Jesinta Franklin’s strategy for building her brand and business

There’s so much more to Jesinta Franklin than her modelling career. The 27-year-old admits she has a strategy for building her brand and business by aligning herself with the right brands based on authenticity and what she’s passionate about.

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It would be easy to underestimate Jesinta Franklin. Going by her Instagram account, the 27-year-old model seems to flit from an exotic location to a social event at the click of her fingers.

But the former Miss Universe Australia says this is not all there is to her carefully curated brand.

“We definitely don’t see ourselves as a power couple,” she tells BW Magazine of her marriage to AFL star hubby, Buddy Franklin.

“Despite what we have going on, it’s a very simple quiet life for us here in Sydney.

“We don’t go out of our way to attract attention — we get home, put our PJs on, cook dinner and argue about who’s going to do the dishes.”

Jesinta Franklin says she does not see her husband Buddy and herself as a power couple. Picture: Adam Head

She may not outwardly court attention but she commands it nonetheless. The start to her year has been a busy one.

She attended the Magic Millions Race Day in her hometown of the Gold Coast as an ambassador for event partner of seven years, Moet & Chandon. She has also been working with Adidas to promote a collaboration with environmental group Parley Play For The Oceans, to create a range of sporting apparel and footwear made from marine rubbish such as plastic and fishing line.

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It may not sound like hard work but the clever model has a strategy for building her brand and business, which also includes ambassadorial roles with global brands Dior, Olay and Tiffany & Co.

“We get a lot of emails through daily, weekly and monthly from brands wanting us to work with them,” Franklin says.

“And I probably say yes to about 20 per cent of them. These days, there’s so much happening with social media, I try to be strategic with every decision concerning my career and align with the right brands. If it’s not an authentic association or something I’m passionate about, I don’t take it on.

Jesinta Franklin at the Magic Millions. Picture: Jared Vethaak

“The people who follow me on social media aren’t silly, the market is so flooded with people promoting everything under the sun — lip gloss, water, this and that — people are so savvy now, they know Instagram is used as a selling tool. So I want to really make sure what I do is authentic.

“With Moet & Chandon, for example, it was an easy decision because we had their champagne at our wedding — the brand saw that and that’s how it started.

“Most of my associations happen like that, in a very organic way. And it’s a fun association. I got to work with them on a signature cocktail for Magic Millions using their Ice Imperial Rose garnished with mint and cucumber peel — it’s like summer in a glass.”

Franklin has been strategic about her career from the start, even using the Miss Universe pageant in 2010 as a stepping stone to kickstart a career in acting.

And like so many before her — Elle Macpherson and Jennifer Hawkins to name two — the bottle blonde beauty made sure her modelling opened up many more business opportunities.

But while the Miss Universe pageant kicked off an exciting career for Franklin, it also led to the onset of anxiety — a condition she still struggles to control today.

Jesinta Franklin helped launch a revolutionary new range of Adidas sportswear made from recycled marine litter. Picture: Alex Coppel

She has been open about her struggles, as her husband has been with his mental health. But she has declined to be associated with the mental health organisations that have approached her because she doesn’t want to simply be a talking head on the subject.

“I share my story whenever I feel it’s appropriate,” she says.

“I think it began when I was a young adult being launched into the spotlight at such a young age. I was 18 when I did Miss Universe and had my 19th birthday in Las Vegas, it just all happened so quickly.

“If speaking about my experiences can provide a little hope and help someone with what they’re going through, that’s great.

“Anxiety is such a prevalent thing these days and, although I think it’s been around for a long time, we communicate so much more openly about it now.

“A lot of people are fighting battles we don’t even know about.”