Congratulations. AdAge Just Named You Agency of The Year.

Following in the footsteps of Time magazine naming “You” person of the year, Advertising Age magazine has named “You,” the consumer, as agency of the year. From consumers putting video clips of Mentos and Diet Coke fountains online, to an amateur-produced commercial that will appear in this year’s SuperBowl (vote here), consumers are participating in a realm that, until recently, was ruled mostly by advertising agencies.

The consumer is now a larger factor in branding and the total marketing process than a lot of agencies would like to admit. That’s OK…it seems everyone’s had a “brilliant” advertising idea at some point, and now the Web and technology allow, you, as a consumer, to offer your idea to the world. Smart companies (and their agencies) aren’t fighting the trend; they are endorsing it (see AdAge article). Marketing has always been a collaborative process. Now consumers are part of that collaboration.

The age of tightly engineered brands with the triumvirate of companies, marketers and mainstream media controlling the process is drawing to a close. Consumers now have a voice and the means to express that voice. That’s not bad; it’s just different. Advertising has always thrived on upsetting the status quo. However, this time it is the “distribution” of marketing content that is the great disrupter of that status quo. This fundamental change is here to stay, and companies that pride themselves on being consumer centric will be better for that change by working with this new reality.

Advertising has always been about making things happen with a great idea, and sometimes, the consumer has that great idea.