This past week I had the good fortune of seeing Mitch Joel, president of Twist Image, an award winning digital marketing and communications agency speak at The Evolution of Media: Strategies to build brands and drive revenue in a digital world.

While Joel touched on many interesting discussions one of the key points that stuck out in my mind was the idea of group expression. With a background in public relations I often studied the importance of two-way communication. Joel suggests that while new media is still being shaped and therefore harder to fully understand, companies need to step away from the notion of having no control over their brands and embrace the idea of “know control.”

“Your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what Google says it is,” Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine.

Above is a quote Joel referenced in his presentation and while many participants at the event laughed - it still rang quite true. The way in which we market continues to evolve in the space of emerging media, and has done so greatly because of the way in which people make purchases. Consumers are no longer passive sponges, and the physiological shift that social media has had on them is bigger then we might think.

Consumers no longer buy things on their own; they act as a result of the group. They trust the reviews and opinions of people they have never met before and do not require intermediaries to get what they want. Social media is about the experience and interaction between real people.

“We suddenly live in one of the most branded worlds,” said Joel. “Marketing hasn’t changed - the channel has.” Joel puts forward that companies need to spend more time asking themselves: Why they are in this space, not what they are doing there. “What is a tactic, why is a strategy.”

The new media event, sponsored by the Canadian Consulate, was hosted by Atimi, Filemobile, MyThum Interactive, Sysomos and ICUC Moderation Services and took place on Wednesday, October 27, 2009 in New York City. If you missed the event and would still like information, check out the event website at THEEVOLUTIONOFMEDIA.COM.