I Know You Are But What Am I

 
Consumers own your brand in ways marketeers never imagined. They are putting brands in sometimes uncomfortable places and sharing perceived benefits. Take a recent example on YouTube where an innovator has leveraged the power of Arm & Hammer baking soda to clean teeth. No dentist or white strips needed!

Here's the catch. This consumer likes the product and finds it useful and wants to tell the world, but the company would likely, for reasons ranging from legal to rash, prefer that the consumer keep their wisdom close at hand and not climb any mountains. The suggestion for marketers is a back to basics approach. Do the tried and true SWOT. Look at short term and long term implications of embracing or resisting. The answer is often very close by when you consider result of not doing something as much as doing something. We often put far too much credibility in the source of information. Consumers can be naive indeed, but give them some credit. aside from the class action smoking litigation there are few widespread examples of consumers taking an untrusted source and treating it as gospel. We are smarter than the average bear and Francis Buxton.

Which brings me to the pure comedic genius that is Paul Reubens aka Pee-Wee Herman. He's back. He recently appeared on 30 Rock in a great Paul Reubens moment. And kudos to Cinema Hype for keeping the legend top of mind and for The Bicycle Diaries with their Bicycle Safety Tips on how to get you bike back if it is ever stolen Pee-Wee style.