Great point on the pre-Moneyball & pre-Steroid era. I have a feeling that the greats of the era - Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, etc - would tell you that they believed in aiming out of the ball park

Hillang - I agree completely where the CEO only oversees one brand....such as Apple, Zappos, Target, etc. But at my CPG companies, there are hundred of brands. For instance at P&G, you have Tide, Pantene, Pampers, Olay, etc. The CEO cannot be the voice of all of these. The Brand Manager is the role in the company where they only work on that brand. That is why I push for the Brand Manage to be the voice

Raku - I am not sure exactly what you are asking for with "inspiring tips" for the future brand manager. The purpose of this entire blog is to share my thoughts on branding for current and future Brand Managers. Is there a specific question you are looking for?

Phin - Lets be clear. You have guided my thinking just as much in the 7 years since we first met so the thank you is mutual. Hell, you even inspired this post so it's a double thanks

The lack of respect for Cincinnati from the Foursquare guys is my favorite rant of the moment.  Are you trying to get me riled up on a Monday morning? :)

All great points. My belief is that crowdsourcing / co-creation is a way to let your most passionate fans be heard. That's why this works so well for Etsy and also explains the success companies like Bud Light have seen through programs on XLNT Ads. In my opinion, crowdsourcing should never be a shortcut to great branding and it doesnt replace your agency partners. But if you have a great brand with a mass of equally great fans, then this is a way to tap into their passion.

Robby - Yes you should.  In fact, I think I once tried to sell my Mt Adams condo to Caruso with the intent of it becoming the UEG Cincinnati office

Great points for both of you.

Chas - I agree completely with you on the over eagerness of some publishers. I've loved the change that "Share This" made to scale down & customize the number of options. I can see the temptation to list every button on a post but I think fewer becomes more powerful.

Joe - glad you enjoyed. Always nice when people dig up older posts! Thanks for commenting

Dave Knox
Cell - 513.658.0868

Tom / Rebecca - Thank you both for the kind words. Lots of exciting things for sure