managing a brand is an oxymoron

A cross posting of a comment on SamNZed's posterous

Managing a brand is an oxymoron as you rightly observe Sam.

And that's the problem that people like the ad agencies have gotten us into, they propound the concept that they can manage a brand, and yet it's entirely invested in the public/user/fans/consumers.

And secondly it's also where the haters get enmeshed. Where the 'brand' values are not contiguous with the experience then the consumer 'knows' and the chinks start to appear and get larger until the brand does match the experience.

Brand managers are cat herders, sometimes it looks like the cats are going where you want them to, but it's not because of the herder, he's just at the back throwing shapes whilst the cats do what they want to.

Please post any commentary on Sam's posterous account