The evolution of branded consumer generated media will be an issue marketers will be dealing with in 2007. Will brands and their agencies get tired of asking consumers to do the work for them and go back to doing their jobs, or will it evolve into something else?
CGM could could evolve if consumers were allowed to play a more important role in the marketing process. One interesting area is product design, not the idea that you customize colors, or put your engraved initials on the back of your portable mp3 player, but something more significant.
Brands could allow consumers into the npd and product development process, but perhaps middlemen will be the first to allow consumers to really create their own.
One example, already out there in the world of consumer electronics, is Crowdspirit . It gets consumers to form a community, generate ideas, vote on the best one and get it produced.
With middlemen, consumers may lack the security of having a brand name, but benefit from knowing they have a custo- made product that only a few people have and more importantly, they were involved in its creation.
If brands can open up enough and let consumers co-create, it can only have a positive impact on loyalty and the overall relationship.
