A brand is a community

From Brian Phipps in Brands Create Customers � Blog Archive � Interaction design: the new key to brands

The ascent of interaction design to a critical role in brands is largely due to the changing nature of brands themselves. The new reality of brands is that they’re programs to deliver value through customer interfaces and interactions. They’re no longer the realm of top-down symbols, slogans and promises. In their new mode, brands are more social and cultural than “corporate.” They’re collaborative expressions of companies and their customers, formed in a structured process that builds the brand from the customer up.

Yes. Yes. This is very true. Which leads me to think that all consulting companies who specialize in collaboration should revisit their business model. They are not consulting. They are building brands.