Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Chipotle was the latest brand to engage in a “fake Twitter hack” marketing stunt, following in the footsteps of MTV and BET a few months ago. The intention behind these stunts is to clearly boost fans and followers for their brands, but, unfortunately, exposes a major flaw in how brand see their customers and how their perception of social is flawed. Furthermore, these types of theatrics deter from the game-change possibilities of how brands and customers can build mutually beneficial and long lasting relationships through these platforms...

Every modern brand follows this same philosophy. But, there’s an underlying contradiction to this logic: Consumers expect brands to lead. At the same time, brands are waiting for consumers to lead. It’s like a Mexican standoff where no one wants to make the first move.

Played out over decades, we are seeing the results of this circular logic: brands jumping on every fad, new product introductions that don’t match last year’s promises, big budget rebrands that quietly revert back to the original and the constant turnover of marketing leadership (which always seems to cite the same issue: lack of vision). The power and institution of brand is eroding, and consumers are the culprits...

Really successful online marketers are companies with a powerful, consistent brand personality. Why? Well...In the last year or so, I’ve noticed a brilliant shift in the world of online marketing. As you know, many of the companies that are growing at a fast clip are using content marketing. They’re communicating with their customers. They’re giving away information for free. But even more than that, the really successful online marketers are companies with powerful, consistent brand personalities. They know who they are and what they stand for. And it comes across in every blog post, newsletter, webpage, and communication....Here's how...