Jay Z’s Brand Is Suffering Because People Don’t Trust Him

Jay Z’s Brand Suffering Because People Don’t Trust Him

Jay, see what happens when you continue to do business with Barney’s.

According to Business Insider:

In July, the rapper and business mogul Jay Z partnered with Samsung to release a new album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” by giving away 1 million copies to the first Samsung mobile users to download a free app.

According to research from celebrity branding expert Jeetendr Sehdev, Jay Z’s partnership with Samsung was the second least popular celebrity marketing deal of 2013 among consumers aged 13-31 (Justin Bieber’s partnership with OPI was the most hated).

In fact, the 1,000 millennials surveyed said the rapper himself was among the people least influential to their purchase decisions among the 80 celebrities Sehdev asked about, a group that included a range of personalities spanning from Tom Brady to Hillary Clinton.

Sehdev said that while Jay Z remains popular with Americans of all ages, his brand is missing one crucial piece needed to persuade them to spend hard-earned money on the products he touts: authenticity.

Poor Jigga.

The survey found that Jay Z scored 70% lower in the categories of trustworthiness and honesty than did celebrities like Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Lawrence, an issue Sehdev chalks up to Jay’s intense focus on making money seemingly however he can.

“Millennials question the exact nature of Jay Z’s role in the artistic process,” Sehdev said. “Does he really write his own songs? Is he choosing the artists to collaborate with, or is he just the face of a money-making empire?”

“Millennials question his approach to loyalty, whether it be to a business deal or his fans,” Sehdev said. “His motivations to just make money can be viewed by this audience as self-centered, even if they may be business savvy.”

Sehdev praised Jay Z’s participation in a revealing Vanity Fair cover story last month as a positive step toward regaining the trust of millennial consumers by shedding light on his social views and the family life he shares with his wife, Beyoncé, and their baby daughter Blue Ivy.

To continue this progress, Sehdev said Jay will have to continue to feed the public’s thirst for knowledge about his relationship with his superstar wife and be mindful of only taking on partnerships that mesh with the Jay Z brand.

“We rarely see this true side of him,” Sehdev said. “I believe Jay Z is going to need more exposure of his true self, meaningful partnerships, and true philanthropic efforts to get back into the good books of Millennials.”

We see why people don’t trust Hov.