With the launch of the Internet, the customer assumed the reins in the marketing relationship between people and brands. Access to information became ubiquitous, and customers were able to make buying decisions using perfect information. Online social networking has pushed control even further into the customer's court, with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and the relationship between customers and brands at the forefront of many companies' marketing agendas. So important are the customer and his/her input to the brand, that co-creation is becoming increasingly the norm, rather than the exception. The brand winners are those that can respond nimbly and agilely, becoming more of what their customers want them to be.

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