“Many people are currently enjoying the VIP treatment from brands on social media,” says Eva Keogan, head of innovation at Fishburn Hedges. “As millions more catch on to this great route into traditional customer service channels, the challenge for brands will be maintaining the same level of service.

“Over the coming years, will Twitter become the next call centre? We are urging brands to think about this now, as there are some clear and simple ways to use these new customer service channels to great effect.”

“We come from the standpoint that men are different from women,” says Gordon Beattie, chairman of Beattie Communications. “We think differently and we behave differently. It means that campaigns that appeal to women will not necessarily strike a chord with men.

“Men have been disenfranchised by the marketing industry – that’s why we are determined to do our bit for mankind.”

Only Men brand is currently targeting a number of sectors in search of clients, including retail, health, fitness, automotive and fashion.

The agency is working with Wrigley’s 5 Gum on the What’s Next? campaign which gets 5 together with British artists. In March, that meant the first in a series of Evolution Experience events – for the new ‘Evolution’ flavour – which saw Labrinth, Stooshe, Pepstar and The Correspondents on stage at London’s Pulse club. Fans were able to bag free tickets via the 5 Facebook page.

“With Wrigley’s 5, we have unearthed fans who are enthusiastic, urban, social-currency-seeking types who are different from the brand’s core target,” says Emmins. “With Wrigley’s it’s a lot about social media, about giving people the space to interact, and about connecting them with musicians.”

Also on the Amplify roster are brands of the calibre of Red Bull, Honda, Sony and Converse, while the agency also worked on a campaign for housing charity Shelter to promote awareness of the issue of exploitative landlords.

Emmins adds that for brand fans, attachment comes from them co-owning the brand. “You need to completely understand that audience and work out how you can add value, and how the brand can get recognition for that. However, you always have to remember that super fans have massive appetites you need to feed. And that they are opinionated. But at Amplify we are all about helping brands pioneer the untraditional.”

Amplify has just released a short film, Fan Culture, exploring the role fans should play in marketing. The documentary looks at how a brand can identify their fans and harness their passions.

American consumers like restaurant pages (86%) on Facebook more than any other category, with entertainment the second-most popular (76%) and retail ranking third (75%). UK consumers are more prone to like entertainment business pages (76%), followed by retail (73%) and then restaurant pages (71%). Financial services pages came in last among both groups, mentioned by only 13% of US and 7% of UK respondents.

In both markets, about one in 10 consumers have posted something negative about a brand on a social media site, but more than two-thirds of the time, companies do not appear to be listening. Those who admitted to negative posts said they were not subsequently offered the chance by that company to provide feedback to the retailer or brand through a satisfaction survey, special website or other means.

“What’s striking is that consumers have more positive things to say than most brands realise,” says Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer for Market Force. “Using social media monitoring tools, brands can mitigate the downside by pulling negative comments into a private conversation, and maximise the upside by giving consumers an easy way to engage. There’s no reason not to take the plunge. Consumers are out there talking about you.”

Authority has moved from the detached to the personal, from national or international media channels to sectional or community blogs, from the objective expert to the known friend, relative or trusted blogger.

“People trust their friends and family much more than they trust corporate marketing media. Peer recommendations – not paid-for advertising, whether on social media platforms or in print – are what count. Globally, respondents agree, at a rating of 5.9 out of 10, that social media is no replacement for personal contact – this leaps to 6.9 in Australia and 6.6 in the US. This conviction drops in emerging markets, where there is clearly more trust in the medium – Brazilian consumers give a rating of just 5.0, with India even lower at 4.9.

And, though there have been notable successes with social media, these new channels are clearly much less easy to direct and control.

Creating a YouTube or Twitter presence does not mean a brand becomes more trusted or that they can direct what is said – or thought – about it elsewhere, says the report. E&Y research on social media found that only 15% of social media users think companies use social media well. And, though brands may be trying their hardest to create a community, consumers may just want what they can get.

The mag also aims to demonstrate affinity with the values of Girard-Perregaux’s watchmaking standards and aesthetics. How? By emphasising both the grand and classic and the artisanal and innovative, of course.