TMW Ideas

I've just read an interesting article by Libby Copeland on washingtonpost.com that I thought I would share. It came through as a link on the IAB newsletter which I will kindly assume that most of us subscribe too, being that we are all naturally interested in the world of digital marketing. In short it discusses the marketing world we all live in where we believe our consumers are brand advocates and love to interact with the brand.

Marketers have always loved consumers who so identify with a brand that they become its evangelists, wearing the logo on their backsides and preaching to their friends about its virtues.

Now for many or some brands this is actually true (consumers do love their brand eg Marmite or Guinness) but what is interesting is that the article discusses how the internet, and UGC in particular, has enabled the consumer to progress from wearing a branded t-shirt to interacting with and truly advocating the brands they love, and the ones they hate. The progress that has been made is the ease with which consumers can now do this. Several examples are given and in relation to my previous post it mentions brands who 'seed' films on video sharing websites. Some may see this as a brand interupting a space which they shouldn't but as the article points out, it's the consumer who gets to choose who sees the film, not the brand.

Anyway, have a read of the article and decide yourself - who makes the ads, them or us?