Digital and mobile technology has created a brand new world of possibilities for consumers—and a more challenging one for marketers, according to a new book by Carroll School of Management Associate Professor Jerry Smith. In The Opt-Out Effect: Marketing Strategies that Empower Consumers and Win Customer-Driven Brand Loyalty, Smith says businesses are no longer in control of their relationship with consumers and instead are confronting the “opt-out effect” of would-be buyers who are empowered by search knowledge, mobile agility and social media. Two-thirds of customers opt out of email and pop-up ads while a third update their preferences to block such communications. Brand marketers ignore these trends at their own peril, according to Smith. Read more from BC News.