The Oprah Effect

[TSLAopt]

Gene over in the short term thread was kind enough to share his observation at the store andOprah's Instagram post was great testament to her enthusiasm in test driving and buying a Model S. Tesla could not have asked for a better celebrity endorsement in my opinion. I mentioned this to my father who is older and actually has his Model S on order foroctober delivery (after 2 years of me badgering him to get one and then the referral program). He said something like "wow, that explain's why Ms. White down the street just ordered her Tesla. She's really old so it didn't make sense when she first told me a couple days ago that she just ordered one too, but she's a big Oprah fan, and Oprah's endorsement along with Consumer Reports recent review probably got her to order it."This could be a rare case, but I have a feeling this Oprah Effect could turn out to be huge.I hope Tesla has a special top secret Black Ops VIP delivery and service team they can assign for celebrities like Oprah. I also hope when she takes delivery that Elon leaves her a sweet hand written note in the car just to welcome her to the Tesla family and thank her for becoming a customer. Every tweet or Instagram post or mention by Oprah of her positive experience with her Model S probably will lead to at least hundreds but possibly thousands of new orders.

enough so that this topic deserves its own thread

 

[Cattledog]

Gene over in the short term thread was kind enough to share his observation at the store andOprah's Instagram post was great testament to her enthusiasm in test driving and buying a Model S. Tesla could not have asked for a better celebrity endorsement in my opinion. I mentioned this to my father who is older and actually has his Model S on order foroctober delivery (after 2 years of me badgering him to get one and then the referral program). He said something like "wow, that explain's why Ms. White down the street just ordered her Tesla. She's really old so it didn't make sense when she first told me a couple days ago that she just ordered one too, but she's a big Oprah fan, and Oprah's endorsement along with Consumer Reports recent review probably got her to order it."This could be a rare case, but I have a feeling this Oprah Effect could turn out to be huge.I hope Tesla has a special top secret Black Ops VIP delivery and service team they can assign for celebrities like Oprah. I also hope when she takes delivery that Elon leaves her a sweet hand written note in the car just to welcome her to the Tesla family and thank her for becoming a customer. Every tweet or Instagram post or mention by Oprah of her positive experience with her Model S probably will lead to at least hundreds but possibly thousands of new orders.

enough so that this topic deserves its own thread

Oprah = Secret Demand Lever

 

[drinkerofkoolaid]

The Oprah effect won't be as strong for Tesla, since so many big name celebrities are already being very vocal about owning a Model S. We have a thread on here devoted to that.

 

[RobStark]

Oprah has been off the air for over 4 years. Doesn't the "Oprah Effect" begin to diminish?

 

[adiggs]

Oprah has been off the air for over 4 years. Doesn't the "Oprah Effect" begin to diminish?

Maybe absence / rarity makes it stronger?

 

[RobStark]

Maybe absence / rarity makes it stronger?

So go after Phil Donahue or Sally Jesse Rafael endorsement?

 

[Cattledog]

So go after Phil Donahue or Sally Jesse Rafael endorsement?

She's pretty much dominated the Forbes list of influential celebrities the last 15 years. As far as I know (but I don't hang out on cable TV all that much) there's no Phil Donahue or Sally Jesse Rafael Network, PD The Magazine or sallyjesse.com (you can buy it, actually). She appeals to a demographic that has more ability on a relative basis to purchase a Model S, and she influences that demographic. It will have an impact.

 

[RobStark]

She's pretty much dominated the Forbes list of influential celebrities the last 15 years. As far as I know (but I don't hang out on cable TV all that much) there's no Phil Donahue or Sally Jesse Rafael Network, PD The Magazine or sallyjesse.com (you can buy it, actually). She appeals to a demographic that has more ability on a relative basis to purchase a Model S, and she influences that demographic. It will have an impact.

No doubt she has an impact on the entertainment business.

That does not mean a direct impact on consumers.

She used to have that. Any product she endorsed had immediate skyrocketing sales.

I remember a GF or two buying whatever book she had on her show.

What business has she had a great impact on lately?

Oprah Winfrey The Magazine has a circulation of 2.3M. This Magazine is directed towards a median age of 47.9, median home value of $214,281, median HHI of $68,911, and Median IEI of $38,756

The Oprah Winfrey Magazine has a demographic that is likely significantly below Model 3 buyer.
Tesla Model S buyer profile.

The Model S

Buyer Profile
Male:	83.9%
Female:	16.1%
Income under $50,000:	5.7%
Income $50,000-$99,999:	17.2%
Income over $100,000:	77.3%
18-44 yrs. Old:	33.2%
45-64 yrs. old:	50.6%
65+ yrs. old:	16.2%

Forbes' current Top 10 of Influential Celebrities.

#1	Floyd Mayweather	38	$300 M	Athletes
	#2	Manny Pacquiao	36	$160 M	Athletes
	#3	Katy Perry	30	$135 M	Musicians
	#4	One Direction	-	$130 M	Musicians
	#5	Howard Stern	61	$95 M	Personalities
	#6	Garth Brooks	53	$90 M	Musicians
	#7	James Patterson	68	$89 M	Authors
	#8	Robert Downey Jr.	50	$80 M	Actors
	#8	Taylor Swift	25	$80 M	Musicians
	#10	Cristiano Ronaldo

 

[Cattledog]

No doubt she has an impact on the entertainment business.

That does not mean a direct impact on consumers.

She used to have that. Any product she endorsed had immediate skyrocketing sales.

I remember a GF or two buying whatever book she had on her show.

What business has she had a great impact on lately?

Oprah Winfrey The Magazine has a circulation of 2.3M. This Magazine is directed towards a median age of 47.9, median home value of $214,281, median HHI of $68,911, and Median IEI of $38,756

The Oprah Winfrey Magazine has a demographic that is likely significantly below Model 3 buyer.
Tesla Model S buyer profile.

The Model S

Buyer Profile
Male:	83.9%
Female:	16.1%
Income under $50,000:	5.7%
Income $50,000-$99,999:	17.2%
Income over $100,000:	77.3%
18-44 yrs. Old:	33.2%
45-64 yrs. old:	50.6%
65+ yrs. old:	16.2%

Decent points, well selected. Oprah is a lot more than Oprah Winfrey Magazine, but if we just use that, that demographic looks sort of mass market to me. Elon has said the Model 3 is to be a compelling, mass market car. I'd say there's reasonable synchronicity, and I wouldn't say that demographic is 'significantly' below the Model 3 buyer. I guess time will tell.

She's #12 on Forbes' most recent list of the world's 100 most influential women. She has been in the Top Ten of the Forbes 100 Influential Celebrities List every year from 1999-2014.

Forbes Celebrity 100 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The only person with 15 straight years by a long shot. That she wasn't listed in 2015 doesn't alter that she has likely been the most influential celebrity of the last 15 years if you give credence to the list.

What's probably the bigger influence than her magazine reader demographic is that she likely influences other celebrities. Who, in turn, influence people, maybe even in the Model S demographic you posted.

Last time I checked my iPhone app, the most cars sold by a referrer was 11. I think she'll influence more than that. I think she still have impact on Model S, X and 3 consumers. Perhaps if you don't think so, we'll just disagree on that - probably will never be stats to verify.

 

[AlMc]

I do hope you are correct that this has a large impact on Tesla recognition that translates into sales for the company and EV adoption. I don't see it but then again I am not in the Oprah demographic.

 

[Cattledog]

I do hope you are correct that this has a large impact on Tesla recognition that translates into sales for the company and EV adoption. I don't see it but then again I am not in the Oprah demographic.

I would guess you once were - age, home value, income - and when you were someone influenced you, just not Oprah!

 

[gene]

Gene over in the short term thread was kind enough to share his observation at the store andOprah's Instagram post was great testament to her enthusiasm in test driving and buying a Model S. Tesla could not have asked for a better celebrity endorsement in my opinion. I mentioned this to my father who is older and actually has his Model S on order foroctober delivery (after 2 years of me badgering him to get one and then the referral program). He said something like "wow, that explain's why Ms. White down the street just ordered her Tesla. She's really old so it didn't make sense when she first told me a couple days ago that she just ordered one too, but she's a big Oprah fan, and Oprah's endorsement along with Consumer Reports recent review probably got her to order it."This could be a rare case, but I have a feeling this Oprah Effect could turn out to be huge.I hope Tesla has a special top secret Black Ops VIP delivery and service team they can assign for celebrities like Oprah. I also hope when she takes delivery that Elon leaves her a sweet hand written note in the car just to welcome her to the Tesla family and thank her for becoming a customer. Every tweet or Instagram post or mention by Oprah of her positive experience with her Model S probably will lead to at least hundreds but possibly thousands of new orders.

enough so that this topic deserves its own thread

TSLAopt, great idea for a thread. I just noticed the thread this morning. I am that "Gene" who was there as Oprah made her order. She was friendly, and behaved as if she was just another customer.

I think she has a lot of influence on people and as far as celebrity's influence goes, she's pretty powerful. I don't remember the details, but a few years back she made a comment that she would no longer eat hamburgers due to the threat of mad cow disease. The Cattleman's Association then sued her on the grounds that her statement drove their sales of beef way down. I'm not sure if the lawsuit came to pass or of the details. Maybe someone knows better. My point is, she can drive the market with her statements.

Once she actually has her Model S in her possession, she will likely be like the rest of us and obsessively talk about her car. Oprah likes to speak publicly and she has plenty of opportunities to do so. You know she'll have Model S pics in her magazine!

 

[TSLAopt]

TSLAopt, great idea for a thread. I just noticed the thread this morning. I am that "Gene" who was there as Oprah made her order. She was friendly, and behaved as if she was just another customer.

I think she has a lot of influence on people and as far as celebrity's influence goes, she's pretty powerful. I don't remember the details, but a few years back she made a comment that she would no longer eat hamburgers due to the threat of mad cow disease. The Cattleman's Association then sued her on the grounds that her statement drove their sales of beef way down. I'm not sure if the lawsuit came to pass or of the details. Maybe someone knows better. My point is, she can drive the market with her statements.

Once she actually has her Model S in her possession, she will likely be like the rest of us and obsessively talk about her car. Oprah likes to speak publicly and she has plenty of opportunities to do so. You know she'll have Model S pics in her magazine!

Anyone have any guesses as to when Oprah will get her Model S?

it would really be a serious demand lever in my opinion if she starts tweeting again about how good/revolutionary it is in the weeks/months after she takes delivery.

With 28 million followers on Twitter, much of which is an audience not familiar with Tesla yet, I would guess best case is an extra 10k+ sales/demand of the S for 2016 if she comes out and talks about or tweets about it more than once or twice over the coming months.

 

[Hkpkfan]

I think she can introduce the Tesla car to a demographic that was not interested in the car before. Maybe there were some ladies out there that are not into sports cars or all geeky about technology, but Oprah introduces the car and gives her stamp of approval behind it and now it makes it a viable option for that group.


Also she could help push the on the fence couple. The husband who loves it, and the wife that just doesn't get it, but with a push from Oprah maybe the wife says OK.



Sorry for generalizing but I do think Oprah has some influence in those areas.

 

[gene]

Also she could help push the on the fence couple. The husband who loves it, and the wife that just doesn't get it, but with a push from Oprah maybe the wife says OK.

This, I completely agree with and can see it happening in many households.