5. Global Brand Building in the Digital Age

With the explosion of Internet users, growing from 360 million (5.9 % of the world’s population) in 2000 to 3.4 billion (46.4 %) in 2016, the digital space is reshaping how organizations go global with their brands. Any chapter written about digital branding strategies runs the risk of obsolescence before it hits the printer. Specific digital platforms and tools for global brand building change rapidly over time. Just look at the rollout of social media: LinkedIn in 2003, Facebook in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, Tumblr in 2007, Weibo in 2009, and Instagram and Pinterest in 2010, to name but a few. New digital platforms might soon replace these familiar global media brands. What will not change quickly are the underlying trends, such as the expansion of digital global distribution channels, co-creation of global brand components with your customers, market transparency of your global brand’s activities, global connectivity among your brand’s customers, and the Internet of Things. Therefore, in this chapter, I focus on how these fundamental shifts in the marketing environment affect global brand strategy, and the implications of such shifts.