Loyal blawgists might recognize the roots in my presentation from last year's Portland Creative Conference. I've called them 21st-century brands, post-consumer brands, but now I'm calling them people-powered brands. What do they have in common?People-powered brands/stories are not manufactured by an ad agency or Corporate Mktg./Communications. Their success is not connected to a collosal media spend.
The storytelling of people-powered brands happens primarily through experience.
People-powered brands are aligned, storytelling with action, but also with the bigger story happening in the world. By being aligned with deeper human truths, people-powered brands allow us to experience our full humanity. They expand us in one way or another.
Finally, people-powered brands are open, to be lived, created, shaped, shared and interpreted by the people.
Is this the future of all brands? What is the role of an ad agency in the era of people-powered brands? Discuss.