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In a national survey conducted among Millennial female shoppers July 10th through 15th, Brand Keys, the New York-based brand engagement and customer loyalty research consultancy (brandkeys.com), found that 38% were negatively disposed to considering purchasing Ivanka Trump’s line of clothing or shoes.

In the initial 2016 wave, it was hypothesized that consumers could separate Brand Ivanka from Political Advisor Ivanka. Nine months later that does not seem to be the case.

The most recent wave of the brand study – conducted among 1,005 female Millennial shoppers (balanced for political affiliation) who had spent at least $250 on a dress or pair of shoes in the past 12 months – found only a third (33%) are still extremely or very willing to keep Ivanka Trump brand on their shopping lists. That’s down 18% from the initial benchmark wave last October.

Respondents were asked, “In light of Ivanka Trump’s involvement with the Trump administration, how likely would you be to consider buying her line of shoes or clothing?” Responses were as follows:

                                    10/16             2/17               7/17

Extremely Likely     18%                16%                15%

Very Likely               33%                22%                18%

Somewhat Likely    32%                30%                29%

Not Very Likely       11%                 18%                 24%

Not At All Likely      6%                  10%                14%

While the political ramifications of Ivanka Trump’s personal involvement with the current administration cannot be ignored, uproars surrounding her father, and now her husband, Jared Kushner, currently a senior advisor to her father, the President, and her brother, Donald Jr., cannot be ignored either and seem to be affecting the Ivanka Trump brand as well.

From a legal perspective Ms. Trump entered into a trust for her business, turning the day-to-day control over to Abigail Klem, a top executive, and transferred its assets to a new trust overseen by relatives of her husband. Ivanka will no longer appear in advertisements and she has separated her business and personal social media accounts.

But as marketing history has proven, there’s a world of difference between what’s “legal” and what’s a “brand,” and consumers know it More importantly they act upon it.

Find out more about what makes customer loyalty happen and how Brand Keys metrics is able to predict future consumer behavior: brandkeys.com. Visit our YouTube channel to learn more about Brand Keys methodology, applications and case studies.