A lot of us in the new media/social media space have been talking about the fact that, the future of marketing will centered around co-creation and collaboration. I, for one, have been talking about co-creation and collaboration as key drivers of the future of marketing for quite a while. It is these concepts that sparked my love for Second Life.

Recently, crayon worked with client Panasonic in order to devise a program that allow brand marketers to directly interface with influential consumers. The program was designed to give these influential consumers a first hand look at new products, and allow them to talk to top Panasonic executives.

A few things came as a result of this experience:

• Panasonic got a chance to directly hear from consumers (markets are conversations)
• Influential consumers got an inside look at new products, and were able to disseminate information to their communities, in language that they understand (as opposed to tech marketing speak)
• Influential consumers got a chance to take products home and show their families and friends cutting edge technology
• A mass of content was created documenting the entire experience (content is still king)

All in all, I am proud of Panasonic for jumping into dangerous waters and having faith in the tenets of new marketing; and I am proud of my team at crayon for pulling off something very special. This initiative is a reminder of why I love what I do, and why I wake up thinking; “wow, I have the coolest f-cking career”.

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