Annette Mata watches a recording of Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Amazon's Kindle.
(Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET Networks)LOS ANGELES--I'm guessing that Oprah Winfrey helped boost Kindle sales over the weekend after giving a glowing review of the device on her TV show Friday. I'll also give odds that her endorsement pays off big for Amazon in the future.
On Friday, Winfrey, a daytime TV fixture for decades and one of the richest women in the world, dedicated a significant part of her TV show to recommending the Kindle, Amazon.com's digital-book reader. An ebullient Winfrey called the e-reader "life changing" and her "new favorite device."
Winfrey's recommendations of book titles during the mid-1990s could send sales into the stratosphere, but I wrote Friday that Winfrey's ratings have slid the past year and it was unclear how much impact her endorsement would have on Kindle sales. Amazon declined to comment. I don't expect to learn much as the company is typically tight-lipped about this kind of data.
Regardless, Winfrey's blessing could prove to be a turning point for the Kindle if it helps to spark buzz among women with disposable income who read a lot and otherwise wouldn't have heard about the device. According to some experts, women control or influence 83 cents of every dollar spent in the U.S. I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb by guessing that if they like the device, many could end up buying the e-readers for their children. Our economy is tanking and money could be tight for a long time but I'm thinking one area consumers won't skimp on is their children's education.
What has me thinking that Winfrey remains a taste maker is a chat with Annette Mata, the wife of my cousin Robert, on Sunday night. She casually told me she bought the Kindle after watching Winfrey's broadcast on Friday. She's only one person, but check out who she is.
Mata is a 42-year-old college graduate who grew up in New York and is an occasional viewer of Winfrey's show. She has two children, is a stay-at-home mom, and reads about five books a month. Annette's husband, Robert, is the costumer for actor Will Smith, so while he and his wife would never consider themselves rich, they are well off. What Annette is not is a techie. The only other gadget she owns is an iPhone.
Early last week, she went to shop at Amazon and saw the ad featuring a video clip of Winfrey endorsing the Kindle. She said that Winfrey was so excited about the device that it made her curious. Mata made sure to watch the show.
"Her passion for reading is similar to mine," Mata said. "I thought this would be a great gadget to take with me anywhere; on an airplane, waiting in car pool. I can read The Los Angeles Times and all my books and do it with one little gadget."
The best part was that Amazon was offering a $50 discount to people who keyed in the code OprahWinfrey. "I paid $309 for it," Mata said. "I think it's a brilliant idea."
I'll try to get Amazon to provide some insight to how Kindle sales did over the weekend. If you have any info or anecdotes, please share.
Oprah Winfrey, the empress of taste makers, is about to anoint the Kindle.
Oprah, who became a force in book publishing in the mid 1990s when she began recommending her favorite titles on her TV show, said during Friday's broadcast that the Kindle, Amazon.com's electronic book reader is her "new favorite gadget." She also called the device "life changing."
Oprah Winfrey says the Kindle is "life changing." Oh, and look, there's Amazon's standard Kindle pitch.
(Credit: Amazon.com)There's nobody in publishing who hasn't heard of the "Oprah effect." This is the term given to how the daytime TV star's recommendations can send book sales soaring. She is credited with reinvigorating sales of John Steinbeck's East of Eden. The 51-year-old title spent seven weeks atop the The New York Times bestseller list.
That was at the height of Oprah's popularity. Her show's ratings, however, have sagged in the past year. What's unclear is how much impact her endorsement will have on the Kindle. The good news for Amazon is that Oprah's adoption of the Kindle is a signal that the device is transitioning from early adopters to the mainstream. Amazon played up Oprah's glowing testimonial by posting clips of her show on its front door.
Amazon said this week that the company is happy with Kindle sales but declined to break them out. The company said it wouldn't release the next version of the Kindle until next year at the earliest.
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