I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Brand Matters recently moderated an industry panel discussion on branding in a new media environment. As the moderator, I had prepared a high-level discussion guide of topics relevant to this subject, but even still I couldn’t predict how the audience would react to the panelists’ comments and my view of what is relevant. I had difficulty giving into an audience controlled environment, but I knew that this situation would be the most engaging and spontaneous for all participants.
Examples of campaigns that used new media were incorporated into the discussion through the use of audio and visual equipment. This was a new addition to the panel format. In addition, I’m also uncertain how this blog post will be accepted and valued by readers. So, it could be reasoned that I am using new and interactive media to support my industry involvement activities. The issue is: Does this mean that I have given up control of my marketing tactics? Given into the audience as the artist? “Let go” of manipulation? And, perhaps most importantly, am I empowered?
Michael O’Connor Clarke of Thornley Fallis Communications observed the idea of “the artists formerly known as the audience,” suggesting that you can offer your audience the ideas and perhaps give them a nudge in the direction that you would like to see your marketing tactics take, but ultimately it’s the audience that gets to decide how they will be engaged. One of the key insights was that a large portion of the content that young people view online has come to their attention from someone they know – through the grapevine so to speak. This reasoning gave way to Strategy Magazine’s Mary Maddever’s insight that marketers should focus on creating something great so that the audience is inspired to “pay it forward.” She recognizes that “the dinosaurs (of marketing) can’t let go of manipulation,” but marketing activities have shifted from mere entertainment and expenditures on buying time to a goal of providing inspiration through expenditures on content creation.
Now, I see how this may sound very “pie in the sky” and even a little bit corny, but inspiration can be relevant in many different contexts. Of course, the most appropriate is the inspiration to purchase, but this action could begin with the inspiration to pass on a good joke. New and interactive media offers its audiences more choices in how they receive and consume marketing initiatives. The challenge for marketers is how to develop those choices in a way that makes it difficult for consumers to tune their message out completely and difficult to morph their message into something that has a negative effect.
It’s also necessary for marketers to establish options for themselves so they can be prepared for all types of reactions. I’d say good practice is to be ready to engage new tactics if those audience reactions open up new avenues for your message to take. So we can give up manipulation, but there will always be elements of control.
