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Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe

Year 2023, Issue: 26, 1 - 7, 16.10.2023
https://doi.org/10.5152/communicata.2023.23034

Abstract

Multilevel marketing is a billion-dollar industry. LuLaRoe is a successful multilevel marketing that uses mass media to recruit women to sell its products. However, LuLaRoe has been accused of being a pyramid scheme. Through a textual analysis of LuLaRoe’s website and social media pages, this study analyzes the recruitment media of LuLaRoe. Findings suggest common themes: an ideal retailer is a young, white, mother; LuLaRoe promises women the control to be successful entrepreneurs and attentive mothers; and LuLaRoe perpetuates a before-and-after identity.

References

  • Aho, B. (2019). AG Ferguson sues LuLaRoe over pyramid scheme. Office of the Attorney General. https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ ag-ferguson-sues-lularoe-over-pyramid-scheme
  • American Express (2019). State of women-owned businesses report. https://s1.q4cdn.com/692158879/files/doc_library/f​ile/2019-stateof-women-owned- businesses-report.pdf
  • Andres, L. G. (1992). Kenneth Burke’s theory of identification: An essential for business communication. Bulletin of the Association for Business Communication, 55(3), 53–56. [CrossRef]
  • Bax, C. E. (2010). Entrepreneur Brownie Wise: Selling Tupperware to America’s Women in the 1950s. Journal of Women’s History, 22(2), 171–180. [CrossRef]
  • Burke, K. (1969). A rhetoric of motives. University of California Press
  • Byrne, J., Fattoum, S., & Diaz Garcia, M. C. (2019). Role models and women entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurial superwoman has her say. Journal of Small Business Management, 57(1), 154–184. [CrossRef]
  • Cesaroni, F. M., & Paoloni, P. (2016). Are family ties an opportunity or an obstacle for women entrepreneurs? Empirical evidence from Italy. Palgrave Communications, 2(1), 1–7. [CrossRef]
  • Charland, M. (1987). Constitutive rhetoric: The case of the Peuple Quebecois. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 73(2), 133–150. [CrossRef]
  • Cohen, C. F., & Rabin, V. S. (2008). Back on the career track: A guide for stay-at-home moms who want to return to work. Business plus.
  • D’Antonio, V. (2019). From Tupperware to Scentsy: The gendered culture of women and direct sales. Sociology Compass, 13(5), e12692. [CrossRef] DeLiema, Shadel, Nofziger, & Pak. (2018). ARP Study of Multilevel Marketing. https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/aarp_foundation/2018/pdf/AARP%20Foundation %20MLM%20Research%20Study%20Report%2010.8.18.pdf
  • Deviacita, Q. A. (2022). Use of electronic word of mouth in promoting Jafra Multi level marketing business. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 9(3), 436–446.
  • Dillaway, H., & Paré, E. (2008). Locating mothers: How cultural debates about stay-at-home versus working Mothers Define Women and Home. Journal of Family Issues, 29(4), 437–464. [CrossRef]
  • Direct Selling Association (2021). DSA Member Company Survey 2021. https://dsa.org.uk/
  • Dolan, C., & Scott, L. (2009). Lipstick evangelism: Avon trading circles and gender empowerment in South Africa. Gender and Development, 17(2), 203–218. [CrossRef]
  • Eddleston, K. A., & Powell, G. N. (2012). Nurturing entrepreneurs’ work–family balance: A gendered perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 36(3), 513–541. [CrossRef]
  • Edelman, L. F., Brush, C. G., Manolova, T. S., & Greene, P. G. (2010). Start-up motivations and growth intentions of minority nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of Small Business Management, 48(2), 174–196. [CrossRef]
  • Federal Trade Commission (2021). Multi-level marketing businesses and pyramid schemes. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/multi-l evel-marketing-businesses-and-pyramid-schemes
  • Gill, R., & Ganesh, S. (2007). Empowerment, constraint, and the entrepreneurial self: A study of white women entrepreneurs. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 35(3), 268–293. [CrossRef]
  • Howard, T., Smith, N., & Nwaigwe, U. (2020). Banks and the black community. Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. http://thoward. faculty.unlv.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/BOA-REPORT-FINAL_2020.pdf
  • Jean, M., & Forbes, C. S. (2012). An exploration of the motivations and expectation gaps of mompreneurs. The Journal of Business Diversity, 12(2), 112–130. https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly- journals/exploration-motivations-expectation-gaps/docview/1221975109/se- 2?accountid=13158
  • Martínez-Jiménez, L., & Gálvez-Muñoz, L. (2019). We (all) can’t have it all: Demystifying celebrity motherhood in the face of precarious lives. Feminist Media Studies, 19(5), 756–759. [CrossRef]
  • Mather, R. D., Dustin, B., & Heather, S. (2017). Social cognitive factors of persuasion for multi-level marketing targets. Journal of Scientific Psychology, 12, 44–52.
  • Nason, J., & Furst, J. (2021). LuLaRich [television docu-series]. Amazon Prime Video.
  • Nel, P., Maritz, M., & Thongprovati, O. (2010). Motherhood and Entrepreneurship: The mumpreneur phenomenon. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 3(1), 6.
  • Shelton, L. M. (2006). Female entrepreneurs, work–family conflict, and venture performance: New insights into the work–family interface. Journal of Small Business Management, 44(2), 285–297. [CrossRef]
  • Ufuk, H., & Özgen, Ö. (2001). Interaction between the business and family lives of women entrepreneurs in Turkey. Journal of Business Ethics, 31(2), 95–106. [CrossRef]
  • Winter, E. A. (2021). Beckoning “boss Babes:” examining Mary Kay’s online recruitment rhetoric. Ohio Communication Journal, 59, 49-63.
  • Wrenn, M. V., & Waller, W. (2021). Boss babes and predatory optimism: neoliberalism, multi- level marketing schemes, and gender. Journal of Economic Issues, 55(2), 423–431. [CrossRef

Anneliği Pazarlama: LuLaRoe’nun İşe Alım Medyasını Analiz Etmek

Year 2023, Issue: 26, 1 - 7, 16.10.2023
https://doi.org/10.5152/communicata.2023.23034

Abstract

Çok düzeyli pazarlama milyar dolarlık bir endüstridir. LuLaRoe, ürünlerini satmaları amacıyla kadınları işe almak için kitle iletişim araçlarını kullanan başarılı, çok düzeyli bir pazarlamadır. Ancak LuLaRoe bir saadet zinciri planı olmakla suçlanmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, LuLaRoe’nun işe alım medyası olan web sitesi ve sosyal medya sayfaları metinsel analizi aracılığıyla analiz edilmektedir. Elde edilen bulgular ortak temalara işaret etmektedir: İdeal bir perakendeci genç ve beyaz bir annedir; LuLaRoe, kadınlara başarılı girişimciler ve özenli anneler olma kontrolünü vaat etmektedir; LuLaRoe öncesi ve sonrası kimliğini sürdürmektedir.

References

  • Aho, B. (2019). AG Ferguson sues LuLaRoe over pyramid scheme. Office of the Attorney General. https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ ag-ferguson-sues-lularoe-over-pyramid-scheme
  • American Express (2019). State of women-owned businesses report. https://s1.q4cdn.com/692158879/files/doc_library/f​ile/2019-stateof-women-owned- businesses-report.pdf
  • Andres, L. G. (1992). Kenneth Burke’s theory of identification: An essential for business communication. Bulletin of the Association for Business Communication, 55(3), 53–56. [CrossRef]
  • Bax, C. E. (2010). Entrepreneur Brownie Wise: Selling Tupperware to America’s Women in the 1950s. Journal of Women’s History, 22(2), 171–180. [CrossRef]
  • Burke, K. (1969). A rhetoric of motives. University of California Press
  • Byrne, J., Fattoum, S., & Diaz Garcia, M. C. (2019). Role models and women entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurial superwoman has her say. Journal of Small Business Management, 57(1), 154–184. [CrossRef]
  • Cesaroni, F. M., & Paoloni, P. (2016). Are family ties an opportunity or an obstacle for women entrepreneurs? Empirical evidence from Italy. Palgrave Communications, 2(1), 1–7. [CrossRef]
  • Charland, M. (1987). Constitutive rhetoric: The case of the Peuple Quebecois. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 73(2), 133–150. [CrossRef]
  • Cohen, C. F., & Rabin, V. S. (2008). Back on the career track: A guide for stay-at-home moms who want to return to work. Business plus.
  • D’Antonio, V. (2019). From Tupperware to Scentsy: The gendered culture of women and direct sales. Sociology Compass, 13(5), e12692. [CrossRef] DeLiema, Shadel, Nofziger, & Pak. (2018). ARP Study of Multilevel Marketing. https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/aarp_foundation/2018/pdf/AARP%20Foundation %20MLM%20Research%20Study%20Report%2010.8.18.pdf
  • Deviacita, Q. A. (2022). Use of electronic word of mouth in promoting Jafra Multi level marketing business. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 9(3), 436–446.
  • Dillaway, H., & Paré, E. (2008). Locating mothers: How cultural debates about stay-at-home versus working Mothers Define Women and Home. Journal of Family Issues, 29(4), 437–464. [CrossRef]
  • Direct Selling Association (2021). DSA Member Company Survey 2021. https://dsa.org.uk/
  • Dolan, C., & Scott, L. (2009). Lipstick evangelism: Avon trading circles and gender empowerment in South Africa. Gender and Development, 17(2), 203–218. [CrossRef]
  • Eddleston, K. A., & Powell, G. N. (2012). Nurturing entrepreneurs’ work–family balance: A gendered perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 36(3), 513–541. [CrossRef]
  • Edelman, L. F., Brush, C. G., Manolova, T. S., & Greene, P. G. (2010). Start-up motivations and growth intentions of minority nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of Small Business Management, 48(2), 174–196. [CrossRef]
  • Federal Trade Commission (2021). Multi-level marketing businesses and pyramid schemes. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/multi-l evel-marketing-businesses-and-pyramid-schemes
  • Gill, R., & Ganesh, S. (2007). Empowerment, constraint, and the entrepreneurial self: A study of white women entrepreneurs. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 35(3), 268–293. [CrossRef]
  • Howard, T., Smith, N., & Nwaigwe, U. (2020). Banks and the black community. Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. http://thoward. faculty.unlv.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/BOA-REPORT-FINAL_2020.pdf
  • Jean, M., & Forbes, C. S. (2012). An exploration of the motivations and expectation gaps of mompreneurs. The Journal of Business Diversity, 12(2), 112–130. https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly- journals/exploration-motivations-expectation-gaps/docview/1221975109/se- 2?accountid=13158
  • Martínez-Jiménez, L., & Gálvez-Muñoz, L. (2019). We (all) can’t have it all: Demystifying celebrity motherhood in the face of precarious lives. Feminist Media Studies, 19(5), 756–759. [CrossRef]
  • Mather, R. D., Dustin, B., & Heather, S. (2017). Social cognitive factors of persuasion for multi-level marketing targets. Journal of Scientific Psychology, 12, 44–52.
  • Nason, J., & Furst, J. (2021). LuLaRich [television docu-series]. Amazon Prime Video.
  • Nel, P., Maritz, M., & Thongprovati, O. (2010). Motherhood and Entrepreneurship: The mumpreneur phenomenon. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 3(1), 6.
  • Shelton, L. M. (2006). Female entrepreneurs, work–family conflict, and venture performance: New insights into the work–family interface. Journal of Small Business Management, 44(2), 285–297. [CrossRef]
  • Ufuk, H., & Özgen, Ö. (2001). Interaction between the business and family lives of women entrepreneurs in Turkey. Journal of Business Ethics, 31(2), 95–106. [CrossRef]
  • Winter, E. A. (2021). Beckoning “boss Babes:” examining Mary Kay’s online recruitment rhetoric. Ohio Communication Journal, 59, 49-63.
  • Wrenn, M. V., & Waller, W. (2021). Boss babes and predatory optimism: neoliberalism, multi- level marketing schemes, and gender. Journal of Economic Issues, 55(2), 423–431. [CrossRef
There are 28 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Media Technologies
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Stefanie Elizabeth Davıs Kempton This is me 0000-0002-5951-0481

Publication Date October 16, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Issue: 26

Cite

APA Davıs Kempton, S. E. (2023). Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe. Communicata(26), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.5152/communicata.2023.23034
AMA Davıs Kempton SE. Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe. Communicata. October 2023;(26):1-7. doi:10.5152/communicata.2023.23034
Chicago Davıs Kempton, Stefanie Elizabeth. “Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe”. Communicata, no. 26 (October 2023): 1-7. https://doi.org/10.5152/communicata.2023.23034.
EndNote Davıs Kempton SE (October 1, 2023) Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe. Communicata 26 1–7.
IEEE S. E. Davıs Kempton, “Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe”, Communicata, no. 26, pp. 1–7, October 2023, doi: 10.5152/communicata.2023.23034.
ISNAD Davıs Kempton, Stefanie Elizabeth. “Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe”. Communicata 26 (October 2023), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.5152/communicata.2023.23034.
JAMA Davıs Kempton SE. Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe. Communicata. 2023;:1–7.
MLA Davıs Kempton, Stefanie Elizabeth. “Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe”. Communicata, no. 26, 2023, pp. 1-7, doi:10.5152/communicata.2023.23034.
Vancouver Davıs Kempton SE. Marketing Motherhood: Analyzing the Recruitment Media of LuLaRoe. Communicata. 2023(26):1-7.