Authenticity over Exaggeration

Imagine the glee of marketers at the dawn of the Internet eracould anyone imagine a more sophisticated, precise way of reaching consumers? By tracking the purchasing habits of its prey, marketers could respond with targeted advertising and special offers, resulting in (of course) increased sales. The past 10 years have seen some level of this direct marketing model bear out. But consumers are using technology to learn about marketers, rather than the other way around.

While product consumers use sites such as eBay, YouTube, and Facebook to gather information and share opinions on how they spend their money, an entirely new marketing philosophy is called for, one in which the marketer no longer controls the message.

In this new reality, it's the consumer who runs the show for the most part, not the marketerin fact, forget the "consumer" label altogether. It's too limiting.