The World: Insider's View - US.(advertising agencies and consumers)(Column)

Consumers feel they are entitled to know what goes on behind the opaque windows of US corporations, which is why they are starting to open up, Andrew Bennett writes.

It wasn't so long ago that corporate titans walked the world, amassing huge fortunes with little input from anyone. Regulators held some sway, in that they could bust up monopolies, but ordinary folk hadn't a prayer of getting their voices heard. Nor would they expect to.

But that's changed. After a spate of US corporate scandals earlier this decade, companies have come under intense scrutiny from the media, regulators and shareholders, but even more so from consumers. Empowered by new technologies, consumers feel entitled to know exactly what's going on at corporate HQ.

Industrial titans, who would once have disdained direct contact with the 'end user', are channelling ad budgets to corporate brand campaigns designed to curry consumers' favour. Reputation is everything. Getting on consumers' bad side is a risk companies are no longer willing to take. Hence the decision of Dow, Coca-Cola and SABMiller to appoint chief reputation officers to sit alongside senior managers.

So now we're seeing a shift to more proactive campaigns. 'Your needs have changed. Your tastes have changed. And The Coca-Cola Company is changing right along with you,' proclaims one such effort, which then goes on to make all sorts of undying declarations of fealty to consumers and steadfast commitments to their nutritional needs and various other concerns.

Some ...