What the Farewell of the Oprah Show Means to Your Brand

    It's Oprah Time!

Unless you've been living under a rock you are aware that The Oprah, Oprah Winfrey herself, announced that she will be ending her show.  While loyal viewers and fans shed tears and all other talk show hosts around the country began spiffing up their media reels, enterpreneurs everywhere went into a panic.  I know it - I received over 15 emails in about a half an hour asking everything from "what does this mean for my brand" to "you NEED to get me on there".  You'd think this would begin to affect me and that I'd be swept up into the Oprah Mania as well, but truth is, if you're a publicist, you've been hearing these things from nearly every brand you encounter from day one.   Tell someone you know someone at Oprah and you get more best friends than a celebrity with an bottomless bank account. 

The truth is I could tell people that yes, Oprah is a great goal and yes, Oprah can change your life but no, you should not make this the end goal of your company or your vision.  I could tell them that being on the Oprah Winfrey Show means much more than insta-fame and fortune.  It means you have to be ready asap when they call, that you have to be able to support national sales and everything that entails (both online and in your shipping center), that you have to be tv ready in appearance and message and know your goals for that appearance (being on Oprah in itself is NOT a goal)....I could tell them all those things but it doesn't matter because everyone still dreams of Oprah all day long. 

I won't lie, I drink my morning coffee from my Oprah mug and work on manifesting amazing stories about Tin Shingle and my clients at Red Branch PR on a daily basis....But I only send pitches when they are both Oprah-prepared and Oprah-ready and Oprah-worthy.  And I never depend solely on Ms. Winfrey to bring my brands success - I work on telling my story, our story, and other stories to multiple outlets in multiple ways.  But nevertheless, this turning over of the hourglass and shortening of time for which one can debut on Oprah is finally here.  There is no longer a limitless amount of shows left on the channel - and not every brand will make it.  

That said, it's time to do a few things now:  

Make Your Story Count:  tell it well, make it relevant, make it Oprah and make it TRUE! 

Share Your Story:  Email it to the show, pitch the correct producer (do your research, watch the show, call the show), send a letter, share your story via their Oprah.com website (they do read those), look at what stories are coming up and see how you would fit into those already planned stories.

Grow your buzz outside of Oprah:  When Oprah finds a great story online or in another magazine, or if her producers read about something big and that everyone is buzzing about, that story has a better chance at getting on the air than one that has never been heard before.  So go out and create buzz about yourself and your brand.  Make it exciting, make a producer WANT to tell your story.  Keep doing what you are doing and doing it well, and the press will find you.  Of course keep sharing great things with them, but make yourself so buzzed about that they can't help but hear about you!

Believe!  Imagine Oprah calling your name, share your story with friends and colleagues and what your goal is, connect via your business with others and do it so well, believe in your mission so much, that others will find that belief infectious and want to help tell your story!

Now go forward with hope for Oprah, yes, but moreso with hope for a great pr campaign, a great story, and a great time making your brand the best it can be and affecting others in a good way as you do it!