The Global Microbrand – Mainstream
Monday, July 31st, 2006Well, it looks like the world is awakening to something that has been happening for a long time. First I noticed Hugh MacLeod detailed the concept of The Global Microbrand back in October of ‘05. MacLeod described the concept as:
“A small, tiny brand, that “sells” all over the world.
The Global Microbrand is nothing new; they’ve existed for a while,
long before the Internet was invented. Imagine a well-known author or
painter, selling his work all over the world. Or a small whisky
distillery in Scotland. Or a small cheese maker in rural France, whose
produce is exported to Paris, London, Tokyo etc. Ditto with a violin
maker in Italy. A classical guitar maker in Spain. Or a small English firm making $50,000 shotguns.”
However, MacLeod is a savvy talking head who I expect to be aware of such trends. He is a pioneer. He existed and exists in the mainstream marketing culture, but openly acknowledges the changes that are coming. He sees the mashup between marketing/technology/culture/counterculture/art and realized we’ve got a new phenomenon on our hands.
Now it is time for the mainstream to acknowledge this once and for all, and for corporations to come up with a better strategy than simply copying the Microbrands. The signs that the concept is going mainstream can be seen in last weeks New York Times article “The Brand Underground.”
Check out the article. If you are an industry insider, and this is news to you, it might be time to make a mad dash for the train platform before it totally passes you by.
