The Adnostic

The death knell of image making has been sounding for months, if not years. Trying to paper mache a beautiful facade over a turd just doesn't work in a world where people who know what's really up can post YouTube videos, blog their experiences, twitter some links, update wikipedia articles, and spread the word amongst their friends. No amount of veneer and single source broadcasting can compete with a large group of well connected people who don't need to make a huge effort to tell everyone they know what the truth really is.

Mark Earls suggested giving up the term "brand" for the new year. Work in marketing or advertising? Then you know how hard that would be to do (I didn't take up the challenge). But he had a point. Brand communication without a concrete and real effort by the company behind it is usually empty, deceptive, and ultimately useless.

Let's look at a few examples:

SunChips did some consumer research and realized that the people who buy their chips are not only looking for healthy and wholesome snacks, but that they also index really high for caring about environmental issues. How could they engineer their brand to further align themselves with the core values of their consumers?
They started thinking in terms of growing their chips and negating or offsetting the impact of the manufacturing process. If this was going to be a meaningful effort for SunChips, this couldn't be a marketing only job. Silos would have to be broken and and everyone would have to be onboard and contributing to the idea. The result - make the SunChips plant solar powered.
It fits the target's value, it adds to SunChips values and brand identity, and it's real. It's not a hollow gesture that only lasts a few months. This is something that resonates with SunChips consumers that SunChips (Lays) made a real commitment to.
That's not crafting an image, that's evolving the brand's core values and expressing them solidly.

ComcastCares emerged from a Comcast employee who was sick and tired of seeing so many complaints about his company on twitter. Even though he was acting on his own, but himself, he handled the situation perfectly. He never got defensive, he was apologetic and accommodating , and really tried to find out what the problem was and how he could help. It may not have been a top down effort that management felt was needed and would be a good representation of their brand, but it was something a mid-level employee thought was needed and top brass gave him the reins to keep going on with it when they found out after the fact. Not planned, but still smart. A human voice to a vilified company.
So what's the more meaningful effort that has the potential to last beyond this year and even infect the very culture of the company itself? Comcasttown or ComcastCares?

Campaigns are good. They serve the purpose of educating potential consumers about the value of your product. But lets wean ourselves off of campaigns that will move the perception needle a few notches on the meter for a few months and start thinking about ways to nudge the needle in a positive direction permanently.

When are agencies (besides CP+B) and clients going to start to realize that everything is an ad. Everything communicates, so make sure you're sincere.

End Note - If you haven't discovered and started reading Marketing With Meaning, then get on it.