Right now as I write, I’m sitting in an automobile dealership, waiting for a repair on my van to be completed. And I’m watching Oprah.

Oprah’s net worth is something in the vicinity of $3 Billion (with a B), and considering that she doesn’t really even think of herself as a business person (see her interview in Forbes from a few years back), she’s a marketer well worth your careful attention.

When Oprah had her book club, being a chosen author was a ticket to instant fame. Advertisers paid enormous fees to reach her upscale audience, and millions of American women tuned in at 9am each day. Oprah cut a wide path right through the middle of the population and entered the conversation inside America’s head.

The astute marketer will take note: If she’s talking about something, you should probably think about talking about it, too. Yes, even those of us in hi-tech, business-to-business sales.

A lesson from Oprah’s University of Marketing Wisdom

“Oprah’s Angel Networks” showcased America’s finest charitable activists. It was combined with powerful, emotional corporate sponsorship gifts that provided their sponsors with a superb publicity opportunity.

A great way to keep kids off the streets is music. So one guest was an inner city boys’ choir director from Florida, who combined membership in his choir with stringent requirements for academic achievement. This took kids off the streets and pointed them solidly in the direction of a good college education and honest career.

He was presented with a $100,000 gift from Oprah’s Angels, and – pay close attention – 150 brand new tuxedos from Perry Ellis. Two sharply-dressed young men took the stage, sporting sharp new tuxedos and perfectly shined shoes.

Handsome indeed, lemme tell ya.

Oprah said:

“One of our sponsors, Perry Ellis, heard about you guys and said “Tuxedos? We’ve got some of those around here” so they decided to help you out. So they’ve graciously donated 150 brand new tuxedos to your choir!”

Well obviously the cost of the tuxedos pales in comparison to the expense of securing that spot on the Oprah show. But I can’t imagine a more emotionally provocative way to “brand” Perry Ellis in front of ten or twenty million people.

Pay close attention: If you’re interested in ‘branding’ your business, forget all that ad agency crap. Don’t get an Energizer bunny or a Taco Bell chihuahua.

Take your charity dollars and PUBLICIZE.

And remember this: you didn’t need to give Oprah a quarter million for a sponsorship opportunity on her show. You just needed to put out a sizzling press release that pulled a few heartsrings and the story would be told ’round the world.

Also on this same show: Land’s End donated a year’s supply of clothes to every child in an orphanage. Gateway donated brand new computers and flat screen monitors to an inner city boarding school. These companies simply donated their own products.

Can you do something like that?

I think you can.
 

Photo by donkeyhotey cc by-sa

About the Author

Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.

He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.