Photo by ChernobylBob via flickr

This is my fifth decade in the marketing communications business and I can say without any hesitation that right now is the absolute best time to be a consumer marketer and brand builder.

My optimism and enthusiasm are fueled by three powerful environmental factors that are taking hold in business today. First, the consumer is in control. Second, brands live in glass houses: They are on display all the time. Third, the people behind the brand matter and have a voice.

As someone who began his career right smack in the middle of the Mad Men era I can see how this positive assessment of the environment might seem counterintuitive. Viewed through the lens of traditional marketing these factors could be seen as constraining, intimidating and threatening to a brand.

But, viewed through the lens of social marketing they can be seen as liberating, supportive and opportune assets upon which to build powerful, purposeful and profitable brands.

For some inspiration on how best to make the most of today’s environment, look to an innovative management concept that resonates with many businesses today, Open-Book Management (OBM). Open-Book Management is a management style and technique where employees are educated about all aspects of a company’s business. They’re given all relevant financial information such as revenue, cost of goods, profit and expenses, so they can make better decisions.

It is a broad and powerful approach to running a business that requires truth, transparency and trust. Here are some thoughts on how to apply the OBM philosophy to the branding world.

Have an open mindset

Be ready, willing and eager to share every decision, action and reaction that is taken to build your brand. Be simultaneously open with your employees, business partners and consumers.

Internally, that can include opening up the books to everyone who touches the brand, sharing business plans with outside partners and stakeholders or proactively providing consumers with information that empowers them to make better, more informed decisions.

Resist the urge to be selective and in total control. Share whatever you can, whenever you can without disclosing information that would help a competitor.

Be open for inspection 24/7

Have the welcome mat out for your customers. Encourage them to drop in and check out any aspect of your brand at any time. Communicate news and updates about your brand and the people behind it as often as you can. Have conversations about programs and promotions before they are launched.

A simple rule of thumb: If there is something happening that can affect the brand experience, positively or negatively, get it to your consumers openly and honestly before someone else does.

This is the first time that I can remember that how a brand reacts to and handles a problem is more important than the problem itself… for better or worse.

The Motrin Moms Baby Wearing video controversy and Target’s refusal to engage a blogger by declaring that its customers don’t blog are examples of defensive reactions that didn’t work.

On the positive side, Domino’s Pizza avoided a lingering PR disaster when it responded swiftly after a few workers posted videos of themselves abusing customer orders. Domino’s immediately created its very own Twitter account to promote positive coverage and address customers’ concerns.

A YouTube video apology, featuring the company’s CEO, was also posted to help repair the damage. Domino’s consumers ultimately brushed the incident aside and the brand is moving ahead stronger than ever with a renewed emphasis on product quality.

Transparency can be a differentiating competitive advantage when managed smartly and swiftly.

Open inside, then out

People love stories, and the people behind a successful brand are often the most interesting parts of the brand’s story. Informed, committed and empowered employees can be a brand’s best marketing resource and most efficient media. Social media have opened the door to wonderful possibilities in this area.

Just like any media plan, opening up on the inside requires carefully planned, resourced and monitored implementation. Companies like Zappos and Best Buy can serve as great models of how to make this work. If you are held back by fear of your employees interacting with consumers in real time then perhaps you might not be hiring the right people.

Open up

An open mindset expands a brand’s horizons and builds its community. Liz Strauss captures this beautifully with this thought: “Build an irresistible community that includes all of the people who help your brand thrive. Build something you can’t build alone.”

A brand’s life should be an open book. And remember, an open book has nothing to hide.

@BrandsConf takes place on Thursday, December 2nd in New York City. As official media partner, Sparksheet will bring you original content around the event’s theme, the humanization of brands, and in-depth interviews with conference presenters. Our readers are entitled to a 30% discount on registration by using the promo code “sparksheet” – http://brands2010.140conf.com/register

By Chris Brogan via flickr

Brogan is President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency, and co-founder of the Inbound Marketing Summit.

You’re an extremely prolific blogger but you recently launched a newsletter with separate content. Why did you feel it necessary to have a presence in people’s inboxes?

Blogs reach one kind of person. The newsletter reaches another. I’ve also launched an iPhone app, a better mobile UI, and I’m available in the Kindle Store, as well. To be a new media outlet is to be every bit as interested in finding the people you need to build relationships with, regardless of technology. If I thought it was sustainable, I’d buy a printing press, too.

When’s the last time you came across some really, truly useful branded content?

I find useful branded content lots lately, because many companies are learning how to be smarter with using content marketing in their efforts. Often times, it’ll be content created by a company who plays in that space. One example I like is when Sysomos uses their listening tools to generate interesting reports about the social media space. It’s a report I can use, and it’s done by a tool that sells to people like me in the space where they’re using it.

As someone who seems to spend a lot of time on the road, what do you look for in a travel brand?

I need brands on the move to be topical, bite sized, localized, and relevant to my travel experience.

What magazines, blogs, mobile apps, etc. do you consult when looking for travel-related resources or content?

I ask Twitter more than any other resource when it comes to travelling. I usually get up-to-the-minute information, including interesting deals, just by throwing the question out there to Twitter. Mind you, I have a decent-sized following. It might not work that way for everyone.

How can airlines use social media to engage customers beyond the trip planning and selling stage?

Airlines are already doing this. Morgan Johnston at JetBlue and (until recently) Paula Berg at Southwest are great examples of airlines reaching out and bridging customer service and PR/marketing efforts. There are a lot of people in the airline world looking at the social space for engagement points, and every time they participate, I take notice.

Why do you think the airline industry – on the whole – gets such a bad rap in terms of customer service? Is it that they insist on seeing it as a burden instead of an opportunity?

The airline industry isn’t alone in considering customer service a necessary cost centre instead of a great point of communications and relationship building. Southwest probably gets the best marks in the US, and I’d say Virgin America does well, too. But none of them get an “A” from me in how they handle service. I’d say that if I had marketing dollars for an airline, I’d throw 1-3 percent of them into call centre improvements, and by that, I mean human training.

You speak at lots of conferences and events around the world that are frequented by online marketers and social media types. Do you think the Internet has increased the power and importance of face-to-face connections or diminished them?

I think the Internet serves as “hamburger helper” for those moments in between face-to-face experiences. You can’t fully replace face-to-face, and even if you could, I think we humans like seeing each other in the flesh from time to time. The Internet, however, has improved the opportunities to do interesting things in between those moments.

In your book you talk about Robert Scoble’s experience with Microsoft and the importance of being “a person first” when it comes to corporate blogging. But is there a danger in a large brand becoming associated too closely with one individual or personality?

I think brands have to build a deep bench when it comes to mixing humans and brands. I think Scott Monty at Ford is doing a great job. If he leaves, who is their next person up at bat? We don’t know. Frank Eliason at Comcast is working to fix this with his brand and so is Richard Binhammer at Dell.

How do digital natives get the technophobes and social media skeptics within their company on board?

Show them the benefits. Don’t make it a prescription. Show people what they can do when they use the tools. Show success stories. Show case studies that prove the value. That’s how Tony Hsieh at Zappos did it, and they sold the company for over a billion dollars. You think they all knew that Twitter was a powerhouse tool? No. But Tony showed them, and the organization benefited greatly.

What will become of the agency model in a world where brands can reach millions with one measly tweet?

I think that marketers were given tools from another generation and that those tools are no longer as powerful. In my mind, what comes next is a rediscovery of the importance of relationships in business. Banging an email list for 1.5 percent conversion won’t cut it any more. We’ve got much better success rates in social media, only it takes more time and hand holding. The new formulas aren’t fully baked, so people shy away from the new tools. Well, the decline of the old tools is well documented. Sit around on that sinking ship much longer and…

©istockphoto.com/Gary Cookson

In 1964, Marshall McLuhan coined the famous phrase, “the medium is the message.” McLuhan’s book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man hypothesizes that any specific medium — a book or a film, for example — conveys information in very different ways than any other medium, and that the choice of medium for specific content is just as important as the content itself.

McLuhan’s original concept essentially covered every technology, from light bulbs to the spoken word and even to roads and airplanes.

Redefining Media

I know what you’re thinking — “The light bulb is a medium?” Yes. In fact, anything with a social effect can be considered a medium. The light bulb allowed people to engage with content in the dark of the night. It had profound social effects.

Social media fit right into this picture. Brian Solis constantly revises his “Conversation Prism” graphic to reflect the ever-evolving Internet landscape of digital content creation and distribution platforms.

New channels (media) are created, launched, and tested every day. There are platforms to share video, deliver e-documents, share slide presentations, and distribute just about anything else.

There are live video platforms, audio platforms, and a wide variety of chat tools. Websites create social networks, groups within groups, and networks of groups within networks. It’s dizzying.

Now digital media can be dissected infinitely. For example, there’s blogging, then live blogging, then life streams, video blogging, status updates, micro-blogging, and on and on.

Understanding Any Social Medium – McLuhan’s Way

McLuhan was ahead of his time when he redefined media. In our social media age, we must pay just as much attention, if not more, to the medium as to the content.

And each medium is different to different people.To a 55-year-old CEO, Facebook is where his daughter chats with friends. To a 25-year-old marketing associate, it’s five thousand brand advocates. That’s proof of McLuhan’s theory that different societies – even different age groups – are affected in different ways by the same medium. That’s true of any new medium, regardless of content.

Shoes and Politics: Two Quick Examples

The folks at Zappos pride themselves on customer service, and their adoption of GetSatisfaction.com is another example of the medium as the message: We care about your customer experience so much that we’ll interact with you where you interact already.

But the medium itself has run into problems as more and more people participate on Get Satisfaction and interact with Zappos. It’s hard to find a specific issue and difficult to thread similar issues. And it’s impossible to navigate all the issues. The medium itself is now creating customer experience concerns for Zappos and is reflecting badly on the Zappos brand.

On the other hand, the Obama administration’s use of media like Twitter, YouTube and Flickr underscores their desire to be perceived as more open and transparent than previous administrations.

McLuhan’s Advice

In the context of today’s online experience, McLuhan would advise you to understand what development stage any new medium has reached in its social and cultural evolution. He’d want you to study the medium and its social effects even before you consider content.

As McLuhan argued, technologies are to the surrounding culture as words are to a poem: the former derive their meaning from the context formed by the latter.