The Martha Stewart Phenomenon

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Martha Stewart is to women what Bob Vila is to men. I believe this is as simple as a comparison can get. And although women are her main demographic, men are also learning to cook a four-course meal for a party of eight, sew up a loose button on a dress shirt and even give their bachelor pad a new "motif."

Having acquired her homemaking skills from her mother and her gardening savvy from her father, Martha Stewart is a reference when it comes to "around the house" matters. Whether you're planning to entertain guests during a holiday party, prepare perfect desserts to impress your girlfriend's parents or maintain a garden, Martha is the answer to the questions you might be afraid to ask.

Although Martha started out as a professional model before earning her bachelor's degree in history and architectural history at Barnard College, it is her experience as a stockbroker on Wall Street that has equipped her with her business sense, and her catering experience that helped her perfect her cooking skills.

After writing her first book in 1982, Entertaining -- about stylish recipes and presentations -- she wrote articles for the New York Times , became an editor for House Beautiful and a contributing editor for Family Circle , and eventually launched her own magazine, Martha Stewart Living .

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. -- an integrated information and commerce company that creates pragmatic content and related merchandise for homemakers and other consumers -- went public in 1999 and has maintained a steady stock price, even through the various tumults of the stock market. The company coins itself as "the leading authority for the home." It's as simple as that: Martha is shown a house, and she advises the owners on how to make the most of it with her "domestic arts" expertise.



Martha Stewart appeals to the masses. She sets out to provide original how-to content to as many consumers as possible; she gives people the information and do-it-yourself ingenuity, in a way that only Martha Stewart could.

The reason she is so popular is because she has a foothold in publishing, television, merchandising, and Internet/direct commerce. She has three magazines ( Martha Stewart Living , Martha Stewart Weddings , and Martha Stewart Baby ), an Emmy Award-winning TV show ( Martha Stewart Living ), a syndicated "askMartha" column in over 230 newspapers, the "askMartha" radio program on over 330 stations throughout the United States, a total of 34 books (which in total have sold more than 10 million copies), and a website that is home to over 1.7 million registered users.

Since her guilty verdict in March 2004 (on all four counts of obstructing justice and lying to investigators about the well-timed stock sale of ImClone in 2001) and especially since her five-month stint in prison, Martha Stewart's fame has only increased.

Reports of her days in West Virginia's "Camp Cupcake" made headline news, and when she finally got out of jail and began serving her time in home arrest in March 2005, Martha Stewart got a huge amount of media coverage. After her 10-month sentence, she will begin two years of probation.



Being voted one of "America's 25 Most Influential People" by Time magazine in 1996 and one of the "50 Most Powerful Women" by Fortune magazine in October 1998, Martha Stewart has made her mark in American culture. And with six Emmy awards under her belt, she is definitely entrenched in people's minds when it comes to matters of the home, bringing new meaning to "household name."

So long as Martha continues to impress audiences and investors, chances are that Martha Stewart is here to stay as a person and an institution. And don't worry about her insider trading incident -- while in prison, Martha made a deal with Mark Burnett to become the host of a new Apprentice -style reality show. And since she was sentenced in July 2004, stock in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (Research) has more than quadrupled; as of March 2005, the shares are near their all-time high.

Nothing can make Martha's cookie crumble...

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Resources:
www.marthastewart.com
www.businessweek.com
http://talkshows.about.com