Diva Marketing Blog attacks this question with the recent post “Who Controls Your Brand’s Message?.”
A few years ago – or perhaps only a few months ago – many successful executives achieved corner office status through controlling both internal and external information. Of course there was help from an advertising and/or PR agency that crafted the clever messages.
Enter a world where blogs, podcasts, email, instant messaging and cell phones shifted the dynamics. No longer does an organization control the marketing message … or rather perhaps I should say – no longer are smart companies under the illusion that only they control the brand image.
Sidebar: Do you think a company ever really controlled the message? There was always word of mouth and reporters who spun the story.
[snip]
I don’t think I ever had control of the message. So that, at least, hasn’t changed.