One minute it’s high in polyunsaturates, the next it’s low in trans fats. We’re now told that margarine containing Stanol Esters lower cholesterol levels. As the fad expires and we gain hindsight, Margarine magically transforms itself reinventing the yellow pulp in the guise of the latest fad.

You see, this is what Creative Agencies have been doing for 2 decades – spinning a story about Margarine. People don’t buy stuff they buy what the stuff does for them.

Margarine is the master chameleon, constantly shifting to adapt to the nutritional trends du jour while our nation’s health deteriorates. Is this the French Paradox? You certainly won’t find Marge on the French family breakfast table yet the French outlive Americans by an average of 2.3 years despite being oblivious to nutritional fads. And by and large, judging by their Statin sales they don’t have a cholesterol problem.

There are a thousand men striking at the branches for every one striking at the root. Your Agency is this week talking up “Social Media”, where this time last year it was “Web 2.0″.

However you spread it – mobile, web 2.0, social media, twitter, Four Square or TV, it’s still margarine. It’s still telling stories about your brand rather than helping customers tell theirs.

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India – 500 million people under the age of 30.
By 2012, one in five of the world’s mobile owning youth will live there.

Youth Mobile Trends India

Find out how Indian mobile youth are using their devices, the drivers and where the growth opportunities are at our Young Ideas Salon webinar – view the webinar below.

Featuring Samyak Chakrabarty of Concrea India and Graham Brown of Youth Research Partners

This is the preview of the presentation (full size copy is here)

The Rise of Brand Democracy

I’ve shared with you a snippet on the comparison between Brand Bureaucracy and Brand Democracy, enjoy!

This is not about choices in media but choices in mindset. The Medium is no longer the message – despite what your creative agency tells you.

Brand Bureaucracy is as evident on Twitter and Four Square as it is on the traditional mediums of Advertising Agencies.

This is no longer letting your agency decided how you tell the story but deciding who is going to tell it – the agency or the customer?

Which do you believe in?

This is what happens when you have decision making by committee. No committee created the Ipod, Nike running shoes or the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona – these were all the result of creative visionaries.

When you have Diseconomies of Scale, you have decision by committee.

Why doesn’t the bridge owner simply charge a flat rate of $0.20c for everyone?

The real answer lies in fear caused by Diseconomies. Committees, decision chains, control, quarterly reviews, marcomms departments and memos turn creatives into mediocres.

Does $0.50c really discourage Charter Buses or Trucks to cross? I don’t think so. And does paying $0.05c as opposed to $0.10c really encourage people to take the bike as a more economic alternative? No.

If you want to make change, your own organization can be both your biggest competitor and enemy.

The Triborough Toll - Diseconomies of Scale in Decision Making

Key questions addressed include:
* What influences student choice of handset?
* How important is trust in choice?
* Who are the Blackberry fans?
* What is the role of BBM in influence?
* How can BB develop lines of influence with the multipliers?
* How can we build product development and marketing insights with students?
* What are the key mistakes made by brands in addressing the student market?
* What is YouthSourcing and how can PD insights lead to channels of influence?
* What is Fanspotting?
* Where do I start?

Click to view webinar with Audio Commentary

View the webinar Customers Are The Brand (live and archive)

Topics discussed:
* Brand Democracy
* Social Currency
* Paid vs Earned Media
* Content vs Context
* Youthsourcing
* Fanspotting

Key issues discussed include
* Fanspotting
* Permission Assets
* Youthsourcing
* Paid vs Earned Media
* Global student insights
* Marketing and Product Development recommendations for mobile handset manufacturers and operators