This is how Detroit Free Press writer, Kortney Stringer, sees consumer generated content:
Advertisers are showing their desperation. The boom in consumer-generated advertising is just the latest way companies are trying to stop people from ignoring or avoiding their ads. By giving consumers a say-so, marketers hope people will be more likely to watch the ads — and ultimately buy their products.
I think there’s a bit more too it than that. It’s about understanding that meaning is not manufactured by the brand and distributed from the top down. Rather, meaning emanates from the ground up. It’s about being humble, listening (often for the first time) and co-creation.
A futher note on co-creation: Ads made without an ounce of brand involvement are not really ads, and they certainly will not benefit from the brand’s media buy.
