Branding has always been about a simple, big idea. Just Do It. I’m Loving It. etc.

What’s changing now is that audiences are getting more involved, expressing their own perceptions of brands.

In one way, it’s nothing new. My version of Nike has always been idiosyncratic and different to your perception.

But now we have the tools to mash up our favourite (or least favourite) brands and express our own perception.

If you have a brand, you’d be smart to get into that conversation with others about your brand. You may find hidden facets, things people think about you that you never thought of.

Because it’s a conversation, Twitter gives you the opportunity to practice your brand, and co-create it with your customers and prospects.

Where’s the money? There’s not a straight-line path between exploring your brand on Twitter, and money in the bank. But the line is there. It’s called strategy, and it’s preparing you for next month, next year, two years from now.

And, as my recent post shows , brands don’t need to be commercial. Simple, big ideas can like Twestival and Blackout can cause social change, whether it’s digging wells or changing laws.

And it all comes down to the new world of branding that’s being created on Twitter and other conversation platforms. Are you there? Are you learning?

It’s mobile because you can do a lot of good without being deeply committed to something. That doesn’t mean you’re not sincere, but it means it’s never been more convenient to act on your best impulses.

Examples:

Twestival shows how short the distance is between idea and execution.

In September 2008, Amanda Rose had an idea for a tweetup that collected donations for CharityWater. In February this year, the idea went worldwide.

Because the infrastructure was already setup (Twestival.com used WordPress MU so each city could easily manage its own page), getting your own city was relatively simple. The community was already there, and as you might know, Twitterers tend to be better educated, wealthier and better networked than most people, so venues and other details were easy to organise.

In Auckland we had 28 attendees (not bad considering the short lead time of about 2.5 weeks!) and raised $200 which went towards the worldwide total of US$250,000. See the TVNZ coverage here , and our background post here .

Not only did we raise money, we also got to meet fascinating people, like the Dutch student who’d been in Auckland only two days, and was leaving the next day, but wanted to donate and meet some other Twitter people.

#blackout

If you’re in New Zealand, chances are you’ll have heard of the "online community" causing the government to defer the proposed amendment to the Copyright Act for a month.

Interestingly, opposition had been going some months, with the development of the Creative Freedom Foundation website, but it wasn’t until February 16th that the big idea took hold, and became the #blackout protest .

It’s another example of how people will rally to a cause they believe in, as long as you can communicate it in a simple way that:

• shows how it affects them
• incites curiosity
• takes less than 3 seconds
• is spreadable
• translates to multiple platforms (eg the blacked out profile pictures, the banner ads, and even the placards used in real-life protests)

Notice that both of these "mobile social movements" had one thing in common – there was no big corporation involved. While there were corporate sponsors for individual Twestivals, they were in a service role, rather than telling people what to do.

If a business wants to insert itself into a mobile social movement – or start its own – it will face scepticism if its goal is anything but helping people do what they want to do.