ReTail's LongTail

by mtippett | November 5, 2007 at 10:02 am

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There's a very interesting analysis of the longtailification of the retail world in today's Ad Age. According to Al Ries:

The predictions of Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, seem to be coming true: "The future of business is selling less of more." In other words, the one-size-fits-all model is becoming obsolete.

Take Coca-Cola, for example. The last time I counted, there were 14 different flavors of Coca-Cola on the market.

Some categories are jaw droppers. There are 32 teeth in your mouth if you haven't lost any, but Procter & Gamble still manages to market 46 different varieties of Crest toothpaste. (These are varieties, not SKUs. There might be several SKUs for each variety.) Included in these 46 varieties are:

    * Crest Maximum Strength Sensitivity Original Formula Soothing Whitening Paste.

    * Crest Tartar Control Whitening Plus Scope Cool Peppermint Liquid Gel.

    * Crest Baking Soda Peroxide Whitening with Tartar Protection.

But what is the value of a brand in this longtail, generality-defying new shelfspace?

Flavor proliferation undermines a company's ability to run a successful marketing program. What do you advertise if you make everything under one brand name? This is the problem of Chevrolet. This is the problem of Ford. This is the problem of Crest. This is the problem of many, many brands.

Jell-O used to advertise its six flavors: strawberry, raspberry, cherry, orange, lemon and lime. Now that the brand comes in 20 flavors, what should the advertising say? "You name the fruit, we've got the gelatin"?

Whether this product diversity requires content diversity to sell product at reasonable volumes will determine the commercial viability of longtail advertising. I'll be watching this space.