In china and India, booming middle classes and fast-rising disposable incomes have created a still-under-trapped consume culture. Let's not forget the lessons being learned about the brand-building, power of digital connections and consumer co-creation. Since the advent of the internet, sites that offer social interaction and connectivity have been at the forefront of our digital revolution, reshaping the way consumers expect to interact with each other and, ultimately, with brands. Online tag-sale site e-Bay, for example was one of the first sites to teach us that you can trust people online as well as you might trust a friendly neighbour. That social interaction paved the way for Friendster and MySpace and You Tube, a social networking tool that, in the past year, has empowered consumers to create their own content and post it to a global audience. Anyone who doubts the real market potential of such a platfrom only needs to check out October's biggest business headlines : Google purchased the sire for `$ 1.65` billion. HSBC effort attempted a similar goal, to give consumers a forum for conversation. At your pointofview.com, consumers in `76` countries can weigh in and give their opinions on subjects including cloning, fashion, wind farms and video games. Teenagers in Chinese cities surf the web for `5.1` hours a week, and the online ad-market is booming-by more than `75%` annually for the past three years, according to Business Week, Mobile phones are among the most coveted pieces of technology. And `17.5` million bloggers (and their `75` million readers), many of whom fall within the coveted `18-25` age groups, are shaping consumer opinions in China with more intensity than they do in the US. The internet age has put advertisers and branding experts face to face with an empowered consumer. And those consumers are happy to listen to our messages, as long as we are willing to listen to them.
Which marketing philosophy emphasises development of society as well ?