02
2005
Martha Stewart is Making a Comeback
To me it’s an amazing celebrity comeback story – Martha Stewart’s fans just won’t stop loving her. You can see the story of her life in the past year on the chart below. The blue line on the left axis shows the share of visits to her website, marthastewart.com, and the share of searches for ‘martha stewart’ is shown in on the right axis in green. She entered prison in October 2004 and was released in March 2005, and spikes can be seen in searches as well as site visits during those periods. The spikes seen in late November and December show that her name and brand is still strongly connected with home entertaining – some of the leading terms sending visits to her site during those periods were ‘turkey recipes,’ ‘christmas ornaments,’ and ‘christmas cookies.’ So people are still thinking of Martha and going to her site when they need to cook or make things for the holidays.
Now that she’s back on TV and got her own Apprentice show, searches on her name and visits to her site have skyrocketed once again. It bodes well for a personal comeback, and for her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
Interesting….
Although I can’t help but wonder if her Apprentice show is going after the wrong audience.
I have been a huge fan of Martha Stewart, and know many other women who are, as well. I never believed all that stuff about “women feel threatened by Martha” yada yada. Most admire her, and felt she got a raw deal from the justice system.
But the core reason people flocked to her and her products is that she covered topics in a depth and of a type that you couldn’t find anywhere else. Where else could you learn month after month how to make the perfect gravy, or the best way to keep the mashed potatoes warm for two hours so that you could enjoy your holiday instead of slaving over a hot stove at the last minute while everyone else is enjoying cocktails, and so on.
I happen to spend a huge amount of time on business and entrepreneurship issues, but I wouldn’t go to Martha for those points (even though I think she is a brilliant business woman). However, when I need new garden tools, I’ll drive out of my way to buy a Martha Stewart tool any day of the week.
Just my perspective….