Life and everything we do seems to be speeding up – so fast, so vast, limitlessly propelled beyond the referential sphere of reality, the present and consciousness.

Many marketing managers barely pay attention to social media until a real crisis hits their brands. At that point, they'll rush into action with no real plan or strategy behind the frantic tweets and Facebook posts they send out in response to the rapid spread of untrue rumours or angry complaints across social networks.

2012 is the year the electronic communications opt-in vs opt-out debate is going to come to a head, and the fallout is going to have a significant impact on both businesses and consumers.

Companies looking to further their corporate communications strategies serve to benefit greatly from appointing the correct public relations agency. PR is a long-term investment, so it's vital that you make the right decisions when it comes to deciding whom to hire. Take the following points into consideration:

‘Autonomy’, ‘recognition’, ‘freedom and discovery’, ‘belonging’, ‘more global, more local’, ‘identity blur’, ‘new consciousness’, ‘vitality’, ‘wired world’ and ‘take a stand’ – 10 phrases that South African brand owners should pay serious attention to as they hold the key to current shifts in consumer attitudes and behaviour.

In a R30 billion plus industry, the average South African is bombarded by advertising. Some of its good, some of its bad, some we take (a little) notice of, while some annoy or irritate and some of it helps us in our lives.

The face of marketing has transformed substantially. It's no longer a one directional banteror broadcast dais dominated by a production line of messages. The future of marketing has signalledthe end of one-way advertising as we know it. The zeitgeist of postadvertising reigns.