The People's Marketing...

Why more marketers are daring to let customers take charge of their advertising.

Top brands are owned by the people, not manufacturers. So argue some prominent experts, including Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts who says that the best brands "are owned by the people who love them."

And Alex Wipperfurth, author of Brand Hijack, believes that companies need to embrace brand "co-creation" - inviting consumer subcultures to help shape a brand's ideology, use, and persona.

Savvy marketers realise we are at a cultural moment where marketing is democratized, and are giving up a fair amount of control of their brands to consumers.

Maybe that's why some companies have cut out the middleman and let customers make their own ads. Examples of "the people's marketing" are cropping up everywhere.

• Mercedes-Benz ran ads in the USA featuring photographs of customers with their cars. Merc received more than 1,000 snapshots when it solicited submissions last year.
• The American magazine Look-Look is made up entirely of contributions by amateur artists and only accepts advertising from sponsors, such as Virgin Mobile and Pepsi, who are willing to let members of Look-Look's contributor base design their ads.
• The political party ACT organised a contest that solicited billboard slogans from its newsletter subscribers. Not only was the response enormous, but the quality of many entries was surprisingly polished.

More companies, it seems, are letting their most loyal customers dabble with creating and defining their brands. And, as if to prove Kevin Roberts point, many companies' loyal consumers are eager to get in on the branding game.

Blatant plug: If you'd like some innovative thinking for your marketing problems, please phone Evolve on 3600-120 or email brandon@evolve.co.nz
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