fashion choices, not that any of it would be within budget!

Bill Gates was the founder of Microsoft LONG before he started a Foundation!

Archwell employed Catherine St Laurent (from Gates Foundation) but she left after a year.

It's fine for you and me to channel little pockets of money or do to little bits of charity here and there. But I have an actual career. And Meghan HAD an actual career which she gave up but that career wasn't successful enough for her to make money off dabbling in projects today had she not married Prince Harry. And Harry did a tour of Afghanistan but otherwise is really just the son of the British monarch. That's the dichotomy at the heart of this- ultimately we know Harry and Meghan because one was born into and one married into one of the oldest hereditary monarchies in the world. Had they not left that monarchy most people in the US would have forgotten about Meghan Markle and not really known who Harry was/is. It was the dramatic nature of their departure and everything that emerged from it- a book, a TV show etc that has catapulted them to global fame as a couple. But that's not a career achievement.

Each of the other big names in the thread including the ones you have cited- Gates, Jo Malone, Martha Stewart, Gwyneth Paltrow all had HUGE global successes in their primary careers which they then leveraged for their second careers/philanthropic work/spin offs.

I didn't say what 'cause' is H&M going to take up? I asked what is their USP outside of the Royal family? In a world (and country) saturated with celebrities as well as people who have done extraordinary things (the US has more Nobel prizes than any country- my husband and I spent some time in California and the University of Berkeley where I studied has a special car park for its Nobel Prize winners!), what have they done that will make say a 30- 35 year old want to listen to them and their words of wisdom on a given topic?

(The problem for a lot of people who are sympathetic to H&M is that it's not possible to have THIS conversation without being seen as 'anti them' or whatever. I have zero love for the British Royal family, and a great deal of sympathy for how Meghan Markle was treated...I'm still not convinced that she has a USP beyond being the Duchess of Sussex).

@MangshorJhol

That’s a very thoughtful post.

They had Catherine St Laurent to help them come up with a USP/brand but instead they turn up with cameras at events like Ulvade or their own remembrance day photoshoot.

IMO, Meghan will never be able to show her authentic true self. She has too many people, from newspaper editors to MN posters, who have decided they know who she is and what she is about. She will never get the chance to be successful because so many people have decided she shouldn't be allowed to be successful.

@onlylarkin

She did her podcast so we ‘could get to know the real her’ according to Meghan herself

the subscribers fell dramatically during the first and only series as people got to know the ‘real her’ So is that someone’s fault too ?

The idea that someone ‘mumsnet’ posters are stopping Meghan from succeeding 🤣🤣🤣

I didn't say anyone was stopping her from being successful. I said they were stopping her from being authentic. I stand by my opinion that she will never be allowed to be herself because so many people who do not know her claim to know who she is.

But yes, I do think once she starts something like The Tig back up, it will be flooded by her detractors trying to shut it down.

I’ve found @MangshorJhol and @HoldOnMiGenna posts very interesting and an accurate portrayal of reality.

I e no idea where that advert came from. Sorry.

But she said we could get to know the real her on her podcasts. Are you saying she was lying or being inauthentic ?

@PollyThePixie

The ad was great UAP’s rather than USP’s 🤣

She's done a one on one interview with Oprah, a 6 part Netfix series, interviews with Variety, The Cut and a 12 part Podcast series in which to show her true self. The tabloids and UK press had zero influence on their production and distribution.

Exactly what in your eyes is stopping her? Because as far as I can see she's had more freedom to express her true self than most people.

@MrsFinkelstein

And she’s given speeches about herself to inspire others.

She’s shared information with Omid Scobie for his finding freedom book.

Shes been on Ellen as well don’t forget

@MrsFinkelstein 💯

Agree with all this. Quite aside from the fact that 'lifestyle blogs' are a bit last decade, you don't just wake up one morning with a readymade 'lifestyle' brand

The Tig worked, on a relatively small scale, because Meghan managed to craft a 'glamorous but relatable' persona which might appeal to many. Also, she wasn't famous enough for anyone to challenge said persona. So people accepted this pretty TV actress with a side in 'humanitarian' activities at face value.

Now Meghan is indeed famous, but mainly for marrying a prince and publicly complaining about his family. It's been over 3 years since she left the royal family but she's failed to create a new 'brand' for herself. Also, people tend to have entrenched views about her at this stage, many of them negative, and companies tend to run a mile from controversy. So I don't see a revival of the 'lifestyle blog' as an obvious option for her at all.

According to the news, she has now been granted notice of allowance for the trademark on The Tig, so she has to prove the blog is up and running and submit everything by November. There’s a 6 month timeline so presumably the upcoming deadline has been missed, but you can get a 6 month extension so maybe we will see something later this year??

Any lifestyle blog would just be her boasting about her rich pampered lifestyle. That wouldn’t be very attractive to many. She’s not relatable or even likeable anymore .

Blogs like that don't need likable and relatable - they're aspirational. There are lots of people with money to spend and if she gets contracts/affiliates with good companies then people will buy from her site even if they don't like her.

For now, MM only has to stick the occasional photo on it. There's no law about how short a blog post can be. In fact, readers like short and snappy - a photo and a few paragraphs just about fits in the the modern attention span! She can bung a bit of audio on to go with it - she has a very good speaking voice. Plus some Alt Text (which takes minutes) on the photo.

If she sticks to something incredibly 'safe' for the time being, she can just tick it over? 'Wildlife in Montecito'. 'The roast chicken meal we like'. 'Why I love this lemon tree'.

Out of interest, how much can one feasibly earn merching products and clothes? Not Kardashian level, but Meghan level?

That patch, for example - is it big bucks or small ones? I simply have no idea.

Catherine 'Who??' Tyldesley was apparently merching to the value of £70k a year!

But even if you added a nought to that for MM, is it enough? Would two noughts even be enough to run a big house, staff and fund the lifestyle? It would need to be closer to Kardashian levels, and you don't get that without letting in the cameras and playing up to them a lot. No-one wants to watch Ibsen.

Oh dear. Influencer and owner of the Tig, to Royal Duchess, to....Influencer and owner of the Tig in 3 years?

@polkadotdalmation it IS kind of funny when you put it like that.

She's still a Duchess!