Seems like a lot of people are talking about the end of marketing as we know it. One replacement for traditional marketing is cultural branding, where people in a target audience become the marketers. This is a bit like the BuzzAgents, but also very similar to the work that I was a part of at the Tibetan Freedom Concerts (although, of course, we didn't know we were doing such a great job at marketing). The basic idea is that participants become advocates and success is measured in terms of depth of experience rather than in traditional broadcast terms (ie: #s reached). More specifically, culture branding is “a lifestyle perspective, which means placing the product in a larger cultural context that gives corporate values and the actions of consumers a role in how the brand evolves.”

Read more here.

The same current social trends that leds C3 to believe that culture (rather than economics, religion, or politics) is the most effective platform to organize for social causes, is also catching the attention of marketers. Two interesting trends include the transition from mass marketing to micro-marketing and second trend that utilizes the consumer as the advertiser.

David Bollier has just published a new book called Brand Name Bullies: The Quest to Own and Control Culture. While I haven't read it, the excerpts I've seen show a picture of corporate control of culture and our cultural history, and a legislative environment that continues to give companies these rights. It talks about the dark side of culture...what I want to talk about is how people can be in control. It doesn't seem a far-off dream with trends in society pointing towards a DIY groundswell.

I've been thinking about how there is a culture of DIY (do-it-yourself) on the rise in far corners of American society. Not sure what this means, but I have a gut feeling it may be area where community and change can occur.

Here is a list of diverse DIY activities sweeping the American cultural landscape:
Blogging
Catholic Lay Movement
Home Depot
Ready Made Magazine
Martha Stewart
independent media ( Alternet, indymedia.org, blogging, etc)
independent fashion design
independent music (rip-burn-mix, podcasting, mixting, as well as music not owned by corporations)
independent voters
homeschooling
Oprah Book Clubs
Reboot
Firefox
stay-at-home parenting

Found a great interview with George Bush from the campaign trail last year in Christianity Today. He said, "At home, the job of a president is to help cultures change. The culture needs to be changed…Governments cannot change culture alone. I want you to know I understand that. But I can be a voice of cultural change.” The evangelical movement's focus on cultural organizing, and its $3 Billion a year cultural product industry seems to have done more than just create a religious movement.

According to an article called "Jesus Sells", “The products, good and bad…both reflected and validated the subculture that generated the demand for them. The people who read the books, listened to the music, hang the Thomas Kinkade paintings in their homes and use the other products of this industry are surrounding themselves with artifacts that reflect their values and beliefs, that validate who they are.” It looks like this validating might have led to a political movement as well.