Long Tail of Branding and PSFK Salon January 30

I'm working on a few posts but in the interim I've come across a few tidbits I felt are worth sharing.

1)  The Elongating Tail of Brand Communications.

Mohammed Iqbal presents a compelling view of the future of brands.  He looks at the growing inefficiencies inherent in traditional media and where emerging trends such as transmedia fall short (an inability to go far enough to "forego the single minded brand proposition".)  His attacks on "Lord Saatchi" and the "one word" approach are a bit caustic but a delightful breath of fresh air.

"Most of the considered reaction was an unequivocal rejection of the disingenuous and un-layered simplicity a One Word Equity exercise leaves behind. Simplifying was one thing, simplicity was another."

I recommend this paper quite highly.  Iqbal applies the economics of the long tail to our world of marketing and advertising.  He looks at where the barriers between supply and demand are eroding and lays out some very innovative ideas around the opportunities that are emerging.

Download a copy of the whitepaper here.

2)  UK - Good Ideas Salon London

Piers from PSFK contacted me about their upcoming Salon on January 30'th.  I have to give Piers credit.  PSFK remains one of the only "trend" firms I still follow.  They offer insights versus making up new "trends" to sell their clients every quarter.  His email to me was also a classic example of how to engage someone like myself.  He reached out to me personally and referenced the collaboration panel as he knows I'm all about collaborative design and research.  I wish just ONE "social media consulting/pr/outreach" firm would learn this lesson as I'm really tired of the form emails.

Anyway, I highly recommend any chance to mingle with Piers and his staff and wish I was in London so I could attend...  ;(

You can find out more here.