Seventeen years ago, a multimillion-dollar brand was born before the eyes of 1.13 million TV viewers, and none of them knew it.

It began during the first season of The Real Housewives of New York. In episode six (“Girl’s Night Out”), Bethenny Frankel and Luann de Lesseps are ordering cocktails. “I only drink one drink, and I call it the skinny girl’s margarita,” Frankel announces. “It’s Patron Silver on the rocks, fresh lime juice, and a little splash of triple sec.”

In a year, Frankel launched Skinnygirl cocktails as a brand, starting with a low-calorie, ready-to-drink cocktail. Three years later, spirits giant Beam Suntory acquired it for a reported $120 million.

Of course, a brand doesn’t just come to life from an offhand comment in a restaurant. Frankel is a born entrepreneur. In addition to building Skinnygirl into an empire that includes salad dressings, jeans, and shapewear, Frankel has authored multiple bestsellers, cofounded the wine label Forever Young, launched a podcast called Just B, and runs a disaster-relief nonprofit called B Strong.

But Frankel’s most powerful brand remains herself—or, rather, the innate marketer within.

Her shoot-from-the-hip style and strident opinions on almost any topic (handbags, divorce, government surveillance by drone) have won her a social-media audience of 8.5 million—and growing by double digits. As Frankel has evolved from creating brands to advising them, giants including L’Oreal and McCo Beauty have sought her counsel.

And what sort of guidance does Frankel give? What has she learned in two decades of creating products and promoting them? Frankel sat down with ADWEEK to talk about branding and social media marketing. Obviously, not every brand can get away with the sort of unfiltered content that Frankel whips up, but a marketer can glean plenty from her experiences. She shared five with us.

Always tell the truth

Frankel recalls the occasion when a major beauty brand approached her to do a product—not because she was a makeup expert but because she wasn’t afraid to tell it as she saw it.

“I had compared a $2 drugstore cream to like a $500 cream, and said they’re basically the same, except for one little ingredient,” Frankel recalled.

When creating content—be it marketing or just riffing—”what works the best is humorous chaos with takeaway,” she said.

But the common ingredient in everything?  “Just truth,” she said.

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