http://www.distributech.caumbracoI just read a really interesting excerpt from a new book called "Marketing 3.0" authored by Philip Kotler. I think that this is one of the best descriptions of our marketing challenges and opportunities in the "post 2008-09 recession"...... A Matter of Trust The 2008-2009 recession increased consumers’ distrust of corporations, but increased their trust in each other. This helps explain the drop in advertising’s credibility and the rise of social media. One study says people “trust strangers in their social networks more than they trust experts.” Such distrust sets up a new reality for companies, which can fight back using Marketing 3.0 to achieve “communitization” and “co-creation” – that is, exchanging ideas with suppliers, customers and employees to generate products that have value for everyone involved. Communitization means linking consumers in an online community of shared meaning. “Brand integrity” strengthens these communal bonds. To prove your brand’s integrity, present your product’s emotional and spiritual considerations as well as its features. Highlight its authenticity, quality, reliability and adherence to its stated claims. Starbucks, Timberland and Apple established emotional connections with their customers by addressing them as real people with human concerns and by using strong “brand identity, brand integrity and brand image” to build trust. “In the horizontal world of consumers, brand is useless if it only articulates…positioning.”enhttp://www.distributech.ca/2011/1/27/facebook-basics-for-the-marketing-services-provider.aspx#comment-31Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:26:52 GMThttp://www.distributech.ca/2011/1/27/facebook-basics-for-the-marketing-services-provider.aspx#comment-31