Future Thinking

Simon Andrews has recently written a blog post about that new Forrester research, which points towards a viable direction for the industry if brands are going to function in the most promising way they can in the media-rich, frantically fragmented world of today, which is only set to get more complicated.

The key is about creating communities of interest. The internet today functions as an extension of offline, with social networking replicating real-life interaction, UGC replicating offline activity as a creative outlet, broadcast is replicating offline broadcast with BBC's iplayer and 4OD and even mobile broadband has improved to such a degree that it rivals traditional broadband internet. With each of these mediums exhibiting different strengths to their offline counterparts, a novel way of approaching them is required.

Community is a fantastic direction. Becoming part of the social fabric is a must for brands to have a real relationship with their consumers and what is more pertinent today than developing communities online. Online communities have a sense of lifestyle about them, like a badge or an identity card and becoming part of the community reveals something about the nature of you. And the more engaging the application, the greater word of mouth can flourish.

Facilitating this sort of direction is where things can become tricky and where I agree with Simon Andrews, the relationship between media agencies, owners and clients is going to be integral to getting the most out of this thought. And it is media agencies that are going to be at the forefront of driving new thinking because they are going to be at the heart of understanding how to get the most out of these communities.

This relates directly to a post I remember writing last year. Agencies are going to have to become more collaborative and less siloed to get the most out of their individual strengths as part of a holistic unit, towards a defined goal.