Here's a narrative I am trying to develop:
1. From Moments to Movements
The economics of entertainment have changed in a way that TV shows, video games and film franchises make most of their money not from opening weekends, but from repeat viewings. So, they have incorporated multi-layered intertwining narratives, complex social networks of characters, subtle humor and insider jokes, and storylines that unfold over hundreds of hours to engage fans over five or six repeat viewings.
In fact, we don't consume popular culture anymore, we co-create it, by deconstructing plot twists in elaborate blog posts, by contributing to extensive fan wikis that delve into the motivations of each character, by documenting 500 page game walk-throughs, and by creating our own parallel narrative in virtual worlds and alternative reality games built around films and TV shows.
2. No Trust, No Relevance, No Logo
In the last year, I have done 30+ workshops with. 1000+ senior client and agency side marketers in half a dozen countries across Asia.
In my workshops, I ask people to create post-it note profiles with five passion tags. Less than 5% of the participants mention a brand as a passion tag. If people don't define themselves around brands, and don't connect with each other around brands, then what is the role brands can play on the social web?
In my workshops, I also ask people to remember the last time they talked about a brand. Less than 5% of the participants mention a FMCG brand. If no one is talking about the brand that spend the most money on advertising, what should these brands do(apart from getting really worried)?
Almost every month, I come across research that shows that trust in brands and corporations is declining across the (developed) world. If the most iconic brands are losing their relevance and the most powerful corporations are not trusted anymore, what should they do?
3. Social Messages, Not Social Media
So, even as brands learn how to leave behind their TVC-centric world-view and engage with consumers on social media, they need to realize that their messages need to become social too.
In an era when young people believe that only they themselves have the solutions to the world's most pressing problems, brands need to help organize and energize them around a shared purpose to become relevant, to be trusted again.
Brands need to realize that consumers will talk about them only if they help consumers connect around passions that resonate with the brand values (I call these passions 'social heartbeats').
The shifts in popular culture and consumer attitudes need a parallel shift in marketing: from moments to movements, from multi-million dollar celebrity endorsements on Super Bowl to purpose-driven platforms and programs (like the Pepsi Refresh Project) that act as catalysts for collective social innovation.
Here's hoping that marketers in the 21st century will look more like movement-makers and less like snake oil salesmen.