Marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing strategy

The 21st century has brought both opportunities and challenges in our global, boundaryless world. Importantly, managers face a dynamic and intercon- nected international environment. As such, 21st century managers need to consider the many opportunities and threats that Web 2.0, social media, and creative con- sumers present and the resulting respective shifts in loci of activity, power, and value. To help managers understand this new dispensation, we propose five axioms: (1) social media are always a function of the technology, culture, and government of a particular country or context; (2) local events rarely remain local; (3) global events are likely to be (re)interpreted locally; (4) creative consumers’ actions and creations are also dependent on technology, culture, and government; and (5) technology is historically dependent. At the heart of these axioms is the managerial recommenda- tion to continually stay up to date on technology, customers, and social media. To implement this managerial recommendation, marketers must truly engage custo- mers, embrace technology, limit the power of bureaucracy, train and invest in their employees, and inform senior management about the opportunities of social media.