Welcome to the Participatory Marketing Network (PMN)?

Welcome to the PMN.  There is little doubt that the rise of the social internet is rewiring the way consumers and brands interact.  The demand for consumer control, combined with the emergence of social technologies such as blogs, forums, discussion boards, Wikis and social networks has created an environment where consumers are increasingly turning to each other for the things they need rather than brands.

As a result, the social internet has forever changed the dynamic between brands and their customers.  To succeed, marketers and marketing must change.  Permission is no longer good enough – success today means brands must transition from permission to participatory marketing. 

What is Participatory Marketing?

Participatory marketing is really about marketing with your customers rather than at them.  Participatory marketing is about people getting actively involved in the promotion of your brand and engaging them to take an active role in plotting your brand’s future.  Last but not least, participatory marketing is about charging up your customers and putting them in charge so you both benefit.

Why start another organization? 

The PMN (Participatory Marketing Network) was established to help leading brands make the transition from permission marketing to participatory marketing.  It is also about connecting marketers with each other and helping shift their mindset beyond traditional marketing strategies towards more innovative approaches aimed at creating mutually beneficial customer-brand interactions.

As someone who has had the privilege of starting, building and leading some of the industry’s most influential associations -- including the DMA’s Council for Responsible Email, Email Marketing Council and Email Experience Council -- I know first hand the value and critical role these kinds of organizations play. First and foremost, these associations have been instrumental in educating marketers by providing important industry best practices and research.  However, many had a difficult time evolving and have instead taken a myopic approach around a specific channel.  The PMN’s mission is to take a holistic approach around a mindset and, as such, will showcase multiple strategies and tactics to achieve success in this new era of marketing.  We will be channel agnostic and 100% focused on starting and facilitating meaningful conversations around participatory marketing. Furthermore, the PMN will highlight the people and brands that are leading the way to provide the critical information needed to navigate the changing landscape.  Last but not least, like the leading peer-to-peer social networks, the PMN will aim to be the leading marketer-to-marketer network around participatory marketing.  Each month members will enjoy access to our blog, interviews/case studies, webinars and/or dinners that will showcase the strategies and tactics that exemplify participatory marketing thinking.  

This will be an organization built for you and run by you.  A place where marketers can meet with each other without distraction.  We are going to start slow, but our vision is to grow exponentially as our members benefit from the groups’ learnings and experiences.  So stay tuned and enjoy the website as we work diligently to build out our network