• by Larry Dobrow , December 1, 2005

When Jane Pratt, editor of the eponymous Jane, left the magazine this summer, print buyers and planners fretted over the title's fate. Would her replacement, Brandon Holley of ElleGirl, be able to fill Pratt's patented editorial guru/ad-seller/big sister role? Was it still Jane without Jane?

Branding experts weren't nearly as worried. For years, they had warned that linking a company's identity too closely to a single individual could be a potential liability. "What if Oprah was exposed as a communist spy? For her company, that would be like having its kidneys cut out," quips Bill Schley, a partner in brand consultancy David Inc. and co-author of Why Johnny Can't Brand: Rediscovering the Lost Art of the Big Idea.

Experts cite examples where the boss's departure has hobbled otherwise sturdy brands: Martha Stewart, Steve Madden, even Steve Jobs during his Apple hiatus. Not that they suggest downplaying the pluses of the top dog: "An Oprah or a Richard Branson stands for authenticity, which is one of the critical dimensions to having a brand that really means something," says Nathan Coyle, senior strategist at Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve consultancy.

But those leaders need an easily transmitted vision as well as a strong personality. "The vision can't just be in his head," says Simon Sinek, founder/CEO of Sinek Partners and a Columbia University lecturer. "It can't be, 'If you know the guy, you get it.' " Sinek points to Southwest Airlines' Herb Kelleher as a leader who infused his values throughout the organization. "Herb's not there anymore, but everything that he embodied still is," Sinek observes.

As for Jane, pundits plan to give Holley a few issues before weighing in. Notes Jonathan Asher, president of brand consultancy Dragon Rouge, "The magazine called Jane stands for something in consumers' minds beyond the person Jane Pratt, just as Ford automobiles are not particularly associated with Henry Ford any longer."

Larry Dobrow is a regular contributor to MEDIA magazine. This story is republished from the November issue.