The Long Tail vs. The Blockbuster

Interesting article in The Economist recently discussing the rise and rise of the Blockbuster in opposition to the theory of The Long Tail proposed by Chris Anderson.

Of course, as usual it's not a case of either or. Rather it's both and with the two in balance as any power law curve would demonstrate.

Both the mass market and the niche have potential for brands as long as they understand how to efficiently exploit it.

Social Media for Social Marketing

Hats off to the TDA (Training and Development Agency for Schools) in England who earlier this year set up Facebook pages curated by (apparently real-life) teachers, Elizabth Doyle and Kaol Rasarathnam - http://www.facebook.com/teaching and http://www.facebook.com/teach - to answer questions for people interested in getting into teaching.

Not only do the sites combined have over 6,000 fans, they are active with both those looking for advice on how to enter teaching as well as current teachers giving advice. Admittedly, we've not seen actual results in terms of new teachers signing up but it's a nice use of the platform and well targeted to the demographic they're trying to recruit.

What's holding other Government agencies back from engaging with citizens in similar fashion in an environment which is made for dynamic question and answer sessions?

Razorfish FEED - Digital Brand Experience Report

Thanks to the guys over at BBH Labs for bringing the Razorfish FEED report to our attention.

This US based report is in its 3rd year and, while using US data only, it has equal relevance to us on the other side of the pond.

Not only do they highlight effectively how consumers interaction with brands is changing in the digital world, they also very generously give away not only a PDF of the report but also free access to the data and charts. Open source or what?

They are truly walking the walk.

Blogging Students

An interesting piece recently in Harvard Business Review highlighted the sensitivity most major client organisations feel about their brand and the growing sense that they are losing control of it as social media continues its inexorable rise (Facebook reached 350 Million users recently).

Brands have only ever lived in the minds of consumers - unless they were burnt into the side of a cow. Interesting then to see this piece in the New York Times on how MIT is using it's strongest advocates (or, potentially, detractors should things not be as rosy as the official brochures claim),students, as official bloggers. Great to see an organisation confident enough in its service provision and strong enough in its conviction to give free reign to these ambassadors.

Better to be involved in the conversation that is already happening about your brand than sticking your head in the sand and hoping it will all blow over.

The Economics of Free

What happens when advances in technology allow many things to be produced for more or less nothing? And what happens when those things are then made available to the consumer for free? Think how mp3's have affected CD sales or how Gillette give away razors to sell blades.

Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief of Wired and author of "The Long Tail", talks about the thinking behind his new book "Free: The Future of Radical Price" at Big Think. Easier, although less fulfilling, than buying and reading the book.

What could you give away for free that would hook consumers to your client's brand to create future selling opportunities?

Social Hype - where's the proof?

Lots of excitement over at Mashable yesterday surrounding discussion of a recent "cool" campaign for the opening of and Ikea store in Malmo.

The subsequent discussion is far more interesting than the campaign itself in our opinion. On two counts:

1. Is or isn't the use of Facebook's native viral nature being compromised by the (natural) attempt to commercialise what has in the past been a truly social technology? What happens to social media when/if we witness the end of the free platform?

2. Whither accountability for social media? Is "cool" enough to justify the no doubt significant investment in time and money to execute a campaign of this sophistication? Shouldn't social (as every other medium) be judged on its ability to sell more or, in the case of public sector clients, more effectively change behaviour?

There are too many agencies out there preaching Twitter/Facebook etc. to gullible clients dazzled by the shiny lights of the new without taking the time to understand why their clients should be in this medium leading far too often to wasted resource and dissapointment.

It's not a question of whether you should be participating in social media, nor even of what you should be using it for. Rather, you should be asking yourself why.

Discuss.

News Corp or News Corpse?

After a long late summer (it was summer wasn't it?) layoff we're back. Sorry for the hiatus but we've been immersed in all sorts of interesting stuff. More of which to follow.

First off though, Rupert Murdoch's alleged deal with Microsoft to "de-index" News Corp content from Google in favour of an exclusive paid-content deal with Bing.

Does this set the scene for a search enginge battle which provides a ray of light for the ailing newspaper industry. Some things worth thinking about:

Will the extra money News Corp gets from Microsoft outweigh the lost traffic from Google?
Can News Corp afford to jeopardize it's online share of voice?
Is this a sustainable business model for Microsoft?
Will searchers even notice the difference if Google doesn't list News Corp content?
If this battle ensures, what does it mean for the future of search?

Some seemingly well informed comment from Business Week here:

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2009/tc20091124_203544.htm

Interested to hear your views.

Be the medium

This brilliant article from Seth Godin has revolutionised for me what it means to buy traditional media space. His view is that we're not actually buying anything; we're simply renting eyeballs - and for as a little as a few weeks at a time. Then it's on to the next brand.

He argues that paying for your own media platform a much more effective way the way to "nurture, educate and convert an audience" and cites examples of brands who are already doing this, and doing it well.

Check it out in all its glory here.