Changing niches – a PSPanic attack?

I haven’t been writing in this space too long, but one thing I’ve been committed to in any of my posts is that in niche marketing, you need to respect your audience, but even more importantly, to really know your audience. That’s why it’s really surprised me to see Sony have a mild panic attack lately with its PSP handheld game system. The reality is that even though the gaming industry as a whole is extremely mainstream at this point in its lifecycle (which I’ll blog about at a later time), the handheld gaming industry is indeed a niche. ...

Applauding YouTube’s actions – not their motives

Late last week, YouTube made the announcement that they would begin cutting checks for some of their most noteworthy stars, and even though their motives might not be entirely admirable, I couldn’t be happier. You Tube’s decision to share some of the wealth that the 1.6 billion dollar copyright infringement machine supposedly generates is a great step forward for niche content, in spite of the fact that the reasons behind it may be a little questionable. Reading between the lines in reports on the new initiative from the Tube themselves, as well as other...

A Bright(cove) future for niche marketers online?

Recently, at Media Magazine’s Outfront Conference in NYC, Brightcove CEO and Founder, Jeremy Allaire took to the podium and dropped some insight bombs on the crowd in attendance. Now of course, I was sitting behind my desk when this happened, but I sure read a nice little article about it by Laurie Peterson from Media Post that had me wishing I was there. Of course, as the CEO of a company like Brightcove, which is leading the charge in empowering audiences, I should’ve expected nothing less… According to the article, Allaire’s future is all...

You win. You always do.

Hopefully most of you recognize this quote but really have no idea what it has to do with niche marketing. If that’s the case, let me explain how. If you already know where I’m going with this, go ahead and skip down to the next post. The quote itself is taken from an old Will Farrell SNL bit. It was actually intended to make light of the fact that a taxidermied big horn sheep had a mastery over Robert Goulet in staring contests, but taken out of context, it’s also a fantastic motto for marketers to keep in mind when dealing with customers in the...

A friendly reminder from Mr. Squidoo

For all the praise that Web 2.0 gets in the media (I’m looking at you, Time Magazine), it often becomes cliche to tout it, but while reading this week’s (newly designed) Marketing Magazine, I came across something that made me want to – briefly – stand up and sing it’s praises. Again. In a column written for the mag, Seth Godin, whose name is likely going to pop up a lot in this space, reminds us that the net is a place where a niche can really take off. While doling out some tips as to how his new biz, Squidoo, has found its unique and...