The Long Tail of Brand Building - Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control
Mohammed Iqbal, a Creative Planner at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, Bangalore (India), has just published a fantastic 22 page paper titled THE ELONGATING TAIL OF BRAND COMMUNICATION: An approach to brand-building incorporating long tail economics, and it is a must-read.
He neatly summarizes Chris Anderson’s Long Tail theory and applies it to brand communications.
There’s nothing sacrosanct about the single-minded brand proposition. In fact, in markets of abundance it is the wrong strategy to follow. In these markets, it makes sense to make available in the market every single proposition your brand can and should stand for.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:15 pm
September 17th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
January 16th, 2008 at 11:02 am
I don’t fully agree with the full-scale application of Anderson’s long tail theory in brand building practice as theorists like Mohd Iqbal is propagating.
It’s counter-productive to over-expand or over-dilute a brand’s meaning in an attempt to mean something to everybody (no matter how long the tail is!). Modern researches have proven that if a brand’s projection is a clear and focused lighthouse, consumers can capture the core essence of the brand within their realities i.e. customize the brand meaning for their specific scenarios.
Consumers can therefore contextualise its relevance whilst still inferring the same single-minded meaning.
Universalists must recognise that every brand is a compelling idea that consumers interpret via usage to meet their peculiar needs. I would rather focus on the brand single minded projection and leave the multiple interpretations to the consumers
One-word-equity is it and let’s be disciplined in our quest to secure a space in ever-crowded mindspace
January 16th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Very thoughtful post. And, damn, long tail indeed, your commentary is part of the long tail created here at Campfire via the Internet pipes - commenting 9 months after the original post. Yes, and see you next year!