Ideas of the Decade

It's not only the time of year when we get the annual "best" lists, but we'll also be dealing with many "end of the first decade of the new millenium" lists as well.

Advertising Age published a top ten "ideas of the decade" list, and we're sharing it here:

- Consumer Control: This trend took hold in the 1990's but exploded this decade--the whole notion that the consumer is in control of what media they consume, how they engage with brands, and how they choose to handle their decision-making/buying process.

- Brand Journalism: This is the school of thought that you own an idea for about an hour and a half--associations, meanings and feedback happen in real time. Thus, as marketers, one must be nimble and proactive, not expecting a brand idea to be lodged in the consumer's mind over time.

- Branded Utility: This holds that marketers can create value for consumers, rather than just overwhelming them with product messages. Perhaps the best example of this in the past year was the Hyundai Assurance Program, which promised consumers a chance to return their car, with no damage to credit, should they lose their job in today's recession-challenged environment.

- Crowdsourcing: Most marketers today don't rely upon just ad agencies alone--they turn to wisdom gleaned from crowds in order to source new ideas. This could take the form of an online polling effort to PR buzz events where consumers can sample, and provide feedback.

- Marketer as Media: With today's technology, marketers can control their own consumer databases, audiences and communities and thus communicate frequently, and in a very 1x1 fashion, with them.

- Earned Media: Over the past decade, it's become even more clear that earned media--everything from the reporting by professional journalists to the musings of blogs like this one--is likely more valuable than traditional paid media.

- Long Tail: Selling a large amount of different items in small quantities.

- Tipping Point: Malcolm Gladwell introduced this language and it caught on through the past ten years. Peer-to-peer pass-along has become the single most important factor in considering how ideas get distributed in a world marked by extreme clutter.

- Madison & Vine: Branded entertainment and the convergence of advertising and entertainment.

- Lovemarks: This originated with Saatchi & Saatchi and aims to create emotional connections between consumers and brands that become lasting relationships.

Anything to add to this list?