It's not about fighting or controlling

Tools like Google Sidewiki are helping transform the marketplace into a meritocracy. You can't fight or control a meritocracy. As a marketer, your job now is to help it do its thing. Job one is to make sure your product is great and the user experience nothing short of fantastic. Once you nail that, find your enthusiasts - reward them and give them the tools to share. Find those who do not love you and convert them. The meritocracy can help you if you respect it.

in reference to:

"fight reputational triangulation"
- Don't Blame Google Sidewiki if Your Brand Takes Another Hit - Advertising Age - Digital (view on Google Sidewiki)

GoodGuide gets it.

The good people at GoodGuide are providing a fantastic service to consumers. They are also changing CPG marketing.

GoodGuide has created "the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home." What's in it? Who makes it? Where and how? What is the environmental impact of this product across its entire life cycle? These are some of the questions GoodGuide seeks to answer. They rate products to make it easy to quickly make better purchase decisions.

Over a million people have visited website (still in beta) and already there are over 70,000 products rated.

Over 100,000 people have downloaded the free GoodGuide iPhone app making it easy to take this knowledge to the store shelf. A bar code reading capability is due out shortly.

GoodGuide is candid about building a platform for "normal people" (not just bleeding edge, environmentally conscious, health freaks) to make healthier, socially and environmentally conscious decisions everyday.

It's somewhat ironic that people must seek out resources like GoodGuide to get the information they want on the products they buy. The extraordinary lengths GoodGuide has had to go to sleuth-out this information is equally ironic.

One of the founders, Dara O'Rourke in an interview today on Minnesota Public Radio shared anecdotes about how some companies were maneuvering to keep information pertaining to ingredients and environmental impact out of public view. Other more enlightened brands are actively working with GoodGuide to improve their scores.

Eventually brands will realize that transparency is a powerful differentiator and path to growth. First movers will likely reap disproportionate benefits. GoodGuide is dramatically accelerating this process. What's your product's GoodGuide score?

Wal-Mart changes the game

Wal-Mart’s announcement today that they are planning to make the "social and environmental impact" of the products in their stores easily visible to customers is certainly interesting and the most visible evidence so far that I may be on to something with my Transparency Principle™.

Not only does Wal-Mart create a new way to differentiate their shopping experience on a basis other than price, they will likely save money and lower costs for customers over the long run. Their tag line, “Save money, live better.” certainly takes on a new dimension.

I think a bigger ramification is the legitimization of a new paradigm for consumer brand differentiation. Clever brands will find a way to lessen their footprint and get paid for it when consumers vote with their purchase decisions. Sure beats trying convince someone your laundry detergent is better because it contains "fluorescent whitening agents." This initiative could eventually do more for the environment than any governmental regulation.

Do you think Wal-Mart will succeed in forcing/enlisting other retailers to play ball with the same rating system?