(Part 2)
The Internet has also enabled
“the democratization of logistics and manufacturing, propelled by emerging digital shopping channels, has sparked a Cambrian explosion of DTC companies”
– The Pivot to Owned Commerce, David Perell
This means the barrier to entry to start a commerce business has dramatically dropped. Therefore if you have an audience that’s interested in something, you have the ability to shape that into a very specific desire and fulfil it.
The publishers of today are the commerce companies of tomorrow. Publishers with organic reach can launch and test products without paid media. Intimate customer touch-points remove the need for focus groups. With shopping experiences that are native and true to the brands DNA, they can scale fast, with relatively low investment. They can A/B test every ad, evaluate customers with engagement data, and use real-time data to iterate and improve creative. By diversifying their revenue streams, they’ll decrease business risk and increase their revenue multiples… Content and commerce are converging. Publishers who appeal to owned audiences will win the upcoming pivot to owned commerce.
You cannot do this cynically, though:
Casper launched Van Winkle, the brand’s standalone online publication, in 2015, but quickly shut it down after struggling to deal with the site’s independence from the brand.
If you need a company, you seek it out or opt-into communication from it. “Need companies” are the email newsletters you subscribe to, the creators you talk about with friends, the podcasts you listen to weekly, and the writers who’ve blown your mind so many times that you’ll never miss a word again. They have extremely loyal audiences… “Feed companies” are the opposite. They’re undifferentiated. They try to be everything to everyone. But in reality, there’s nothing to no-one. Most feed-discovered content is interchangeable.
(Part 4 – companies that take their audience relationship to the next level)