The Oprah Winfrey Show - Essay Example

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey is one of the most recognizable s in the world today. She is said to beone of the most successful media personalities. Starting from a humble background, Oprah has been able to build an empire that consists of various media outlets, which include the O magazine and Harpo productions among others. Her story is made more remarkable by the fact that she started out living in a poor neighborhood and was faced by many challenges as she was growing up. Despite this, she was able to rise above her background to become a powerful brand that people and products desire to be associated with. All the ventures that she started achieved a great measure of success. After 25 years of hosting the immensely successful show known as The Oprah Winfrey Show (TOWS) Oprah made the drastic decision to end the show. She also indicated that she has the intention to start up her very on television network to be known as Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Considering that TOWS which is what most people identify with Oprah will no longer be produced, the question becomes whether Oprah’s network OWN can achieve the same success that TOWS achieved or Oprah is overstretching her ability and brand power (http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/Oprah-Winfreys-Official-Biography ) . TOWS was broadcast over the 25 year period and it grew to be one of the most watched television shows. The show had an estimated viewership of 42 million weekly viewers in the US. It was also broadcast in around 145 different countries. The popularity of the show was credited to the confessional approach that the show had. It provided a forum for people to share their story and was used as a platform to empower people to live better and healthier lives. The book club that Oprah formed as a segment of TOWS served to encourage people to adopt a reading culture. Most of the books selected for this role achieved the best seller status. Other brands that were endorsed by Oprah also became immensely successful. The success of the Oprah brand was also extended to the online version or website for TOWS, which is Oprah.com, and to the O magazine. Oprah’s media ventures also included satellite radio when through a deal with XM satellite radio she started the channel Oprah and friends, and later renamed the channel Oprah radio. Aside from her contribution to the media, Oprah is also a philanthropist. She has regularly contributed to causes that are aimed at making education accessible for the disadvantaged in different communities. Her contribution to education also includes starting The Oprah Winfrey Academy for Girls, which is aimed at empowering young disadvantaged girls in South Africa. The academy seeks to empower them to achieve their dreams and ambitions and also develop women in South Africa for leadership positions (http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/Oprah-Winfreys-Official-Biography). The different brands that Oprah managed to create and grow to a success are often associated with her personality and her face. This makes it easier for people to identify with the brand and has led to what is considered ‘the Oprah effect’. Her personality has been recognized based on her ability to be honest about different issues that have affected her as well as those that affect people all over the world. She is therefore considered as one of the most powerful opinion leaders and shapers in the world. Celebrity branding has been unsuccessful in several instances. There is therefore the concern that the new venture (OWN) by Oprah may fail following an overuse or overexposure of Oprah as a brand. Celebrity branding has gone wrong such as in the case of Martha Stewart who was once a powerful brand in several instances. Following credibility issues that were brought about by her arrest and jailing, the brand Martha Stewart became one that nobody wanted to have any kind of association with. Despite many attempts to revive the brand, people continued to avoid it and anything that was thought to have any form of association with Martha Stewart became failures. For a brand to remain relevant, people must be able to identify with it. The brand must also be recognizable to people to enable them to identify with it. The problem of relevance is one that faces Oprah today. The Oprah brand has been built based on the character strength of Oprah as a person. She is therefore a trustworthy brand that people can associate with. As a leader, Oprah has been seen to have a realistic vision of what she intends to develop in the future, and how those around her can share in the vision. This shows that she is transformational as a leader. She is also a very charismatic leader and as such, she is able to remain a relevant and successful brand. She is also able to interact effectively with those around her and with her audience. This has helped her to remain relevant over a long period of time and will continue to help her stay relevant. The fact that TOWS will not be on air makes the OWN venture potentially risky as most people identify her with TOWS. Her influence and personality may therefore not be felt in the new venture. The OWN venture is however founded on the same principles that have made all the Oprah products successful and is therefore likely to achieve considerable success. Oprah has managed to maintain profitability in all her ventures despite the hard economic times that have faced the country. She has managed to oversee the building of all the products that bear her brand name to attain success, and become some of the most visible products. The consistence in her products has also been important in helping to build brand loyalty. She has for example appeared in the cover of every issue of the O magazine. Her dedication to her brands her enabled her gain recognition and win many awards. The fact that Oprah has managed to create an effective team also works for her benefit as it leads to commitment by the employees, which means more profitability for the company. Oprah’s success as a brand is likely to continue even as she ventures into OWN. This will be the case if she employs the same practices that she has used to run all the other media outlets that she has managed successfully. This is because she has not over merchandised her brand and has therefore been able to retain control over what is produced in her name. She has kept a firm control over her products, which means that her image has remained controlled. This is despite the fact that she has been able to diversify her products. This has helped her build a brand that will remain relevant. It has also helped her reach a bigger audience as opposed to what she would have achieved if she had only formed one media outlet. The fact that her brand is also internationally recognizable also ensures the success of Oprah’s ventures. Despite the tendency by many high profile personalities to misuse the brand that is themselves and their image, Oprah has managed to build an image and maintain control over it. She therefore remains as one of the few celebrity brands that will continue to be successful and relevant. Works cited Oprah Winfrey's Official Biography. Available at http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/Oprah-Winfreys-Official-Biography Read More