Is there a product you love so much you want to tell the world about it? Mine would be Diet Coke and apparently I’m not alone.
The New York Times has a piece on those individuals who’ve found a new way to express their affinity for their favorite brand – they write a blog about it.
Yes, there’s the Gatorade Blog, the Disney Blog, the Starbucks Blog and even the iPod Blog.
For certain such sites as a marketing department’s dream come true – free word of mouth advertising from what many consumers view as an unbiased source.
Bloggers benefit from having, according to the article “a stake in defining the brand’s image while linking them with fans of similar mind across the country.”
Says author Jackie Huba:
“They feel like they own the brand, that it’s theirs. They feel they’re doing the world a service.”
OK, maybe that’s taking it a little too far but whatever. The point is that businesses are taking notice.
Read the rest of the article in which Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasion is quoted along with several other industry notables here (reg req’d).
Erin,
Thanks for the mention. But I’m serious when I say that these folks feel like it’s “their” brand. We interviewed lots of folks for our book and they would often say that they felt part of the company’s family. One Southwest fan invited Southwest employees to his son’s wedding.