Often we hear people talk about Tribes without fully understanding what they are and how they work. The most common misconception is that tribes are just segments. However, the key differentiation between a segment and a tribe is that in a tribe, the relationship between the members is very important. Whereas a segment (no matter how narrowly defined) does not require members of the group to connect or communicate.
When you think tribally, you have to shift your paradigm. Start thinking about how your product or service can best support the tribe instead of focusing on how to target a certain segment or demographic. A Tribal Strategy should be more than a novel communication plan. Here is an example of an article by Avi Dan in AdAge that illustrates the point.
As markets become more tribal, they must recalibrate from broadcasting to narrowcasting and reach targets more efficiently and more effectively through tools such as behavioral targeting and addressable TV. They must also adopt a more granular view of customers by making analytics the cornerstone of any marketing effort. Most marketers are still committed to traditional communication vehicles, primarily TV. But the lesson from the rapid rise of social networking is that people prefer to have a conversation and dialogue within their networks, not an interruptive, one-way communication through TV commercials. Marketers must learn to adapt if they want their communication to maintain its effectiveness with a suddenly harder to please consumer.
In the following sentence, he talks about targeting certain demographics rather than supporting tribes.
Most marketers focus on Gen X and Gen Y, with a combined buying power of $1 trillion, but ignore African-Americans, with buying power in excess of $1.5 trillion, and baby boomers, with $2.1 trillion. Hispanic buying power is growing at three times the national average and will reach $1 trillion in 2011; Asian-Americans spend three times as much as Gen Yers; and gay Americans clock in at $800 billion. Ignoring these segments will put undue pressure on your profitability in an environment resistant to price increases.
