Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It's been over a month since my last blog entry. For penance, I promise to watch FoxFaith's new Christian thriller, Thr3e. As Jeff Shannon of the Seattle PI writes, "If 'Thr3e' is any indication of what we can expect from the emerging trend of studio-funded faith-based movies, we may find ourselves wishing "The Passion of the Christ" had been a box-office bomb." Have faith Jeff!

But the real penance would not be complete if I did not take a lesson from Fox's Murdoch on "market retention". What, pray tell, do I mean? As Joanne Ostrow put it, the same cynical Hollywood "where plastic surgery is considered a sacrament" has now found that Christianity sells.

As some of you may know, I split time between Charleston, South Carolina and New York City. Yesterday, I received a direct mail post card from the FoxFaith company itself. Obviously, I wasn't in New York. I raise the point only to re-emphasize (see here and here.) the brilliance of Fox News Corp., who discovered "long tail" marketing years before the term was ever coined by Chris Anderson. Rupert Murdoch, " Me love you long tail."

Where other media firms (Pixar and Disney excluded) have relinquished their brand to stars, Fox has not only retained its brand, it continues to exploit it for it's own gain. You may have a political bone to pick with Fox News, but only because you are aware of their branding. This company understands market retention. This idea is actually quite foreign for many media firms in an age of disposability. Most corporate strategies emphasize market "capture" but not "retention." Fox News Corp. understands both.

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