Commentary

"My, What A Long Tail You Have"

I've been working on a book for the last few months--one that detailed what the implications were for marketers in the age of the demise of popular culture. Unfortunately, I think I may already be outdated with my basic idea. Let me explain...

My concept was that the Internet and digital technology have created a culture that is rich with smaller, segmented audiences, which I called "tribes." These groups are no longer geographically isolated from one another, but are in fact united by ideas and through the power of technology. In this manner, we are witnessing the disintegration of mass media and the development of narrowcast content (targeted content aimed at a smaller, more engaged audience). I was really excited about the idea--and then I came across The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, which was discussed in-depth in last week's Time magazine. It was then that I realized someone else had stated my idea much more eloquently than I had done thus far.

Chris's catchphrase, "The Long Tail," is already commonly used in our industry, and businesspeople and marketers alike are buying into the concept that their target is now comprised of many different audiences rather than one larger aggregate audience. This makes the job of marketers much more difficult and explains why affiliate programs, user-generated content, and search are so effective at driving a response. These tools are targeted to groups of users, but not on a one-to-one basis. Rather they are targeted on a small-group-to-small-group basis, with very little wasted impressions being offered. They provide an ability to have segmented messages targeted to segmented audiences, which provide relevancy and increase effectiveness. The mass audience would typically respond to a broad message, but the masses are no longer of one single mindset. They are exploring the intricacies of their interests and slightly modifying the kinds of messages they respond to.

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The article cited Amazon and eMusic as examples of companies that utilize the Long Tail model in their sales and customer service. Both of these retailers provide a deeper catalogue of products that are available to consumers; the aggregate of small-scale sales volume across a larger array of products adds up to a very effective business model, providing the Long Tail with products targeted to them. The model cannot be offered by many brick-and-mortar storefronts due to the problems with maintaining such a large inventory. Online companies are more capable of servicing the Long Tail because inventory can be managed remotely. It's an interesting concept and one that I find applicable to a host of online businesses.

The implication for marketers is that, while you can plan for a large audience and a basic message strategy, you need to give consideration to further segmenting your ideas and using these more targeted vehicles as a means to drive awareness and sales. With exponentially more media formats available for consideration when planning, media planners now need to be even more considerate of the communities surrounding their audience. How do you arm your audience with the tools to evangelize your products and drive referrals? How do you create virality in your marketing? How do you allow your messaging to speak to the sub-segments of your audience that you may not have been considering initially? And even more importantly, how do you react to that segmented response and provide them with more detailed information?

I have to admit that I don't know the answer yet, which is why it had been taking me a while to write my book, but at least I feel synergy with what's taking place in the current market. It's a case where the speed of change in the market creates a wildly exciting space--and one that requires focus to maintain effectiveness. Now I can get on the idea of applying this model and maybe, just maybe, I'll get this book finished someday soon.

What do you think are the implications of The Long Tail?

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