As the experts see it, user-generated media is the camel's nose into the tent.
According to an article in the Financial Times (June 22, 2006), Mark Tutssel, worldwide chief creative officer at the Leo Burnett advertising agency, spoke to an audience at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and said, in part, "Marketers must learn to let go of the control they think they have over their brand.... Once consumers have interacted with brands they will not go back to being shouted at by marketers."
Many don't like the notion of giving up that kind of control. They contend UGM is simply a fad. But to others it's a major advance in market research and message development. Today it gives brand-fans a chance to make their own commercial or TV show. Tomorrow it's an organized feedback channel that advertisers and marketers actively tap to keep a finger on the pulse of core constituencies, and probably the most likely prospects, as well.
But opening the doors to floods of feedback like this is neither simple nor benign. It can wash away comfortable assumptions and batter the internal walls that have been erected for the comfort of those within. As always, some will probably resist. It'll be interesting to see who floats and who drowns as the tides of UGM rise higher.
Return to Introduction
