So You Want to be on Oprah
We have lost track of the number of times a client or potential client has told us that their "ultimate goal" of their public relations efforts is to be on Oprah—or in her magazine, or on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, or…you get the point. We've coined a new term for this: oprahitis.
Oprahitis is not a bad disease, but it's important to remember to keep things in perspective when planning your goals and developing your PR plan. First, a very, very small number of people or businesses actually appear on Oprah. If this is the only thing you care about, then more than likely you will be disappointed, no matter what level of success you do accomplish.
Second, are the people who buy your products or services actually watching Oprah? Are you so focused on this goal that you're neglecting—or even ignoring—the more appropriate avenues to reach your target audience? You might be more successful with a story in a trade magazine, appearing on a local TV or radio talk show, or being featured in a paper like the Denver Business Journal (or its local equivalent in your area).
Third, if you actually do achieve this goal, do you have enough products to fulfill what could be a huge increase in sales? If you provide a service, do you have enough staff? The worst thing would be to appear on Oprah, then not be able to benefit from it.
Basically, we're saying that you need to develop achievable and sustainable goals for your product or service—and for most, this doesn't include national TV exposure or being featured in a major magazine or newspaper. And, even if it does, you can't go from being a start-up to this major exposure overnight. Lofty goals are great and we're not saying that you shouldn't have them, but one must "walk before they can run" in order to attain them.
A good example of this is a professional athlete. In Denver, we had a quarterback who achieved the ultimate goals of winning not one, but two Super Bowls and going into the Hall of Fame. When he played pee-wee football as a youth, he probably dreamed of playing professionally. However, he realized that before he could reach that level, he had to play junior high, high school and college football. In other words, he implemented his plan step-by-step, gaining valuable experience, skills and knowledge along the way.
It's OK to dream big. Just remember to keep your feet on the ground when your head is in the clouds!
