The document outlines a framework for evolving brand strategy in the context of a transition from an influence-driven economy to one that is activation-driven, where brands must engage and empower consumers. It emphasizes the importance of collective creativity and co-creation, as today's consumers are more proactive and desire meaningful connections with brands. The document argues that successful brands must adapt to this shift by encouraging consumer participation and fostering social change.

1. FROM INFLUENCE TO EMPOWERMENT August 17, 2012
FROM INFLUENCE TO
EMPOWERMENT:
A FRAMEWORK FOR
EVOLVING BRAND
STRATEGY
Jeffrey Histed & Jamie Gordon
August 17, 2012

2. FROM INFLUENCE TO EMPOWERMENT August 17, 2012
OVERVIEW
In
the
last
century,
we
have
seen
a
rapid
succession
in
the
developed
world
from
economies
driven
by
produc8on
to
those
driven
by
knowledge
where
ul8mately
we
will
migrate
to
an
“idea”
economy
coined
as
the
“conceptual”
age
in
Daniel
Pink’s
Book,
A
Whole
New
Mind,
As
the
“conceptual
age”
takes
root,
increasingly
those
with
a
proclivity
for
crea8vity
will
lead
the
way
and
succeed
in
this
new
and
emerging
economy.
That
development
will
in
turn
lead
to
a
new
emerging
mainstream
consumer
…
one
who
is
naturally
more
crea8ve
in
all
aspects
of
their
lives
(see
Richard
Florida’s
Rise
of
The
Crea=ve
Class).
These
emerging
mainstream
consumers
will
exhibit
that
crea8vity
in
the
brands,
products,
social
and
poli8cal
movements
and
agenda
of
their
8me.
Harnessing
that
collec8ve
crea8vity
and
ac8va8ng
it
in
your
favor
will
separate
successful
brands
ambi8ous
to
grow
from
those
just
plodding
along
or
losing
steam.
This
paper
seeks
to
provide
a
framework
for
understanding
how
to
direct
the
collec8ve
crea8vity
of
these
new
emerging
consumers
in
your
direc8on.
In
the
new
mainstream
crea8ve
consumer
culture,
if
influencing
behavior
and
thought
is
the
goal,
standing
alone
or
simply
having
a
louder
voice
with
wider
reach
is
no
longer
enough.
The
discourse
has
changed.
In
our
modern
era
of
fluid
lifestyles,
where
we
engage
as
individuals
interac8ng
with
the
collec8ve
in
an
ongoing,
hyper-­‐connected
world,
those
who
are
changing
the
game
and
seHng
the
standards
for
relevance
are
the
ones
who
encourage
more
people
to
play.
If
you
have
read
Daniel
Pink’s
book,
A
Whole
New
Mind,
or
Richard
Florida’s
Rise
of
The
Crea8ve
Class,
you
will
learn
about
how
we
are
entering
a
conceptual
age
where
economies
are
increasingly
driven
by
crea8on
of
new
ideas,
systems
and
business
models.
The
skills
required
for
innova8ve
thinking
and
maintaining
sustainable
economic
growth
are
rooted
in
the
ability
to
tap
in
to
both
right
and
leS-­‐brain
oriented
skills…and
the
people
who
have
and
are
applying
those
skills
professionally
are
growing
in
numbers
globally
(at
about
40-­‐50%
of
the
workforce
in
14
developed
na8ons*)
are
not
just
workers,
but
social
networkers
and
social
creatures
who
seek
human
connec8ons,
are
ac8ve
in
causes
they
believe
in
and
are
mo8vated
to
get
things
done!
In
a
world
where
advancements
in
technology
have
revolu8onized
our
ability
to
connect,
network,
share
ideas,
collaborate
and
mobilize,
“influence”
has
become
rooted
in
the
ability
to
conceive
of
new
ideas
or
expressions,
ac8vely
promote,
persuade
and
ac8vate
others
to
create
and
collaborate
alongside
them.

3. FROM INFLUENCE TO EMPOWERMENT August 17, 2012
And
with
this
importance
of
“ideas”
as
influence,
it
is
important
to
note
that
the
nature
of
idea
genera8on
has
also
changed.
It
is
a
crowd-­‐sourced,
collec8ve-­‐inspired
experience.
Ac8vators
are
masters
at
mobilizing
and
ul8mately
con8nually
cura8ng
crea8ve
execu8ons
and
innova8ons
that
inspire
the
new
behaviors
and
mindset
needed
to
succeed
in
the
conceptual
age.
What
this
means
for
brands
is
that
we
are
quickly
moving
from
an
influencer-­‐driven
economy
to
one
that
is
ac8va8on-­‐driven.
The
graphic
below
captures
the
sen8ment
of
the
framework
by
looking
at
individual
responses
or
ac8ons
as
they
relate
to
idea
genera8on
versus
collec8ve
responses
or
ac8ons.
It
also
takes
into
account
the
nature
of
that
response
as
being
either
ac8ve
or
passive.
Ul8mately,
the
model
reflects
the
evolu8on
of
influence
in
our
8me
and
how
that
logic
can
then
be
applied
to
brand
strategy.
Let’s
first
define
each
of
the
key
terms
in
the
model,
then
look
at
the
history
of
how
brands
have
gone
about
the
task
of
seeding
relevance
and
gaining
“share
of
wallet”:
SPECTATE:
“armchair”
selec8on
of
aspira8onal
ideas
by
voyeurism.
Choosing
a
lifestyle
by
“flipping
through”
media.
ASSOCIATE: low-­‐effort,
passive
agreement
with
the
pervading
mainstream
ethos
AGITATE: seeking
ways
to
shake
up
/
disconnect
from
the
status-­‐quo
and
adopt
new
ideas
ACTIVATE: par8cipate
in
a
movement
of
change
by
connec8ng
with
others
and
proac8vely
crea8ng
and
passing
on
ideas
The
task
in
the
earliest
of
days,
when
“tradi8onal”
media
was
king,
was
simply
to
find
ways
to
engage
the
passive
collec=ve
who
had
both
new-­‐found
prosperity
and
idle
8me
as
the
emerging
American
middle
class.
Brands,
in
par8cular,
were
signifiers
of
trusted
quality
and
sheer
breadth
of
reach
was
enough
to
influence
the
masses
to
consume
more
masses.
Brands
invited
consumers
to
iden=fy
with
the
upward
mobility
of
the
middle
class
by
consump8on
of
products.
Then,
in
the
70s
and
80s
and
90ʹ′s,
the
epicenter
of
influence
began
to
lie
in
celebrity:
athletes,
actors
and
public
figures
whose
charisma,
market
appeal
media
reach
afforded
marketers
and
consumer
product
companies
access
to
legions
of
adoring
fans
who
would
follow
them
into
the
brand-­‐o-­‐
sphere.
It
was
a
culture
where
influence
was
the
result
of
individuals
inspiring
a
passive
audience
through
media.
Consumers
were
asked
to
spectate,
observing
the
aspira8onal
lifestyles
of
others
and
looking
to
brands
as
status
symbols
in
order
to
emulate
the
celebrity
cultures
they
admired.
Then
the
nature
of
“influence”
changed
in
the
last
decade
or
so
as
the
world
became
increasingly
wired
and
celebrity
could
be
created
with
a
leS-­‐click,
a
blog
and
a
social
network.
These
charisma8c
and
connected
individuals
and
consumers
were/
are
creators
of
culture,
trendsegers
and
early-­‐adopters;
ahead-­‐of-­‐the-­‐curve,
vociferous
and
able
to
wield
the
power
of
persuasion
over
their
social
networks.
Influence
therefore
became
about
individuals
who
agitate
the
status
quo,
recrui8ng
followers
in
a
more
proac=ve
manner.
Brands
became
badges
that
helped
consumers
curate
their
own
personal
brand
iden88es.
In
a
sea
of
op8ons
consumers
had
to
ac8vely
wade
through
the
water
and
find
the
hidden
treasures
that
helped
them
connect
to
products
and
make
personal
choices.

4. FROM INFLUENCE TO EMPOWERMENT August 17, 2012
Let’s
first
define
each
of
the
key
terms
in
the
model,
then
look
at
the
history
of
how
brands
have
gone
about
the
task
of
seeding
relevance
and
gaining
“share
of
wallet”:
SPECTATE:
“armchair”
selec8on
of
aspira8onal
ideas
by
voyeurism.
Choosing
a
lifestyle
by
“flipping
through”
media.
ASSOCIATE: low-­‐effort,
passive
agreement
with
the
pervading
mainstream
ethos
AGITATE: seeking
ways
to
shake
up
/
disconnect
from
the
status-­‐quo
and
adopt
new
ideas
ACTIVATE: par8cipate
in
a
movement
of
change
by
connec8ng
with
others
and
proac8vely
crea8ng
and
passing
on
ideas
The
task
in
the
earliest
of
days,
when
“tradi8onal”
media
was
king,
was
simply
to
find
ways
to
engage
the
passive
collec=ve
who
had
both
new-­‐found
prosperity
and
idle
8me
as
the
emerging
American
middle
class.
Brands,
in
par8cular,
were
signifiers
of
trusted
quality
and
sheer
breadth
of
reach
was
enough
to
influence
the
masses
to
consume
more
masses.
Brands
invited
consumers
to
iden=fy
with
the
upward
mobility
of
the
middle
class
by
consump8on
of
products.
Then,
in
the
70s
and
80s
and
90ʹ′s,
the
epicenter
of
influence
began
to
lie
in
celebrity:
athletes,
actors
and
public
figures
whose
charisma,
market
appeal
media
reach
afforded
marketers
and
consumer
product
companies
access
to
legions
of
adoring
fans
who
would
follow
them
into
the
brand-­‐o-­‐sphere.
It
was
a
culture
where
influence
was
the
result
of
individuals
inspiring
a
passive
audience
through
media.
Consumers
were
asked
to
spectate,
observing
the
aspira8onal
lifestyles
of
others
and
looking
to
brands
as
status
symbols
in
order
to
emulate
the
celebrity
cultures
they
admired.
Then
the
nature
of
“influence”
changed
in
the
last
decade
or
so
as
the
world
became
increasingly
wired
and
celebrity
could
be
created
with
a
leS-­‐click,
a
blog
and
a
social
network.
These
charisma8c
and
connected
individuals
and
consumers
were/are
creators
of
culture,
trendsegers
and
early-­‐adopters;
ahead-­‐of-­‐the-­‐curve,
vociferous
and
able
to
wield
the
power
of
persuasion
over
their
social
networks.
Influence
therefore
became
about
individuals
who
agitate
the
status
quo,
recrui8ng
followers
in
a
more
proac=ve
manner.
Brands
became
badges
that
helped
consumers
curate
their
own
personal
brand
iden88es.
In
a
sea
of
op8ons
consumers
had
to
ac8vely
wade
through
the
water
and
find
the
hidden
treasures
that
helped
them
connect
to
products
and
make
personal
choices.

5. FROM INFLUENCE TO EMPOWERMENT August 17, 2012
And
then
something
started
happening.
Now,
we
find
ourselves
transi8oning
into
a
new
era:
a
renaissance
where
consumers
have
realized
that
they
(we)
have
the
power,
demonstrated
by
the
emerging
consumer
collec8ve
ac8vism.
The
power
of
tradi8onal
media,
the
social
network
or
the
blog
have
not
gone
away,
but
brand
crea8on,
adop8on
and
innova8on
is
no
longer
limited
to
a
monologue
to
the
masses
or
even
a
dialogue
amongst
a
select
few
trend-­‐transmigers.
Rather,
there
is
an
ongoing,
cyclical
conversa8on
between
those
who
create
trends,
products
and
brands
and
those
who
consume
and
them
and
ul8mately
contribute
to
new
what’s
next.
Put
simply,
we
have
evolved
from
a
paradigm
of
influence
to
an
ethos
of
empowerment.
Real
influence
comes
from
the
ability
to
be
proac8ve
and
ac8vate
collec8ve
consumers.
Using
technology,
collabora8on
and
co-­‐crea8on
to
empower
others
to
engage,
create
and
innovate.
Further
in
an
informa8on
age
that
is
rapidly
moving
to
a
conceptual
or
idea
age,
velocity
of
informa8on
or
ideas
will
mager
even
more.
The
framework
reveals
very
clearly
how
ac8va8ng
your
consumers
(i.e.
not
allowing
them
to
spectate
or
just
associate
passively
with
your
ideas
and
not
being
a
lone
voice
seeking
to
agitate
one
consumer
at
a
8me)
yields
significantly
more
velocity
of
informa8on
to
fuel
your
brand’s
growth.
The
implica8on
for
brands
in
this
new
era
of
Empowerment
is
incredibly
profound.
Whilst
being
signifiers
of
quality
and
aspira8on
and
personal
branding
are
s8ll
founda8onal
requirements,
there
is
an
added
pivotal
layer.
Brands
must
also
take
on
the
responsibility
of
empowering
consumers:
ac8va8ng
consumers
under
the
umbrella
of
crea8ng
meaningful
social
change
by
using
the
power
of
their
collec8ve
consumer-­‐bases.
Brands
need
to
create
agitators
and
ac8vators
that
adopt,
co-­‐opt
and
ul8mately
help
co-­‐create
the
brand,
infusing
relevance
and
meaning
using
the
true
“voice
of
customer”.
This
perspec8ve
on
empowerment
is
central
to
the
way
we
operate
at
Northstar
Research
Partners:
why
we
approach
strategic
research
using
the
3
C’s
framework
(Client/
Category,
Culture,
Consumer)
for
examining
context.
Unlocking
the
insights
that
Iden8fy
how
to
make
meaningful
connec8ons
between
brands
and
consumer
is
a
challenge
we
specialize
in.
Focused
rigor
on
how
specific
pockets
of
target
consumers
are
culturally
impacted
by
macro
forces,
their
interac8on
with
media
and
brands
and
iden8fica8on
of
relevant
lifestyle
pagerns
are
essen8al
star8ng
points
to
discovering
how
to
become
an
Ac=vator
brand.
For
more
informa8on
on
how
we
can
help
you
start
your
journey
of
discovery,
please
contact
Jamie
Gordon,
VP
Consumer
Anthropology:
jgordon@nsresearch-­‐usa.com,
404-­‐895-­‐9872.