YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter—just to name a few of them—offer companies an important footing in the Wild West that is Social Media/Web 2.0. But as thousands of brands clamor to get the most Facebook friends, highest YouTube video views, and the most Twitter followers, are they getting lost in the crowd? I see the current brand footings as baby steps towards a larger strategy – one that will competely revolutionize how we interact with companies.
Such a future is hard to envision — and the possibilies seem limitless. That’s why we need new conceptual thinkers. Art is not a bad place to start for motivation:
But it is much more than a logo refresh that’s needed. Successful brands of the future will engineer interactive destinations that communicate with a depth of identity that goes far deeper than static logos. Not just a website, a Facebook fan page, or a viral video — but a blended system of media that interacts with consumers where and when they want it most.
Traditional brands are at cross-roads. They can continue to follow the trends—uploading their old logos onto Facebook fan pages, TV ads to YouTube— or, they can invest in bold and innovative strategies that are already incubating in yet unborn brands of the future. New insightful marketers are needed to envision these possibilities and work closely technical teams to realize them. The traditional brands that succeed will change their marketing department culture, developing creative ways to break free of the confines currently hindering the expression of an authenticity consumers increasingly crave.
