With the boom of the Internet and social media, there is need to recognize the evolution of the new age consumer.  While buyer power for the everyday consumer has certainly seen its increase, firms now face a new challenge of keeping up with the times in their marketing strategies. Competitors are all looking for the point of difference that will allow them to rise above and be distinguished in the ever evolving market. Change should perhaps be the only constant for marketers today, where “change has become the norm”; competitors lose out should they miss out on utilising any of the various popular social media platforms today – Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and YouTube. Stephen Quinn, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Walmart, acknowledges the need for markets to forcibly become “customer-centric” despite this being a “painful transition” whilst Joseph V. Tripodi, executive vice president and chief marketing and commercial officer of Coco-Cola, “discussed how risk-taking must become second nature” and the need to be “bold” and “disruptive”. Considering the words of the power brands in the marketing world, one should definitely take note of how emerging brands would revolutionize the social media chase of the 21^st century.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/07/business/media/marketers-chase-the-rapidly-evolving-consumer.html?_r=0