Brandweek (@Brandweek) has an excerpt of the book Curation Nation: How to Win in a World Where Consumers are Creators (@curationnation) by Steven Rosenbaum (@magnify). The book explains that “brands, both old and new, need to stop ignoring the emergence of consumer power and instead embrace it and accept it. They must channel it, and in turn change how they think about customers. Humans, formerly known as either consumers or couch potatoes, are now creators and thought leaders, passive no more.” Rosenbaum goes on to say
Brands begin with the need to lead, the expertise to tell their story, the skill to attract intent, and therefore the ability to be trusted within their communities. Because brands have access to both paid and earned media (advertising and public relations), as well as their own brand space, they are inherently publishers. The big change for the brands that have been built in the post-millennium world is that they are media, rather than buying media. For example, Starbucks sees such remarkable foot traffic and return visits through its doors that it doesn’t need to buy television advertising to reach its customers. Its stores, its signage, its window displays are all media that lets it tell its story to customers....
In order for brands to be present and participate in the new “social” world, they need to have a voice. And a voice that is more than a monologue. A dialogue. And that requires that they develop a curatorial context for the space they’re in — and a way to share ideas that come from their area of expertise, but not necessarily their own content creators....
[B]rands that ignore the need to embrace an editorial voice are bound to be unhappy when consumers use their newfound power to talk about them —whether they like it or not.
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