Here in the U.S., the media darling of the year is the 30-Minute Meal perky cooking diva Rachael Ray. It seems that her brand and media presence jumped from a whisper (a few cooking shows and cook books) to a scream (a talk show, magazine, product line, pet advice, etc.) all in a short period of time.
I think she is kind of spunky and I admire her business growth so she doesn’t bother me a lot, but I know that there are some people who feel she is the human equivalent of nails scratching on a blackboard. Maybe there is such a thing as too perky.
Regardless of how you feel about her personally, I think we can all learn a few things about building a brand from her meteoric success:
- Find a real need in the marketplace. So many stressed and overworked Moms and Dads long for a way to cook healthy and fast meals for their families. Rachel saw this need when she started out as a humble manager and cook at a food equipment store in Albany, New York and started offering 30-Minute Meal cooking classes as a way to increase sales. They became so popular that she realized she was on to something big, and started writing cookbooks.
- To get national media, start local. After her cooking classes exploded, she got some local press coverage. This caught the eye of an Albany television producer who invited her to do a weekly 30 Minute Meals segment for the local news. As she was promoting her first book, she got booked on the Today Show, and an interview on a Public Broadcasting Station caught the interest of a Food Network executive who invited her to start the first of her four cooking shows. Many people want big, national media immediately. Start in your own backyard, and you may be surprised when the media heavies come calling.
- Be yourself. I find it hard to believe that her smiling personality is all an act ( or is she really like Martha Stewart behind closed doors? ). A big part of what draws people to Rachael is her unpretentiousness in the kitchen. She doesn’t pretend to be a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and makes people feel that they, too, could have fun in the kitchen while preparing a quick and healthy meal. Her personality is her brand.
- Build a product set around a core concept. For Rachael, it was the 30-Minute Meals that started as a class, then moved to a cookbook, then a food network show, then a series of shows, then a magazine and a national daytime talk show. Now she is selling kids music CDs on her site which is a little confusing, but I guess it is somehow in the next generation of products. The idea is to take a great fundamental idea and build a whole set of products and services around it.
- Align yourself with influential people who will help get you where you want to go. I am not sure how the introduction happened, but Rachael Ray somehow connected with Oprah. After appearing on Oprah’s show a few times, she struck a deal to have Oprah’s Harpo Productions produce her daytime talk show. I have a feeling that aligning with Oprah was a very conscious choice on Rachael’s part, given the target demographic of Oprah’s viewers.
So while you may faint at the thought of ever using a term like "Yum-o," don’t lose the branding lessons of the most exposed cooking sensation of the year.
Personally, I am fascinated to know if Rachael Ray is really happy. Not just with her financial success, but with her life. What do you think?
She’s real! It seems that most people who do dislike her when I question them about really why, it stems back to either they are jealous of her success and flight or that she is so real and they wish they could be more like her, true to themselves.
Isn’t it interesting how as woman, we slam our sex instead of praising and appreciating another woman finding her power within her passion and living it! Rodney King’s, “can’t we all just get along?”
I send a prayer out the Rachel and say, “Go Girl, you made it happen for yourself, living your spirit, creating your dream. Thanks for being out there so our daughters have you as a role model to be who they are. They don’t have to be skinny, have botox, wear a size 2 jean, have a man on their arm, do blow jobs in middle school to be accepted and ok with who you are, just to accomplish this thing called life.
She’s happy!
“They became so popular that she realized she was on to something big, and started writing cookbooks.”
I think _you’re_ on to something big with case studies like this one, Pamela. It helps beginners like me to see the path of someone else who made it. You should make this a regular feature.
If you want to know if she’s happy with her choices, why don’t you ask her? You’re a journalist, aren’t you?
Escapee, week 3.
I think of Paula Deen as my Southern mamma and Rachael Ray as my slightly annoying but fun cousin. And, that’s the secret of both their success. We feel like we know them (and some of us hate ’em but that’s the way it goes).
I find Martha Stewart discomforting to an extreme. I always recall Julia Child’s comment about Ms. Stewart, “She’s all about control, not comfort.” Home, food and all the rest should be about comfort (and, yes, a bit of fun.)
And, at least Ms. Ray is doing her best to get people back in the kitchen and cooking from (some) fresh ingredients.
Rachael Ray and Branding
From one of my favorite blogs, Escape from Cubicle Nation check out this post on what Rachael Ray can teach us about branding. Think of it as a early kick off to our upcoming Paradox Branding series of conversations. Right
I think she’s happy. I generally have a good feel for people and like you said, I don’t think it’s an act. Her personality definitely shines through.
And I say well done to her for reading her market and going for it!
i hope she is happy. or it’s pretty tiring to appear to be so happy all those time!
cheers,
cindy
Happy? I bet there are times she wishes she never did that whole carry everything in one trip thing and I’ll bet even she cringes saying EVOO for the zillionth time. Happy? She appears very happy – maybe its appreciative — hard to tell. Thing is and I don’t know what is about the Foodies be it Rachel, Emeril or Paula but they are not overnight successes by any means — in fact I saw on Oprah where Paula Dean was so afraid of crowds she didn’t come out of her house for 10 years!
Happy? dunno.
Appreciative? absolutely!