Long Tail Model in New Media

The Long Tail marketing model enables to sell different goods which are covering a niche for a small number of people, in other words these are not mainstream products. As the lecture talked about selling books and audio, the other multimedia formats can be sold the same way. For example online movie renting is a great solution to engage lots of films which would be hidden or not present at all in the movie shops, can hold a perfect choice of older and newer, and perhaps even the worst films ever created. Usually there is interest in all kinds of films, and through online renting service a person would be able to get his or her favourite genres and enjoy them whenever he or she wants.

The long tail model is applied through selling content via Internet, thus not taking any physical space. People have to download content in order to watch it, and are asked to pay for watching the content. Now it does not really matter if the film itself is a niche product or a big hit, every person can find the film he or she likes, and watch it for a small fee. This model also keeps the maintenance costs low.

Another possibility to engage long tail model would be in selling information. News, blogs, podcasts, e-books, etc. can be a valuable source for anyone, but as there is not enough room for information in the libraries, it is a great opportunity to keep things on the “shelves” of online repositories for people to enjoy. Here the long tail model would be applied in form of an online repository and delivered to people through registered usage and/or payment. People now would be able to find even old and outdated information in any media format to
listen to, read or watch. I think such models make information available for all kinds of crowds. Digital information is a better source for all kinds of materials than analogue information. It is stored better, accessed more easily, and longer preserved than the original sources. This covers the need for every single person’s information need as well, and that is why this kind of model is valuable for present and future consumers.