What Does Brand Democratization Mean?

By Mitch Joel

We live in a world of overload. As we go about our daily business, we are inundated with thousands of advertising messages that marketers push out to us. I recently read an article about airliners that are looking into selling overhead bins as advertising space. That’s right, airplanes are going to be as muddled with mini billboards as the subway.

What’s a person to do?

The advent of the Internet has given way to the real notion of consumer power. Technology, as a whole, enables us to create our own movies, websites, radio shows, pictures, Blogs, etc. A simple $1,000 laptop now yields as much power as the creative department at a top-notch ad agency.

As individuals, we are commanding this power - and we have truly leveled the playing field. It used to be that advertisers marketed to consumers. Now, consumers market to consumers.

When you’re interested in buying a new gadget, who do you listen to - the person in the store or the expert Blogger?

It’s all about brand democratization. Through word of mouth, consumers are doing the true marketing of today’s products and services. And they’re telling everyone they know by simply leveraging the massive amount of traffic available through the online world.

Today’s marketers are learning a lot of tough lessons from consumers. Bad customer service or a product defect is no longer about a couple of letters that get swept under the rug. When Apple released their first generation iPod and there was a problem with the life of the battery, millions of disgruntled iPodders conferred on multiple websites, and Apple created a workaround to satisfy their not-so-happy customers.

That’s brand democratization. Apple no longer owns the iPod brand. We do.

The days of the Fabergé Organics commercial from the 70s are gone. It’s no longer, "She told a friend and so on and so on and so on and so on”. Now, with a single post on a busy website or Blog, you can tell the whole world.

As a marketer, I believe there are many ways that we can learn from brand democratization and dispel with the notion that we have no control over our brands. We can have better conversations with our customers. We can tell better stories. We can create truly remarkable products, services and experiences. And from there, we can "know control”.

Mitch Joel is a marketing visionary, communications expert, community leader, Blogger and believer in doing the impossible. He is also a modern day branding pioneer and President of Twist Image, a Montreal-based marketing agency. Mitch has been featured in Marketing Magazine, The Globe & Mail and The National Post. Mitch helps people define their personal and corporate brands through insights that simplify goals and values and ignite personal development.

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