Why Oprah Owns The Planet

Her talk show may be over, but the Oprah brand just keeps getting bigger.Very few people in the world are so famous that they have their own television network. Even Turner Broadcasting System has simply become TBS, and nobody remembers that Ted Turner had the audacity to name a cable network after himself. But Oprah Winfrey… she’s a different story. She is the paragon of brand building. Her new network, “OWN,” is off and running even as she wraps up her daytime talk show.

Millions of Oprah faithfuls watch everything she does and buy everything she pitches. Want your new novel to be a hit? Booking Oprah’s show was a sure ticket to the bestseller list. Want your own talk show? The airwaves are filled with ex-Oprah regulars, pale imitations of the original.

How did she build such an incredible brand? She used the same steps that you can follow for your own business: commitment to a brand promise and  consistency with a brand image. If you’ve ever read anything about Oprah you know that she works tirelessly on her projects. Her production company makes movies and television programs that very much reflect the woman herself – whether she appears in them or not. Watch something made by Oprah, and you know what you are getting into. As for a brand image, it’s Oprah herself. Ever see a copy of Oprah’s magazine without her on the cover? Nope. She knows what her customers expect, and she gives it to them.

Here at Anchor we work with brands every day, building them, guiding them and rejuvenating them. If you want to talk about your own brand, give us a call.