ADVANCE and the ‘Long Tail’ revisited

longtailWelcome to the new ADVANCE format. We are constantly striving to make our emerging media content easier to use, and optimizing for content portability. We hope the re-design of our newsletter will contribute to this (let us know what you think).

Our team is working to create a virtual space that is as exciting as our state-of-the-art, physical space in Los Angeles. From daily blogs and monthly newsletters, to expert P.O.V.s and white papers, we provide in-depth marketing insight and emerging media know-how to leverage in your business. One topic that got us talking and the blogs wagging this month is a new study refuting Chris Anderson’s “Long Tail” theory, which captured the online world’s hopes for the niche market. Here’s what two members of our team have to say about the study:

“The biggest problem with Chris Anderson’s Long Tail theory is its proponents violated its most basic tenet—that is, they made it bigger than it really is. Continue reading “ADVANCE and the ‘Long Tail’ revisited”

Virgin territory for Virgin

VirginHelioThey bought it. Both of them, in their own way.

Capping what is sure to be the end of the entertainment-based mobile operator (R.I.P. Disney Mobile, ESPN Mobile, Amp’d, etc.), Virgin Mobile agreed to acquire Helio last week. It’s a fascinating deal, for a number of reasons; although, first, maybe someone can help me make financial sense of it?

The purchase price was a meager $39 million–in stock, no less. Then, former owners EarthLink and SK Telecom effectively ate two-thirds of that amount by agreeing to invest $25 million of equity capital into Virgin. On top of this, as part of the deal, Virgin acquired inventory of 85,000 devices valued at $17 million. Plus it would’ve cost Virgin upwards of $20 million to build up Helio’s subscribership base from scratch… Meaning Virgin, at the end of this, is ahead by about $23 million bucks after “buying” its competitor, if my math is right.

Strategically, it only gets more interesting:

Continue reading “Virgin territory for Virgin”