Manifesto from the Blogosphere - progress report

OK, we're officially off to the races. Here's the progress report so far. I've pasted the manifesto in chronological order. I'm thinking we need a wiki in order to be able to edit a lot more easily and efficiently. Any takers to create one?

The New Marketing Manifesto - authored by us

There is no leadership in our industry anymore; in the agency, media and marketer worlds, few dare to stick their necks out, stand up and be counted.

The consumer has far more control than ever before. Successful marketers will have to learn to listen and participate in the conversation that surrounds that control and put the bullhorn in mothballs. Posted by: Steve Hall

We are tortured souls. We love marketing, and we hate marketing. WE are the very consumers we fear and struggle to manage. We know the consumers is in control because we ourselves have greater control over the messaging we consume, select, download, delete, or skip. We know there is distrust because we are increasingly distrustful and skeptical, and we're not shy about using our own megaphones to make that point. And yet, we continue to contribute to a ill-conceived "Tragedy of the (Marketing) Commons" which spoils the very garden and conversation we're trying to shape with consumers. Posted by: Pete Blackshaw

We recognize that things have changed yet we still often try to do things the way we've always done them even though the passive voice isn't what reaches consumers anymore. However, with this recognition come hope for a new dawn that is already breaking around us. Because consumers are now in control we can pass some of the hard work onto them. Instead of telling them why they should buy our products and services we can now have them tell us why they want our products and services and use that input to create new ways to express value and benefit to other consumers. Posted by: Rob Graham

www.pinkomarketing.com Posted by: Bastiaan

Technology will provide us with an infinite number of new opportunities to be innovative and creative from a marketing perspective. We cannot even begin to comprehend the extent of change and progress that will occur in the next ten years. The insatiable demand for new, unconventional thought will lead to a marketing revolution. Although the fate of media & advertising may seem uncertain, this time of change will be exciting and beneficial to both the consumer and the marketer. Posted by: Lee Jpmes

We will call into question the metrics of our traditional counterparts and refuse to apply them to our medium(s). No longer will our successes be measured in impressions, but in tangible, immediate results. We will be friendly, but firm in our approach, and will not implement anything we don’t believe will work – regardless of budget.

It will be our pleasure to educate those that don’t understand, but will not wait for them to catch up should they not listen. Posted by: joseph ali tehranian

Confront Image with our Social Reality. Positioning, image, trends and messaging are old-fashioned. It is all about selling ideas and meanings. We must understand consumers as the whole: brain, mind, body and society. Demography is no longer enough to predict consumers’ behaviour. Communication is about touching consumers’ lives and giving them the feel of authenticity. Social networks are playing the key role. Don't ever forget social networks exist and function also offline.

There are still some people out there who have no access to Internet and probably don’t need it at all. Posted by: Daria

Stop thinking big and think about your customers on a one-on-one basis. Stop BROADcasting and start NARROWcasting. It's not the great unknown masses that you're talking to. It's the one person who will listen. Posted by: Chris

Conversations are not a means to an end...conversations are the end. Posted by: thinkjose

And for this conversation we communicate with expressions like "innovate, don't immitate" or 'Think out of the box", but do we really do it or are we stuck in the grey zone... reproducing what we did best, not believing that the world around us is turning at a different speed. And guess what... your consumers are awaiting your sign. So get up and bougie.... Or better, get into the party that your target group is organising for you. Start blogging and embrasing the brave new world with new and exciting ways of targetting your consumers. Get up and bougie...Posted by: Hans Smellinckx

It is not about targeting audiences, it is about engaging communities. It is not about delivering key messages, it is about facilitating conversations. It is not about control, it is about empowerment. Posted by: Jeffrey Treem

But in the end, even once we tame the new frontier & KOLs bring the average Joe along for the ride, we will eventually create another cluttered and opaque landscape. In the end, it's the values that we infuse in our brands that will prove to be the true differentiator that attracts or repels consumers. Posted by: Matt Goff