Farewell Steve Jobs - An International Marketing Hero!

| by Michael R. Czinkota

(October 07, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) We mourn the death of the premier international marketer of our century. We see his influence daily on our field. We talk about consumer segments around the globe increasingly dancing together to the same music, and even singing the same tunes. But how did they get to that level? I -tunes let us become aware of each other's music, learning from each other, downloading the tunes to our iPods, so that we could dance. And now we can travel the world and achieve a very rapid and close understanding in the local music culture. We also eat the same foods, sometimes with forks, but often also with chopsticks. Where did we learn that from? Remember, when computers were praised as a new tool to collect recipes? Seeing, preparing and sharing different kinds of foods were a clear outcome of Jobs' efforts. We communicate with each other and are able to achieve overarching goals. For example, in recent times, many refer to the power of social media in bringing about political change. When we look at the 'Arab Spring', much of it occurs because of the new links between people, the ability to organize and join forces. In other words, these are i-Phone moments. Steve Jobs has not made the world flat - he has interconnected it, and given us all a new spin and better mobility. For him, borders were no barriers, but merely points of information. His work focused on and benefited the broad masses rather than the limited elites. He was a true spirit of and for the world. In practical terms, he has brought much freedom to the world.

Steve Jobs has allowed smaller sized businesses to act like large ones; he has brought millions of new participants to the export table. His firm's work alone has had a dramatic impact on our balance of trade. His innovations have transformed entire industries and make the world look towards the United States for innovation. He has enabled us all to obtain information which lets us react to changes and benefit from new opportunities. He has made investments possible through the increasing ability to develop and understand data, and given us the tools to predict shifts and get ready for them. He made us dance, he brought us closer together. Some call him The Thomas Edison of our century. I think we should just call him Steve Jobs.

Farewell and thank you for all your work to strengthen people, and improve markets and lives.

Prof. Czinkota teaches international marketing and business at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in Washington D.C. and the University of Birmingham in the U.K. Reach him at his blog: michaelczinkota.com