Brand Central Station

Okay, it’s now official, Martha’s out at her magazine.

Well, kinda sorta out.

She’s still going to provide some direction as “founding editorial director” and, according to Crain’s New York Business, will “provide creative inspiration for her new product design and development,” among other things. Apparently, Martha will be doing more than making license plates while she’s in stir. Her company will have her writing books (homekeeping and baking) provide some advice on television projects and on the “continuing evolution” of the company she started.

Am I the only one who finds Martha writing a book about baking while in prison to be more than a little humorous? I can see it now: “Don’t forget to fold in this special ingredient, a hacksaw. I purchased mine at the local hardware store and, since I had a little spare time around the house, decoupaged this beautiful decorative pattern to the handle.”

Yeeesh.

There is an interesting branding question tied to all of this, however. Martha Stewart managed to create a significant impression on our minds over the past ten years. How can you think of Jadite bowls or sweet potato soup or whatever it is she highlights in “Living” and not think of Martha?

With an impending name change from “Martha Stewart Living” to “Everyday Living” I can’t help but feel someone’s making a critical error. First off, the Martha Stewart lifestyle does not reflect most people’s “everyday” life. After all, what would Martha do if I unleashed my four kids on her household? The idea of white carpeting and more than one glass per place setting at our house is laughable.

More importantly, I think it’s Martha’s tightly-wound, self-controlled world that makes her “Living” magazine so interesting. For those who can afford some of the little indulgences that she presents, the magazine serves as a kind of guidebook for a better life (and more power to ya’). For the rest of us trapped on the outside looking in, it’s a kind of escap-ism. My wife dreams of the day she can be something between Martha Stewart and Bob Villa – but that’s another column.

My point is that I think changing “Martha Stewart Living” to “Everyday Living” smells more like a lie than Martha’s trial testimony. In fact, I’m not so sure I’d even change the name if I were running the magazine. Do people really think Martha won’t have a hand in directing the publication and her media empire from behind bars?

Think about it … gangstas can have a guy capped while doing hard time in Sing-sing, what’s to keep Martha from changing mauve to taupe on a whim while she’s wearing prison grays?

And, maybe that’s a good thing.

Later.

Crain’s New York Business