At ad:tech NY today I moderated a session about the value of mid-tail content sites for marketers. Mid-tail sites are typically those Top 50 sites that get between 15-80 million unique visitors “UV’s” per month. They site between the 4 portals with reach from 80-100 million UV’s and atop the 100 million “long tail” sites with less than 1 million visitors.

Stan Holt, VP Publishing of eHarmony and Tom Koletas at Imaginova generated a list of reasons that mid-tail sites provide value for brands:

Top Reasons the Mid-Tail Rocks
Stan Holt
1) SOV. Your campaign is less likely to be drowned out in the din of other category advertisers on the same site.
2) Innovation. Mid-tail sites are more likely to partner with you on creative executions and integrated programs.
3) Less City Hall. You are usually working directly with the site owner or someone very senior, which means quick decisions and a willingness to test new ideas.
4) Targeting. Mid-tail sites are by definition focused on particular topics and categories.
5) Passion. Mid-tail users – especially on UGC sites – are much more passionate than portal dabblers, and your brand can be part of that engaging user experience.
6) Instant Word-of-Mouth. Most mid-tail sites have at least some UGC, which means your target consumers will often have real-time conversations about your new campaign right there on the site – a conversation you may even join.
Tom Koletas
1) Affordable reach, with integrated programs that brand and sell your best customers.
2) First to market technologies- e.g. in text ads, video overlay, re-targeting, etc. (my rationale here comes from my conversations with tech solution companies like Inform, Vibrant, ScanScout, Fetchback, etc)
3) Affinity- Many mid-tail sites are extensions of popular print/broadcast brands that offer reader affinity of the content.