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"People want to engage with brands!"

Huh? I'm as guilty as anyone for propagating new media rhetoric, but can we please put this expression to bed?

People don't want to engage with brands, they want to engage with the people behind the brands.

Maybe I'm splitting hairs, I'll admit that the difference as I'm stating it here is mostly how a communicator defines new media trends verses an advertiser, but I think all the indicators seem to point to a shift, a belief, that brands are no longer a fabricated shell of products, experiences and contrived corporate messaging.

The people inside a company are its brand and the people outside the company already know this, so I'd like to see a move away from cute little brand experiments and their associated idioms, and a concerted focus on real brand engagement.

Discuss.

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Mike Manuel is the founder of the award winning Media Guerrilla blog. Media Guerrilla is an insiders take on the practice of technology public relations with a focus on the issues, tactics and trends that are specific to the tech industry.
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