What we think » Life after Oprah by Chet Fenster

Oprah's final good-bye has me curious to see where her "golden touch" will resonate with consumers in the future.

Throughout the years, Oprah has had the impalpable ability to nod her head at a product and essentially, launch its career.  She leaves her day-time talk show, but her influential "touch” will carry over.  Yes, it will change the ways in which we receive Oprah's "Top Ten," but a mogul this significant won't just disappear.  She will leave a trail of breadcrumbs for her viewers, and perhaps even her future successors. 

We won’t see Oprah gushing about products on TV, even on OWN.  Her "favorite things" will be reserved for the pages of O and her social media outlets-- let's not underestimate the power of a tweet from Oprah saying how much she loves a book or a particular sweater. She's still an influencer and will be for the next 20 years. Oprah's a very curious person, she's passionate about discovering new things, and we know she likes to share with her friends and the audience... that will never change. Her “favorites” won't be as neatly packaged as they were in The Oprah Winfey Show, but they'll still be around.

As her priorities have shifted to OWN, Oprah will use that as a platform to promote documentaries (the new books!) and feature films (like she did when she put her name on Precious).

Publicists will seek other shows (as they always have), and their priority list will simply change. Oprah was "The Get" for almost every category. For consumer products, it raises the game for Ellen and Rachel Ray-- they're that much more important. Rosie O'Donnell will also benefit. Harpo has an amazing network of relationships and they will push hard to bring those firsts to Rosie's new talk show on OWN. I expect the show will offer a lot of opportunities for brands, as well as surprises for the audiences-- it's in Rosie's DNA.

The challenge will come for authors and projects with more serious subject matter. Oprah had the unique ability to do both fun and serious with credibility... publicists will probably find themselves with few outlets in daytime. Katie Couric will probably be the #1 stop for that material, should her syndicated show launch.

Oprah is so significant that she affects the way in which viewers, critics and consumers form opinions around news, products and personal viewpoints. She is walking away, leaving an open game for those who trailed behind her in the running for the past 25 years - but, she'll always have one foot in the door. Oprah has not only set the bar, but built the bar in which her successors must follow. She will most definitely replicate her success and remain relevant through the viewership platforms she has implemented for numerous outlets over the years.

Chet Fenster is Head of MEC Entertainment, North America