AdAge has published its Book of Tens, and one page is the ten Ideas of the Decade. In sum, these ten ideas tell the story of the new role of thought leadership in business.

Please refer to the article for complete descriptions. The ten Ideas of the Decade are:

1. Consumer Control (i.e., consumers having control)
   
2. Brand Journalism
3. Branded Utility
   
4. Crowdsourcing
5. Marketer as Media
6. Earned Media
7. Long Tail
8. Tipping Point
9. Madison & Vine
10. Lovemarks

Given hindsight of an entire decade, we can see that these ten ideas are actually one: market leaders are members of communities.

Brands are no longer pushed out, launched, and proclaimed to the public. The media are no longer one-way channels for marketers to exploit. Marketing is a conversation, not an announcement.

Marketers who ask themselves "Is Anybody Following Our Thought Leadership?" might be asking the wrong question. If they are trying to hard to lead, but not to participate, they'll be lonely.

Labels: thought leadership