The following article provides an overview of Profiting from Proliferation, a new book by The McKinsey Quarterly on how companies should respond to the challenges posed by rising complexity in today's marketing environment—which is characterized by increasingly fragmented customer segments, the declining effectiveness of traditional media, and a constantly expanding number of distribution touchpoints.
The contents of the entire book are available for download by clicking on the PDF icon 
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The proliferation challenge
David Court, Thomas D. French, and Trond Riiber Knudsen
The scope of today's marketing challenge is breathtaking, and proliferation is the reason. Recent advances in technology, information, communications, and distribution have created an explosion of new customer segments, sales and service channels, media, marketing approaches, products, and brands. But despite better customer information management and lower communications costs, marketing to consumers and businesses is becoming more complex and difficult every day. Marketers—even the most sophisticated—are struggling to keep up.
To understand the full impact of proliferation, consider the wireless-telecommunications market. Carriers used to manage...