Monday’s announcement of Oprah Winfrey’s April visit to La Belle Province has everyone all a chatter. Montrealers are rejoicing at the thought of the Queen of Talk gracing us with her glorious presence.
Tickets will only be released on Wednesday, with a very high price tag starting at $95, but we can be sure the audience will be packed full of colourfully dressed men and women, wanting to know how to live their best life.
When it comes to branding, no one quite compares to Oprah Winfrey.
From her 25 seasons on air with the Oprah Winfrey show to her O magazine to her highly revered book club, this power house of a personal brand has covered all of her bases. But it seems as though her momentum has been losing steam ever since her infamous talk show went off the air.
We landed upon a very interesting article from the website Transformational Leadership: Coaching & Leadership Development for Women. Entitled Lessons Learned from Oprah’s Biggest Branding Failure, we were surprised to read that Oprah’s status dropped from number 50 (from number 10) on Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women in just two years. Why the quick decent?
According to the article, Oprah made four major mistakes which are great learning points for any brand, big or small.
1) Know what creates core value for your brand.
Oprah’s viewers wanted to see her on TV and to connect with her on a personal level. Once she changed that formula the bond was broken.
What do your customers love about your brand?
2) Don’t take something away that your most loyal consumers love.
Once you have figured out what that brand hook is never, ever change it.
3) To reach new audiences, start with your core brand promise.
Even when trying to target a different demographic that brand voice must stay true to remain aligned with your brand’s identity.
4) Failure helps you learn and come back stronger
Learn from your mistakes and always be authentic. Oprah’s visit to Montreal just may be a step in the right direction as she tries to re-connect on a more personal level with her fans.
All branding buzz aside, Oprah certainly is one of our favourites. We look forward to a very intimate evening with her, and secretly hope she’ll be sharing some of her favourites with us!