I took a slide by David Armano, and spun it differently, as a way to illustrate how brands use spokespersons, instead of their own customers. And showcase the individual, rather than the community.
What Brands Do:
(use spokespeople, rather than real people)
What Brands Should Do:
(take consumers, and put them front and center)
Check out a presentation I made called “Brands Are People” for more thoughts on this.
I absolutely agree with the first state you represent here, but not the second.
Consumers should stand both as individuals and as collectives in circles like David’s influence ripples (http://twurl.nl/nyo7wu), where the brands should simply be one in the crowd, or off to the side capturing the observations (to assess for trends/patterns).
The ripple model is ideal in two other critical ways.
1. The one you’ve portrayed here is hierarchical, an artifact of a linear universe. 2.0 is non-linear, constantly moving and changing. The ripple model implies action, movement, engagement.
2. While 1-to-1 may seem ideal, it is not economically effective/sound. The ripple model specifically focuses on ‘energy for free’ — capitalizing on existing energy lowers the cost of doing business (or increases positive results).
There has to be a balance in dealing with customers as close to ‘personal’ as possible, but doing it in somewhat calculated, repeatable ways….approaching the Algorithm in the Design Thinking continuum (http://twurl.nl/35k47x), but making sure that the algorithm is not ‘fixed’ that it adapts to critical mass changes in the heuristics (patterns).