Oprah: One of the Most Successful Brand Extensions
by douglasmackellar
Television, film, radio, food, magazine and other publications, the term Oprah is a brand of mammoth proportions. Centred around promoting constructive controversial issues, health and home, spirituality, self improvement and the discussion of taboos, Oprah Winfrey has created a brand responsible for instigating a new, far more intimate era of tabloid, talk-show mediums. The biggest gamble Oprah made was the first in the extension of the brand from TV to magazine.
TV, a form of media that is more accessible and informal than a magazine allows for a level of spontaneity, characteristic empathy and the ability to connect with people that Oprah is so famous for, so when she decided to launch her magazine in 2000 many had their doubts. Within the first month the magazine was launched those doubters had been silenced and O, The Oprah Magazine had become the first branch of the Oprah brand extension. The magazine is still available today and with two different edition and over 2.7 million copies sold, the publication is here to stay. The reasoning behind why Oprah managed to make the transition from TV to magazine so easy has been boiled down by MediaBizBloggers’ Steve Blacker into ten core values that Oprah has maintained when introducing different forms of media. By maintaining these core values Oprah has been able to simply transfer the way in which she communicated with her audience without compromising the relationship she has with them. Essentially the ease to which Oprah can extend her product, the connection and respect she has with audiences, has allowed her to challenge a new segment of media and grow the Oprah Winfrey empire.
Sources:
http://www.mediabizbloggers.com/steve-blacker/83556152.html
http://www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=1222
http://abcas3.auditedmedia.com/ecirc/magtitlesearch.asp