Oprah's Touch

You know it’s Christmas time when Oprah releases her Favorite Things List. Each Holiday season, the legendary talk-show host, Oprah Winfrey, handpicks and creates a list of her favorite items and gadgets of the year. If you’re lucky to create a product she loves, a mention on this list might skyrocket your success. The fortunate products that make it in this exclusive list, experience the Oprah effect: an instant increase in sales and prestige. That’s because Oprah is one of the most influential people of our time, and has secured a huge following over the years. Those big numbers translate into big sales for the products Oprah recommends. She is not only a pop-culture star, but she is also a star-maker.

We’ve seen many success stories of products that have been featured in her Favorite Things List or secured a mention in her show, and immediately see sales peak. Yet, you can’t fully understand the Oprah effect until you experience it firsthand. While working in Orlando-based advertising agency Push, I was given the task of collecting media clippings for one of our clients, Corkcicle.

Since it has been available to the public in early 2012, Corkcicle, the revolutionary product that chills wine from the inside, had experienced great sales success and fantastic media coverage that ranged from ESPN to The New York Times.

Nonetheless, after being mentioned in Oprah’s Favorite Things List 2012, the media buzz has been tremendous. In just three days, Corkcicle was featured in more than twenty media channels ranging from national TV shows such as Good Morning America and Forbes, to industry-specific publications like Food Republic. I really don’t know much about the sales of the product since Oprah fell in love with it, but I know about the Public Relations and branding effect Oprah has had on it. She turns no names into brand names, without the intervention of a publicist. Looking at this phenomenon from a Public Relations perspective, it’s safe to say that having Oprah mention your product is like placing an hour-long commercial during the Superbowl. She has become the crown jewel of media relations, and the most coveted media placement in the Public Relations world. 

I think it’s time to review the famous saying of Mida’s touch and rename it Oprah’s touch, for everything she touches turns to gold.