Garrick Schmitt: 2010 will be the year of the "platform" for advertisers

A "platform", in Schmitt's parlance is "an always-on digital environment that allows brands to run specific or multiple programs." Pepsi's recently launched Refresh Everything platform is an excellent example of this phenomenon. The site allows customers/users to submit causes that they champion for other users to vote on. Pepsi will then contribute grant money ranging from $5K to $250K to the winners.

Pepsi shows us only one type of "platform", and, to me, the idea of an online platform is one that stems from experiential marketing. Brand marketers struggle to find authentic touchpoints through which consumers can connect to brands. Platforms are simply a unique experience for consumers that provide that touchpoint, whether it be cause-sourcing in Pepsi's campaign, crowdsourcing in Starbuck's MyStarbucksIdea.com or simply brand experience sites like Nike's Nike Plus, creating a shared experience with the brand for consumers that leads not only to an association of the brand with the experience, but on a higher psychological level will hopefully be integrative for the brand-experience in the mind of the consumer.

Call it a brand "platform", call it customer experience management, call it an archetypal brand, call it what you will, but make sure you can own it and that it aligns with the values/spirit of your organization and your customer.