Oprah is shutting down her show in 2011 and will be making a public announcement very soon. It has been 25yrs since her show first aired and who would have ever thought that the show would be the foundation for her to become the wealthiest woman in entertainment. This may be the end of her show but I’m pretty sure that it will not be the end of Oprah.
Shaun Rein founder and managing director of the China Market Research Group, a strategic market intelligence firm, did a brilliant write up on Oprah forForbes. He discuss how the media mogul has been able to remain dominant and profitable for so long; all while out-earning many Wall Street executives. Check it Out:
Last year, Oprah Winfrey earned $275 million–more than those three Wall Street rogues Ken Lewis, Dick Fuld and John Thain combined–yet no one is calling for her head. Her TV show and O, her magazine, remain wildly popular. She moves entire industries. Twitter’s traffic surged 43% after she tweeted for the first time. A recommendation from her turns obscure authors and products into best-sellers.
On her way to becoming one of the most influential people in the world, Oprah has helped millions of people feel better about themselves and lead more fulfilling lives. Here are three core business reasons she has become one of the world’s richest people.
She truly understands and relates to her core target market.
Oprah genuinely sympathizes with her audience’s struggles and aspirations. She does not pretend to have led a fairy-tale celebrity’s life; rather she has revealed that she was sexually abused when growing up and has been candid about her battles with her weight. She uses real, shared pain to get closer to her audience. As she conquers her demons, her audience feels they can conquer theirs.
They trust her. She is more than a talk show host. Too many people in charge of brands don’t get the importance of understanding and relating to consumers. Companies launch advertising campaigns that consumers can’t identify with, even as those consumers, looking to stretch their dollars farther than ever before, yearn to turn to companies they feel they can trust and connect to emotionally.
Skin care company Clarins got it all wrong in targeting Chinese men. It used ethnically diverse metrosexual models they couldn’t relate to. The company failed to understand that Chinese men don’t want to be seen as at all feminine or exotic. Nor do Chinese women want to see their men that way. Sales sputtered, while L’Oreal’s Biotherm line prospered with Asian models who came across as the epitome of masculinity.
Oprah was able to bring two of boxing’s all time elite fighters together, Tyson and Holyfield for an interview without having to fork over the big ppv dollars they once received in their glory days. Both fighters have had their ups and downs financial, they both have field for bankruptcy in recent year despite making hundreds of millions of dollars while in their prime. Its good to see that they both seem to be in a good space mentally, physically, and financially.
These two have seemingly become the best of friends over night, I’m not mad at it. If anybody can bridge the generations gap its these two. I can definitely see some business ventures in the near future between the two, it only makes sense. With their abilities to leverage their personal brands to move products and capture the imagination of consumers, they could do some great things together. So when it goes down remember who mentioned it first.
Oprah endorses her 63rd book Say You Are One of Them a short story by Uwem Apkan, and as always within a 24hrs period the book went from obscurity to be a best seller in the blink of an eye. The book was immediately a top five seller on Amazon.com and Branes&nobel.com
Big O spoke on why she picked Akpan’s book on her show, she stated that never before had she given a book of short stories the nod; she explained, “usually short stories leave you wanting something and you’re like, `Huh, what happened?”
Akpan’s book, she went on, was an exception.
“This is a first for me because each one of these five stories really just left me gasping,” she said in brief remarks toward the end of her show. “Just an incredible book.”
It amazes me that her word has so much authority when it comes to consumers. She has truly built a cult like following which has consistently supported her brand.
I have a question for you guys what do you think it takes to create a following such as Oprah’s, or any other brand where consumers support year after year? Brands such as the iPod, Jordan, New Era, Play Station, etc.
Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are executive producers of “Precious,” which had a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend. The film will be about a girl over coming abuse. Oprah and Perry got in on the project because the creator of the film Lee Daniels who produced the Oscar winning film “Monsters Ball” wanted to bring more attention to the project. In an interview with The Associated Press, Winfrey said she was happy to help bring more attention to the film.
“Everyone needs someone to help them navigate,” the TV talk show host explained. “I had Bill Cosby, Quincy Jones, Sidney Poitier and Maya Angelou who I look to. You can’t do that on your own. Someone has to show it to you.”
Daniels produced “Monster’s Ball,” which won Halle Berry an Oscar for best actress in 2002. She adapted “Precious” from Sapphire’s novel “Push.” It tells the story of an illiterate black girl who manages to rise above poverty, sexual and mental abuse. The film, which stars Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton and others, won the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and has been generating Oscar buzz.
Still, Daniels believes the cachet of Oprah and hit filmmaker Perry will help the film, which comes out on Nov. 6, build a greater audience.
This is a story that represents many young people all throughout this country definitely a tear jerker. I had had to hold back just watching the trailer.
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