A few posts ago, I talked about how I struggled with Charlie’s use of the word vulnerable in reference to the relationships that are evolving between brands and their consumers. I was reading Tara Hunt’s wonderful blog this morning and lo and behold, she too used the word vulnerable in reference to marketing. I can honestly say that I never associated the word vulnerable with marketing, branding, advertising, and the like, before this past wekeend, but I am beginning to like it.

Tara uses vulnerability to identify a different part of the marketing process, but it is equally appropriate as Charlie’s reference was.

Where Charlie was referring to the vulnerability that comes with letting the relationship with consumers occur on the consumer’s terms, Tara analyzes the vulnerability that comes with open source. According to Tara:

“Open source is the most vulnerable thing I know… Making oneself publicly vulnerable is scary. Putting yourself ‘out there’, offering up source code, telling your ’secrets’, involving your community (which could include…your enemies!) - yikes. There is something to be said for surprise and delight - which is a whole other story, but my point is that community is built on trust and someone who puts themselves out there honestly has a leg up when it comes to community.”

And likewise, someone who puts themselves out there - honestly - will have a leg up when it comes to brand loyalty as well.

Vulnerability lies at the heart of both Charlie’s notion of MeVertising and Tara’s vision of open source. Companies must let go. Smart companies are realizing that in order to build a real relationship with a consumer, they must offer those things that foster meaningful relationships between people - namely honesty, respect, and the resulting trust. I am excited to see this shift in norms as corporations and consumers begin to reenvision their relationships with one another.

It makes sense. Think about your most healthy relationships with people. Likely they are founded on mutual respect, honesty, and the trust that arises from the first two. It might seem too much to ask of the folks that make your jeans or your browser, but should it be?

This entry was posted on Monday, August 14th, 2006 at 12:39 pm and is filed under Brands, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.