We all know the script now, don't we? The latest financial crisis comes, the markets overreact, the politicians throw up their hands, and the consumers hide under the bed and stop spending. Then the marketers try to figure out how to grow while their staffs and budgets are being cut for the second time in three years. Not a recipe for a happy ending -- or for holding on to your CMO position.

Given the popularity and frequency at which social/mobile applications emerge, we've reached a point where it's assumed that when a new platform is introduced, opportunities for marketers to leverage the platform should be in place at launch. In theory, this makes sense: after all, the only thing you need to do to generate a potential lead on Facebook is to click that "like" button. What's not quite as clear is the role that emerging platforms play in attracting customers.