Renewal of Most Successful Boomer Brand
Lina Ko November 24th, 2009
Everything good must come to an end. So when Oprah finally announced on her show last week that her daytime TV show would end in 2011, both she and her audience choked up on air.
However, according to a lot of journalists and entertainment analysts, this hardly came as a surprise. Oprah calling it quits with her syndicated talk show became inevitable like Jerry Seinfeld quitting his hugely successful sitcom. One of the richest people in the world, Oprah has moved from an afternoon icon to magazine publisher to Broadway impresario to movie producer. She has become not only an entertainment giant, but also a motivational inspirer and the most powerful pop culture and even political influencer.
With her new venture in 2011, the Oprah Winfrey Network, we will probably see more of Oprah, instead of less. The most successful personal brand of Oprah will reach new heights with her own cable network. With her evolution as a household name over the last two decades, Oprah has always, in Rob Salem’s words, “managed to maintain her emotional integrity and boundless empathy, while also possessing the foresight and business savvy to retain ownership and creative control of her own brand.” We will not see the last of Oprah. It’s just another stage of renewal for the Oprah brand.
