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November 7, 2008
Controlling The Message (Not)
Two recent consumer-side projects really illustrate how the trend toward consumer engagement is fully-established. Brian Eno and David Byrne's remix page on the Bush of Ghosts album page, and Umphrey's McGee prelaunch website both permit users access to exclusive content where they are encouraged to "create" instead of just "listen" or "buy". Admittedly, Byrne and Eno are icons of free-thinking and Umphrey's is a "new-age" band steeped in social media thinking, but the concepts remain valid given the traditional approach to control in the music industry.
Bush of Ghosts: 
Umphrey's McGee Page: 
By comparison, most B2B marketers (and frankly, most consumer marketers) are still trying to "control" the message instead of engaging in active dialogue or interaction with customers...and especially with channel partners, when it comes to Extranet communications. Given long enough, the mainstream will eventually adapt to the new thinking, but leadership opportunities abound for B2B marketers who can apply the concepts of content engagement and customer/channel dialogue into their marketing in the manner in which the leading edge of consumer marketers are today. Brian Eno and David Byrne are boomer-era musicians who are teaching a lot of savvy marketers about Web 2.0. How are you applying the lesson?
Posted by jcioban at November 7, 2008 8:05 AM
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