Oprah Winfrey - The Story of an Entrepreneur

Oprah – The Entreprenuer Contd...

Oprah's message, 'You are responsible for your own life,' acted as her unique selling proposition (USP) just like 'convenience' and 'everyday low prices' (the USPs) of McDonald's and Wal-Mart, respectively. The Harpo empire, however did not function purely on Oprah's personal skills. She had put in place a team that dedicatedly worked towards keeping the business running. Dennis Swanson⁷ and Jeff Jacobs⁸ (Jeff) President, Harpo Group, contributed greatly to Oprah's success as a talk show host as well as a businesswoman over the years. Explaining Oprah's business, Jeff said, "We bet on ourselves.

We are an intellectual property company, and our partners (ABC, Hearst, Oxygen) are distributors. Core content is developed here and has never left our home base." Jeff said that controlling content was a difficult task as Oprah was not only the chief content creator but also the chief content itself.

For instance, every issue of 'O' sported a 'bold and winning' picture of Oprah on its cover page; in her columns in 'O,' she gave details of her personal life such as her battle against abuse, her triumph over adversity and her attempts at losing weight. She also discussed her painful experiences as victim of child abuse and racism. Commenting on the content, Oprah said, "I bring all my stuff with me."

Analysts felt that Oprah's life was central to her 'brand.' They believed that by making herself and her struggle against adversity the central theme of her messages, she successfully touched the American psyche and motivated Americans to become self-reliant.

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7] Dennis Swanson was the head of WLS-TV, Chicago. He appointed Oprah as a talk show host and convinced her that she could succeed even though she was overweight and an African American. Such was his belief in Oprah's capability, that he ran her show opposite Chicago's number one talk show hosted by Phil Donahue. Within one month, Oprah's show replaced Donahue's in ratings.

8] Jeff was an entertainment lawyer in Chicago. He helped Oprah handle legal formalities regarding her contracts. However, by 1986 he convinced Oprah to establish her own company instead of lending her talent to outsiders. This led to the formation of Harpo Entertainment Inc, in which Jeff was given 5% share. Jeff joined Harpo as President in 1989. In recognition of his contribution to the company, Jeff's stake in the company was increased to 10% later on.

Case Details

Case Code : LDEN006
Themes: Corporate Social Responsibility/Woman Entrepreneurs
Case Length : 14 Pages
Period : 1957-2000
Organization : Infosys
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note : Not Available
Countries : Japan
Industry : Media and Entertainment

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