Duck Dynasty – Where Are They Now? A Case Study in Modern Influencer Marketing
In today’s newsletter:
- Duck Dynasty – Where Are They Now? A Case Study in Modern Influencer Marketing
- At the Movies, Market Watch, and Red vs. Blue
- Considerations When Setting Up a Non-Profit
A decade ago, reality TV was in its heyday, and shows like Jersey Shore, Dance Moms, The Voice, Real Housewives, Deadliest Catch, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians were dominating the ratings and the cultural conversation. But there was one beloved show that stuck out like a camo-painted thumb, in stark contrast to the shows glamorizing the glitzy lives of the rich, famous, and upper-class:
Duck Dynasty – A quirky show that followed the family behind best-selling duck hunting products, and their antics down in swampland, Louisiana.
Granted, they were rich, and after the show, they were famous too. But upper class?
Let’s just say there’s an episode where they make sausage out of swamp rats.
Viewers loved the authenticity, the silliness, the conservative values, and the down-to-earth quality of this family, the Robertsons. At its zenith, Duck Dynasty pulled in nearly 12 million viewers to break the record for the most-watched non-fiction series telecast on cable ever.
One outlet said that the show had “waddled into history.”
The Robertsons started showing up everywhere – in the political realm, in movies making cameo appearances, such as God’s Not Dead, and on the cover of numerous books at your local bookstore. The Robertsons, having already made their money in business, had suddenly made their reputation in culture.
But now, seven years after the show aired its last finale, many former fans of the show may be wondering, “Where are they now?” And for businesspeople of all stripes, can we learn something from the moves that the Robertson family has made since their fifteen minutes of extreme fame?
Willie Robertson, the lead character of the show, says that the show will not do a reboot, so what is the family up to these days?
For one thing, they’re making movies. Last year, via Fathom Events, the Duck Dynasty family released The Blind, a drama about the lives of Willie’s mother and father. It brought in $17 million and broke the record for Fathom Events’ largest take ever. Willie says they’re working on developing a lot more movies in the future. And though Duck Dynasty won’t ever have a true reboot, they have released a number of special broadcasts, and are reportedly looking into options for a new television series, though with a somewhat different premise and focus.
Nothing is confirmed on that front just yet.
Meanwhile, they are still producing books – from the patriarch Phil to grandkids like Sadie, the Robertson family is apparently doing quite well in publishing. Their company website alone lists 20 books, and they have more out as well when you hunt down the books of various family members.
Oh, and they still sell duck calls, apparel, and hunting accessories. The Robertson family has mastered the art of product line expansion.
Even though they no longer have the same general market visibility as they did during the high watermark of Duck Dynasty, the Robertson family has taken great pains to stay on top of mind for their specific tribe of loyal fans, whether it’s in new products, speaking appearances, and developing niche entertainment options.
Their fame is much less concentrated in one show now, so the various members of the Robertson clan have sought to gain notoriety in their own rights.
Korie Robertson – wife of Willie Robertson – has become an extremely popular social media influencer on Instagram, for example, with over 2M followers. That’s not bad at all, but her daughter Sadie’s following is well over 5M followers on IG. She also has a successful YouTube Channel, does a lot of public speaking, and is building a lifestyle brand called “Live Original.”
Sadie isn’t the only one doing public speaking, either. Her dad Willie has kept quite busy on that front, in addition to pushing his latest book “Gospeler.” His dad Phil, along with a few other Robertsons, has a podcast called “Unashamed,” and Phil continues to appear in the news and popular culture even now.
Some of the older members of the Duck Dynasty cast (aside from Phil) are slowing down, but the family keeps multiplying, branching off into new lifestyle followings, and repeating the process all over again.
So to answer this article’s own question “Where are the stars of Duck Dynasty now?” They’re everywhere, leaning into Seth Godin’s idea of marketing tribes, and keeping ahead in the relentless demands of the content mill.
It’s important that we always remember to “catch the ball before you run with it,” and we have to be focused on the current product, project, or season in our own businesses. That said, what we can learn from the Robertson family’s continued success is that we can never forget about “the next thing.” This family has mastered the art of keeping the pipeline full, leveraging each successful venture into another one, and never taking success for granted.
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
At the Movies, Market Watch, and Red vs. Blue
At the Movies
The Daily Wire recently had its first-ever theatrical release, with Matt Walsh’s mockumentary “Am I a Racist?” The film, which opened to 1,500 theaters nationwide, cracked the top 5 in its opening weekend and hauled in $4.5M at its opening – one of the best documentary performances in a decade. A company called Fathom Events made this release possible, an organization that has allowed many faith-based and conservative films to come to the big screen via its creative distribution strategy that typically relies on presales and short box office runs. Fathom also distributed “God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust” at the same time as “Am I a Racist,” and the film – which is #5 in the “God’s Not Dead” franchise – brought in around $1.5M which was good enough to break into the top 10 on the weekend it was released. The typically liberal lock on theaters may be eroding, as a Ronald Reagan biopic starring Dennis Quaid and a Kendrick brothers faith-based film called “The Forge” have also been released recently, to financial success.
Market Watch
The big news of last week is that the Fed has finally cut interest rates, with a bold drop of 50 basis points. The market jumped in response, closing on record highs last week, and as of Monday, it has remained strong. For many, the cuts are a sign that we can finally close the books on the COVID crisis and declare a soft landing, but fears of inflation in response to the cuts, and fears of a coming downturn, remain among wary investors. CNN Business outlines a few different scenarios of where the economy could go from here. In other news, August’s CPI report indicates moderating inflation of 2.5% YoY, which is an improvement though still above the target rate of 2%. The luxury sector seems to be shrinking in response to the current economy, and despite some momentary gains due to Middle Eastern conflict, oil prices have remained relatively stable.
Red vs. Blue
Donald Trump has announced more tax cut promises, as he continues his low-intervention economic pitch to voters. He has stated that his administration will not tax tips, will not tax overtime, will renew the Trump tax cuts from his previous administration, end taxes on social security benefits, and more. While some argue that such cuts will reinvigorate the economy like they did in Trump’s first administration, other commentators call them irresponsible, as our government continues to ignore dangerously ballooning debt. On the other side of the aisle, Kamala Harris also plans not to tax tips, in a move that the Trump team calls “Copycat.” Other Harris tax cut proposals include expanding the child tax credit for some families and cuts for new small businesses. Trump would raise tariffs but generally cut taxes, while Harris would raise the corporate tax rate and capital gains – possibly even “unrealized gains” for the very wealthy, in an unprecedented move. USA News gives a breakdown of the differing tax policies proposed by each major candidate and the impact each would likely have on the deficit.
Sunday School
Q. How many books are in the New Testament, and how many authors wrote them?
A. 27 books, traditionally understood to be written by 8 different authors (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, Jude). Modern scholars almost universally no longer believe Paul to be the author of the anonymous book Hebrews however, with ancient figures such as Apollos, Barnabas, Priscilla, or a few others being possible authors of Hebrews, which brings the conservative figure to 9 human authors for the New Testament. More liberal scholars argue for 15 or 16 total authors.
“And when I wave my maaaagic wand, these profits instantly become non-profits!”
TIPS & TRICKS
Considerations When Setting Up a Non-Profit
There are lots of helpful guides out there listing the steps you need to take to start a non-profit. Even so, there are a few big questions, a few things to keep in mind, that these types of guides sometimes leave out. Today, we’d like to talk about a few things you’ll want to consider before starting a non-profit organization.
#1 – Is This a Problem that Can Be Solved or Funded Via Traditional Business?
“Consider the alternatives” is a tried and true bit of advice in nearly every arena, and it’s especially important here. Let’s say you would like to start a non-profit to help people in hard circumstances find jobs. That is a noble and societally edifying idea. Nevertheless, before beginning, it is important to look at the market around you and see if the need (jobs for people in difficult circumstances) is best served by you raising funds to offer placement services to these people, or by starting a traditional, for-profit business that can hire these people itself.
In other words, is the cause best served by a middleman or by another player? Sometimes there is a great need for that extra link in the chain – and sometimes there isn’t. Are there market solutions to the problem you would like to address with your nonprofit?
#2 – Can You Accept an Upper Limit to Your Salary?
Nobody sets out to end up on Ministry Watch’s list of overpaid non-profit and ministry executives, yet every year plenty of people are on it. There is nothing wrong with making a lot of money, but in a very real sense, running a non-profit that fundraises is taking a lot of money. There’s nothing wrong with that per se. We need to pool our resources to tackle big problems from time to time. Nevertheless, soliciting donations isn’t the same thing as creating wealth; it is cause-driven redistribution. There is therefore an ethical imperative for restraint in the executive’s personal financial ambitions – at least in regards to personal income earned from the non-profit.
Tim Ballard of Sound of Freedom fame, for example, recently got into hot water over his salary well in excess of half a million dollars from his anti-child-sex-trafficking organization, Operation Underground Railroad (which is only one of his organizations from which he drew a salary, it should be added). Something seems wrong about raising money using stories of violence against children and then taking a salary in the high six figures from those donations intended to rescue kids. If you have high ambitions for personal wealth, ask yourself if running a non-profit is something you really want to do.
Are you in a situation, or of a temperament, where you can be content with a salary that does not become excessive?
#3 – Succession, Exit Plan, and Limiting Principle
Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us, so we know that there are some societal needs that just aren’t going away. It is still important to point out, however, that the natural tendency for organizations is to become oriented around self-perpetuation over time until the cause takes a backseat to the needs of the organization itself.
Look way down the line, and ask yourself, “When will the task be completed?”
If you’re serving the poor, the answer is “never,” but if you want to start a non-profit to address the need for safe, public spaces for children to play in your community, that may be a goal with an endpoint. So what do you do when you’ve built three parks, a rec center, and a public swimming pool? Do you redefine and expand the mission? Or do you declare “mission accomplished” and close up shop?
Ambitious people tend to favor the “expand” option. Sometimes it’s better to have discrete, achievable goals, however, instead of being an organization that continues to receive money from the community indefinitely. What is the limiting principle of your organization? Can your cause be achieved? What is the plan if you are successful, or if you have to pass the baton to someone else?
Handling donations is something that should not be taken lightly – particularly when an organization raises funds from ordinary men and women, many of whom are struggling to pay rent and buy groceries in this economy. Fundraising is necessary for many things, but never take it for granted.
TL;DR
Non-profits can be a tremendous blessing and a great force for good in our communities, so we need to make sure that we ask the hard questions and maintain high standards when creating this type of organization. Don’t be afraid to really put your idea to the test and hammer it from every side before you begin. If your concept holds up to heavy scrutiny, then it may really be worth doing, and you can proceed with the confidence you need to make it happen.
Quick Hits
- Public Square will host a live two-day event for small business owners in October: the first-ever Public Square Business Summit.
- Have the recent rate cuts come too late for commercial property developers?
- Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have officially tied the knot.
- Should you buy or lease your car? The New York Times weighs in.
- Is it time to refinance now? The Wall Street Journal analyzes interest rates in the wake of the Fed’s recent cut.
- Angel Studios announces, after earlier denials, that it is set to become a publicly traded company in the second half of 2025.
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