Out of Control Marketing

The first half of segment one of this episode of To the Best of Our Knowledge gets right to the point of the new media twist of Out of Control Marketing.  Clay Shirky  (author of Here Comes Everybody ) discusses consumer to consumer and political manifestations of OOCM, but they are great metaphors for businesses.  In his story about the stolen phone, Sasha-the alleged phone thief- behaves very similarly to the way many companies do when confronted by consumers or customers that expect something from them that they do not want to give.  Companies have had a history of hiding behind bureaucracy and technology, and using their size and strength to threaten the consumer, or, at least, make them feel helpless.  This is sort of what Sasha tried to do, but Evan used the power of the new media to build power of his own.  He managed to get millions of virtual supporters, and eventually get his friend’s phone back.   You’ll find a similar example of Warner Brothers® bending to the will of Harry Potter fans who wanted the freedom to indulge in “Wizard Rock” in segment 2.

The lesson to business is that you can’t hide from consumers anymore.  Mistreated or underserved consumers have the tools to band together and start a movement that is equal to the power of the company, and to potentially sway public opinion.  Fortunately, it works the other way as well.  Companies can work with consumers to create customer evangelists that spread the word because they appreciate a product or the experience of working with a company.  Fiskars®, the orange handled scissors people, have done an outstanding job of creating community with consumers through the creation of the Fiskateers “Crafting Ambassadors.”

For my professor friends who’d like a few discussion questions on this topic, please click here.



 

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