How to Succeed...

2006 was the year that a critical mass of companies marketing to consumers recognized to some degree that communications, advertising, and marketing are now dynamic and two-way. It will be interesting to see how quickly this recognition gets internalized and begins to manifest itself in the form of different revenue models and organizational structures for agencies and firms whose value proposition it is to help companies create awareness and drive sales. We beat the drum of joining the conversation with consumers regularly on this blog and in conversations with clients. We look forward to picking up the pace and intensity this year. For a terrific summary of core principles to market by in 2007, check out the excerpt below from a Business 2.0 piece. (hat tip to AdPulp)

Jeff Hicks

President and CEO, Crispin Porter & Bogusky

Make Your Brand Part of the Conversation

There are three things I think about the most when it comes to making it as a marketer these days. The first one is there's no amount of money I can pay to get my commercial in front of you, because you can powerfully edit what you spend time with. So my job as a marketer is no longer to interrupt, but to produce content that is so relevant, interesting, entertaining, and involving that my best consumers won't want to live without it. The second thing is understanding that instead of brochures and trade shows, marketing now really begins with the product. Great companies are investing a lot of time and attention into trying to make products that market themselves. The last piece is that user-generated content has made it possible for consumers to own your brand, and if they don't, you're not doing your job. The brands that are adopted, blogged about, and parodied the most are the ones that are going to win because they're involved in the evolution of pop culture. If you're scared to have your brand played with, you're going to be left behind.

Great advice and it will be interesting to see which companies head down this path, what the most successful strategies and programs look like, and how it will continue to be fueled by the architecture of participation permeating the Web.