In the age of social media, can marketing really own the brand?

In today’s cacophonic age of social media, the customer seems to have taken over the brand. Much like the South African Vuvuzelas, the voice (and noise?) of the customer on the Net is deafening.

Everyone has a say and the word spreads so fast (with Tweets, blogs, comments, photographs and videos) that the brand gets created, destroyed, worshipped and hated all at once.

• How can marketing play a consistent proactive brand management program to beat the lightning speed of the Voice on the Net?
• If ultimately customer experience is giving way to customer voice, how can marketing influence what’s being said and won’t it still be a reactive program?