Ted Striphas poses an interesting idea about Oprah’s brand not being something that is applied to products, but that Oprah’s brand is “producted.” The difference? In my mind, I’ve worked it out that products, e.g. a cookbook, don’t merely have the Oprah label applied to them and, thus, retain some of their original identity, but that those products become a part of the Oprah stable. They take on Oprah-esque meaning by association. Who really cares what the products original form or intent was as long as it has the Oprah essence applied to it?
Ted continues with the idea of Oprah as a platform from which to launch. The notion of Oprah O/S worth contemplating, but from a layperson’s viewpoint (merely gadget addict), I’m loath to go too far with that.
