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Friday, September 25, 2009
Marketers Can No Longer "Own" Their Brands
For most of your career corporations have been able to build their brands from
the top down. A solid media plan, enough money to buy all the space and time desired, and great creative
ultimately delivered the image and awareness that generated sales. Add in a credible spokesperson, some
media events, public relations activity, and perhaps some key product placements and success was almost assured.
Change has come It’s worked that way for so long that some marketers
are having difficulty adjusting their strategies to the world of social media and the public dialogue. Today
there are more cell phone than people in our country, and the majority of the devices not only allow consumers to talk to
the world, but to also instantly text and share photos and videos. Internet penetration in the US is 75%.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube strongly compete with ABC, CBS, The New York Times, and People Magazine
for our attention. With a few key strokes on their computer or the pointing of their cell phone camera
consumer become the creators, producers and developers of the Social Media - with little budget or training required.
Five years
ago conventional wisdom told us that a new movie had two weeks to make it or break it in the theaters. Today
it’s a matter of a few days, or maybe even a few hours. Consumers are sending texts messages and Tweets giving their
opinions and recommendations to friends and “followers” before the credits role. Car shoppers
go online to check out the experiences of current owners and the features and prices before setting foot in a showroom.
Blog posts and complaint sites help us decide where to go on vacation, which flat screen TV to consider, and where
to shop for diapers. And while corporations must continue to present their best face across the Social
Media, it is the consumers themselves who generate the majority of content, and “own” the medium.
10:30 am edt
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