Dive Brief:
- On Monday, it was disclosed that Oprah Winfrey had bought 10% of Weight Watchers.
- The struggling Weight Watchers brand has had issues gaining new members recently, but experts see the media mogul’s involvement is a marketing boost.
- According to the Omnicom Group, Oprah ranks fourth in celebrity perception for influence.
Dive Insight:
Weight Watchers’ brand has gone through a rough patch gaining new members, but it might get a boost from its latest investor – Oprah Winfrey, who recently bought a 10% stake in the company. In terms of celebrity endorsement, Oprah still has influence according to Omnicom Group’s Marketing Arm, ranking fourth behind Kate Middleton, Bill Gates and Taylor Swift. She ranks 18th for celebrity endorsement.
One piece of evidence of Oprah’s influence was Weight Watchers’ stock price more than doubled after the announcement of her investment.
Matt Delzell, managing director of the Marketing Arm’s celebrity talent acquisition group, told the Wall Street Journal, “No brand is going to do something with a celebrity if their bottom line isn’t impacted in a certain way. She’s one of the very few that drives the needle for brands.”
Oprah is also expected to appear in Weight Watchers advertisements. In the past, she has been candid about her own struggles with weight loss, and experts believe this endorsement will come across as more sincere because of it. The question that remains is whether her star power can help the brand gain not just new users, but new millennial users.