New "modern/digital" corporate social responsibility programs really seem to fit with the principles of social media and now is a great time for brands to really figure out how to engage with their community for the betterment of their brand, their cutomers and the collective good of all.

The central question posed in the original post was this: "Isn’t the real opportunity is to do something as new as the medium itself?" That question sounds more like a marketer’s infatuation with newness and innovation more than a marketer who balances the goals and objectives of the organization with the needs and problems of consumers.

The most recent way you phrase your questions seem much more on track: "Sure, [marketers] have to get the basics right… But won’t there need to be more? Especially as the Millennial generation takes over?" That approach to the situation starts factoring the target audience in. What might Millenials want, need or expect from companies (online or otherwise) in the future? Good question. Let’s start there.

But stepping outside that to take on your challenge, here’s an idea for a brand.

Budweiser. Bud’s got a bunch of problems. Younger people are abandoning beer for other adult beverages. Worse, microbrews make more interesting beers (in every sense) and have more personality. And foreign beers are more exotic and fun.

Bud’s market is fragmenting, bigtime. Why not use Twitter to bring that market back together for a party?

How about a Budweiser American Tweetup in Philadelphia, held on the 4th of July weekend, sponsored by America’s beer? Imagine using Twitter to spread the news of a party for America MC’d by @scobleizer. I’m thinking free beer and BBQ, a battle-of-the-bands that can only be entered via Twitter, and challenging Expedia, Orbitz etc to Tweet their best Philly airfare and hotel deals, etc etc. Also, why not challenge the Twitterverse to figure out how best to use the event to make America better? Should Bud do canned food collections for food pantries? Should Bud feed Philly’s homeless if enough Twitterers show up? Why not challenge everyone to come up with a better idea and give a prize for the best one. And, since I’m an old-school ad guy, I’d encourage people to Flickr and Vimeo their friends and share the party with the world. Bud could also shoot its own footage and use Visual World to run national commercials customized locally: people in Baltimore would see only people from Baltimore, people from St. Louis would only see people from St. Louis, etc.

It’s something that only "America’s beer" could pull off: encouraging all of America to co-create a national party. Beer is a social thing, why not make it a social media thing?

P.S. If anyone from Bud comes across this idea and likes it, here’s my offer: I’ll sell the idea to you for $1.00. All I ask is that you say "Original idea by @tjcnyc on Twitter" on all promo materials year one and give me an exclusive interview on my blog to break the news. Deal?

One hears a lot about “innovation” and “new ideas” when little attention is given to the benefits to the consumer/audience. Surely, marketers are praised by fellow marketers when they do something innovative, but it should always circle back directly to what people need.

As someone intimated here (about Comcast), customer service is a challenge for some companies. I’d venture that most consumers would prefer companies improve their customer service vs. expanding CSR via Twitter. If you’ve got room for improvement in customer service, start there — despite the fact that it may not be “sexy” or “original.” If Twitter helps you improve customer service, great.

Some may feel the “race is on” to find exciting new ideas for Twitter. I contend that most companies can’t even master the basics… not just w/respect to Twitter, but the broader concepts affecting sales and marketing. Marketing should always solve a problem. If getting your CSR initiatives out there and engaging more people is your problem, then these "new uses" for Twitter may be good for you. But all those social media gurus who say "creating engagement" is what it’s all about are wrong. Creating engagement is a strategy to achieve something more; it’s a means to an end. In business, CEOs need to see Web 2.0 tools connect back to the bottom line. More "engagement" around a CSR program seems less productive than customer service initiatives.

My focus is retail financial services, so I tend to draw on examples within my realm of experience. I only defend BofA because they are the biggest financial institution actively using Twitter in a way that directly benefits their customers. There are a lot of financial institutions on Twitter, and few have found the sweet spot that @BofA_help has. BofA is proactively monitoring Twitter for conversations (mostly complaints), then reaching out. One thing is for sure, BofA isn’t going to get burned by the Twitterati with a Motrin-gate scandal.

To be clear: BofA has not ever been a client (directly or indirectly), nor is it likely they ever will be. I like the company and am sympathetic to their current plight, but I have no motive to defend BofA.

fwiw, I was a creative director for 12+ years. I appreciate your role and responsibilities with respect to generating new ideas and getting folks to think “out of the box.”

But there is noc change to escape these changes…so everybody has to lear to deal with it, sooner or later.

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!