As conversation becomes yet another overused buzzword there’s a grave danger that it will (somewhat ironically) lose meaning. Have a ‘conversation with your market’ starts to become a code word for marketing in all its typical vague glory rather than a specific break from the past. Witness the term ‘web 2.0′ which now means everything and nothing.

The opposite of conversation is lecture, which makes listening the difference. A conversation is bi-directional. Being over-literal seem to throw some folks in their efforts to understand this – how can a company talk to a market?

Apple this week offers an excellent example of conversational skills, in their new TV commercial which they found on youtube – it was the homemade product of a 16 year kid in Warwick England. Now it’s been re-shot by Chiat/Day and goes national on Sunday.

Neither the actions of the kid nor Apple nor Chiat/Day would/could have taken place 5 or 10 years ago. He’s a brand advocate but now he’s got corporate kudo’s and dollars behind his vision (and the agency presumably didn’t kick and scream against it). Company, customer, and partners working together to drive a message where nobody should need to feel like they want to take a show. Undoubtedly the press (as the NY Times article highlights) and large numbers of other Apple devotes will further spread and accelerate the buzz.

While not many could expect to duplicate this example, it should serve to reinforce the idea that the point of conversation marketing is working together toward a common goal. The idea that a company would go to its customers to figure out the best way to promote its products is a great application.