Are brands really media companies?

Can brand sponsored content be trusted?

How does Bob Garfield get his beard so symmetrical?

All these questions were discussed during Brand Journalism – The Rise of Non-Fiction Advertising #brandjo and while there wasn’t ample time to nail down any answers, there were several interesting nuggets to take away.

1) The future of brand advertising will be providing useful content to its consumers.

2) You can’t just hand over content creation to the consumer and slap your brand on it. You must create a platform for consumers to create and that content must align with the values of the company and the consumer. Pepsi Refresh and Nike + are perfect examples.

3) Social media. Few get it right and it’s becoming more and more of a force everyday. People don’t want to talk to brand/companies. They want to talk to the people behind the brands, real humans.

As for Bob’s beard, you got me. But having seen it in person, I will say, it’s a work of art.