HP: Deadlines are dead

October 21, 2008 | Written by

HP’s news CMO Michael Mendenhall has recently been talking smart on digital networks and managing corporate reputation online. Very progressive talk, especially at an advertising conference. My favorite quote from the AdAge story:

"Who are the real journalists anymore? Deadlines are dead and cycles are 24/7," Mr. Mendenhall said. "You can’t afford a mistake or missed opportunities. Today’s gaffes become tomorrow’s attack ads."

And there’s a short video of Mendenhall on digital trends as well.

This should be very scary news for advertisers. The new digital paradigm means companies will decreasingly able to simply cram advertising down our throats, and will rather have to engage in authentic conversations with their audiences to move the needle on reputation. Corporations looking to manage their reputations will have to build reputations not with ad dollars alone, but through real engagement. That puts a lot of power in the consumer’s hands, and can leave corporations helpless.

Hopefully, this will lead to more transparency and truthfulness in the way we receive corporate messaging, lending to a more authentic means of communications. Of course, this would forecast many a sleepless night for CMOs who are accustomed to micro-managing their companies’ reputations.

Have you changed your opinion of a company based on Web 2.0 communications coming from corporate messengers or from rogue, "unstructured influencers?"