Thanks to social media, marketers are seeing rise of the activist-consumer

Perils of this round-the-clock communication are many if not tackled well

Little did actor Amitabh Bachchan know that recent tweets  by him for a malnutrition campaign promoted by health food drink Horlicks would snowball into a controversy. The incident brought into sharp focus the relationship between consumers and brands. People today are not hesitant to pick up issues confronting a brand and Horlicks experienced it closely. Experts and lay consumers had said Horlicks had high sugar, asking Bachchan not to endorse it.

While the actor has yet to respond to such calls, the brand is not alone to find itself on the wrong side of consumer opinion. Starbucks, the world's largest