Introduction

The research topic relies on a sets of principles and mechanisms that establish its procedural paths and stages through cyber systems, which have become the most prevalent and widely used avenue in modern marketing processes. The majority of marketing stages, including supply and demand, and even the symbols and currencies used in commodity exchange, have been replaced by electronic aspects, replacing the in-person procedures that previously required the physical presence of both the producer and the consumer or buyer. This is in addition to the physical requirements associated with buying and selling transactions, which also necessitated barter procedures in their familiar physical forms. however, the transformations that occurred in the second millennium, especially after the outbreak of the pandemic and the world's shift towards electronic processes and procedures in their virtual worlds as an inevitable alternative to the traditional commercial model, have imposed a set of new marketing forms that have, in turn, come to dominate the axes of commercial and economic exchange within modern digital markets.

With these transformations, new stages of commodity exchange began, represented by symbols, addresses, and electronic mailboxes. These, in their entirety and as virtual alternatives to previous in-person methods, significantly reduced the paths of the commercial system. This was due to the ease of electronic processing and its immediate advantages, which are not limited by distance or environmental and climatic factors. It began to become widespread and common without geographical or political restrictions that would have hindered its operations had the traditional physical methods of exchange and commodification been relied upon. The art market was not immune to this transformation; it too followed suit, beginning with the changes sweeping the developed world, shifting its exchanges and marketing and commercial offerings to the dot-com world. Supply and demand between artists and collectors reached their peak on social media, online platforms, and virtual galleries. Sellers and collectors were now in direct contact with the creator or artist, easily accessing all the details of the displayed works. Simultaneously, acquisition and monetary exchange were facilitated within the digital realm. With this evolution, supply and demand transactions became dependent on a set of indicators and procedures that enhanced the artist's capabilities and position within the digital art scene.

Therefore, advertising, promotion, and the ability to attract and influence the public have become dependent on the advertising capacity and activity provided by social media and communication sites, and the infomedia systems that have played the biggest role in promoting artists and their works, regardless of the general or private character that the artist adopts in performing his works. Electronic sources, in their marketing aspect for art, have also played a major role in distancing artists from relying on intermediaries in marketing, distributing, and promoting their works, regardless of the type of intermediary, whether it is a person, a gallery, an institution, or an organization. Since electronic media, in its cyber aspect, has given the artist complete privacy in promoting his works without relying on other sources in this aspect, so the buying and selling operations have become done directly by relying on electronic methods and paths, which also require a kind of knowledge and familiarity through which the buying, selling, and commercial exchange operations are carried out.

Chapter One – Methodological Framework

1. Research Problem

The global spread of digital transformation and the proliferation of cyber media as a driving force in communication and the exchange of expertise at all levels—theoretical, practical, and applied—have been a significant turning point. This has enriched intellectual discourse by creating a vast stage for showcasing experiences, innovations, and knowledge across all spheres. This has led to unprecedented openness in communication and on a global scale. The diverse and culturally rich world has become a small village, its geographical boundaries and distances dismantled by digital media. There are no longer any barriers, obstacles, or impediments preventing the spread, cross-fertilization, and dialogue of intellectual frameworks worldwide. Just as the economic, commercial, and commodity sectors have played a pivotal role in the establishment and strengthening of local and global economies since the emergence and development of commercial thought in humans over thousands of years, replacing traditional physical means of interaction, presentation, and exchange with their digital counterparts, thus ensuring the shortening of distances. The procedures, transactions, and expected timeframe for implementing such mechanisms.

The art market has witnessed a qualitative leap in this field following the widespread adoption of digital platforms, including channels for dialogue, communication, and video presentation. Among the most prominent are YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and others. These platforms have achieved a remarkable and broad opening in the acquisition, exchange, and following of artworks by various artists, thus expanding the scope of art marketing and the acquisition of works across different visual arts. However, these media have mechanisms, techniques, and processing concepts that anyone wishing to delve into them must be familiar with to practically benefit from what these cyber systems offer. Therefore, the current research questions focus on:

• What are the digital media for marketing visual arts?
• And what is their role in the digital marketing of visual artworks?

2. Research Importance and Need

The significance of this study lies in its focus on a crucial aspect of visual art marketing: the role of digital media in simplifying the acquisition of artistic artifacts and products. It provides practical insights into the optimal approaches for understanding digital processes that support artists and collectors in marketing practices.

3. Research Objective

To explore the importance of virtual digital media and their role in art marketing.

4. Research Boundaries

• Temporal Boundaries: 2023

• Spatial Boundaries: United Kingdom, United States, and Japan

• Subject Boundaries:

5. Definition of Terms

Media

Linguistically: The term wasīṭ (وسيط) in Arabic derives from wasata (to mediate, to be in the middle). It refers to someone who occupies a central or distinguished position within a community, or who acts as an intermediary. The verb tawsīṭ means to place something in the middle, to divide into halves, or to mediate between people. Related usages include marʿā wasṭ (a choice pasture), wasīṭ rūḥānī (a spiritual medium in hypnosis), wasīṭ tijārī (a commercial broker who connects buyer and seller without direct cooperation), and al-ʿaṣr al-wasīṭ (the Middle Ages).

Terminologically:

• In statistics, the median is the value that lies in the middle of a dataset, with an equal number of values above and below it.

• In economics, culture, society, or politics, the term mediator may refer to a neutral party, broker, or intermediary.

• In art, medium refers to the material used by the artist for expression, such as oil paints, watercolors, clay, fired ceramics, ink, wood, marble, or colored chalk.

Operational Definition: Digital media are sets of cybernetic tools used to store and present virtual digital information or data. They facilitate communication, interaction, exchange, and networking among participants in digital communication processes, ensuring efficiency, speed, and organization in marketing practices.

Chapter Two – Theoretical Framework

Section One: Digital Media – Origins and Uses

Our current era, with its scientific and cultural foundations, and as a system and ancestral framework whose emergence and distinctiveness have manifested in all aspects and levels of human life, is characterized by its saturation with strategic data that has facilitated and continues to facilitate ways of life, communication, and intellectual and cultural convergence across the geographical boundaries of our worlds. This has led to the merging of the material foundations of those boundaries, at least in their communicative aspect, transforming densely populated communities of similar yet diverse existences—in appearance, language, and culture—into a small village where all these existential differences converge. Through digital and cyber tools and media—which have become a defining feature of our current era—the process of transcending all differences begins, forming a communicative structure that primarily aims to accelerate and simplify cultural exchange. The axes of this latter have expanded to include various branches of trade and commodity exchange, facilitated by highly precise and disciplined mechanisms, supported by encryptions that ensure complete confidentiality and guarantee the continuity of buying and selling transactions. Secure and responsive to supply and demand needs, for both sellers and collectors, the arts, in their commercial and marketing aspects, were not immune to these virtual digital media. In fact, these platforms, within record time, became the primary supporter and supplier of various artistic productions, and their diverse digital channels took center stage in the commodification and marketing of art.

After artists, critics, art institutions, galleries, and art collectors dominated the art market for a long time, a major shift occurred in our time when social media platforms became the main players in the market. Social media is a relatively recent phenomenon and only spread in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. By 2010, the most famous social media sites, Facebook and Instagram, had distinguished themselves as platforms not only for art exhibitions but also as platforms for e-commerce of art products [6]. All of this has led to a rapid development of new media that not only promotes and applies technological development in communication networks but also greatly enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing operations [7]. In fact, the extensive and influential services of digital platforms and social networks have become the leading means of covering all aspects of community activities, including markets, business, music, entertainment, and the arts. The emergence of digital network services and their impact on art has been particularly prominent and effective, whether in display, distribution, or archiving technologies. Consequently, cyber art exhibitions have distinguished themselves from their predecessors, such as museum exhibitions, by enhancing their appeal to audiences through superior audio-visual capabilities, ease of viewing, saving, retrieval, and promotion to both collectors and visitors, without the need to visit studios, museums, or art galleries [8]. Furthermore, the radical changes brought about by new media and communication technologies in marketing processes—as a new channel for information communication and product sales—have created a new working environment for institutions and individuals. This has led to a restructuring of relationships between institutions, customers, partners, and competitors. In our digital age, marketing through The internet for artistic works is the inevitable choice for integrating the arts and culture industry into the global economy [7].

When examining the main reasons that led to the rise of digital media as operational mechanisms and marketing channels for artistic products and works, it becomes clear that the COVID-19 pandemic was the primary catalyst for the advancement of information and communication technologies and digital media technologies. The pandemic, as it swept the globe, had a severe economic and social impact, significantly affecting markets. However, the arts and culture sectors suffered the most damage. Despite this, the viral emergency may have exacerbated the problems that these sectors were already experiencing [9]. As a true indicator of the origins of the online art market, it doesn't actually date back to the pandemic era, as its presence predates it considerably. The concept isn't entirely new; the first websites for selling artworks were launched during the dot-com boom, or what was termed the IT bubble (1995-2000). Nevertheless, most of these sites survived the 2000 crash, and despite this failure... The first generation of art companies emerged online, but the belief that the cyber world is the future of art commerce in the age of globalization has not faded. A new generation of cyber art companies has emerged, proving their presence and effectiveness as a promising future for art marketing [10].

All this presence, interaction, and synergy through cyber communication channels has given art a distinctive place within virtual worlds. Its boundaries have expanded, creating a broad audience base after its electronic productions significantly advanced aesthetic taste, enhancing the aesthetic and emotional responses to its artistic experiences. This has strengthened the decoding of cultural and cognitive codes between the artist and their audience. Although digital processes will not replace direct, physical experience, the true potential of social media lies in building a community, developing communication that transcends geographical and circumstantial boundaries, and facilitating processes of participation, exchange, creativity, and co-financing [11].

The benefits of using social media and digital platforms in art marketing can be summarized as follows:

• Vital marketing tool: Essential for artists and organizations to build brands, achieve sales, and secure sponsorship.

• Enhanced information access: Facilitates open innovation, information sharing, and institutional oversight.

• Broader marketing applications: Extends to precise targeting, consumer relationship management, and data analysis.

Section Two: Approaches to Art Marketing through Cyber Digital Media

Through the advantages and conveniences accompanying the emergence and spread of online art sales channels in the contemporary art market, demand for these electronic platforms has grown significantly. They provide clients, collectors, and seekers of beauty with simplified access, reducing distances and stages, and placing them in direct contact with the artworks they seek—literally at the click of a button. These platforms enable immediate access to desired artworks without placing clients on waiting lists. Most importantly, they have engaged in a long struggle to build trust with consumers, which remains the greatest challenge for all art companies operating in cyberspace.

In 2018, 60% of consumers acknowledged that difficulties in verifying a seller’s reputation represented a major obstacle in this field [10]. Nevertheless, this did not prevent the steady rise of the online art market. Sales through cyber networks reached a historic peak of 12.4 billion USD in 2020, doubling annually and continuing to grow, reaching 13.3 billion USD in 2021, an increase of 7%. Although online sales declined in 2022 to 11 billion USD, this figure still represented an 85% increase compared to 2019 levels, which recorded only 4.64 billion USD.

Figure (1) illustrates the growth rates of the global online art market during the years 2013–2022 [13].

Figure (1) illustrates the growth rates of the global online art market during the years 2013–2022.

In 2023, according to the Art Market company report, the volume of global art auction sales reached 14.9 billion USD, distributed among the most dynamic countries in the fine arts auction market and the cryptocurrency sector, as shown in Figure (2) [14].

Figure (2) illustrates the most dynamic countries in the fine arts auction market and the cryptocurrency sector.

The issue of art marketing in cyberspace has captured the attention of art market analysts, who have begun developing innovative methods to study the rapid evolution of art, culture, and art commerce online. Consequently, the most authoritative analytical reports, such as the Art Market Report and the report by the online trading company Hiscox Ltd., highlight three cyber phenomena that have fueled the commercial growth of the art market: cryptocurrency, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. These technologies hold great promise for future development and expansion in the online world, and possess the potential to further transform the organizational and functional foundations of the virtual art market [10].

The marketing of art in cyberspace has attracted the attention of art market analysts, who have begun to develop innovative methods for studying the patterns of rapid development in art, culture, and art commerce online.

1- Cryptocurrency: or what is called a Non-fungible Token (NFT), meaning that anything that is fungible can be exchanged for a commodity of equal value. It is called the exchange currency (Bitcoin). This technology is considered an ideal way to represent physical assets digitally, such as artwork, including photos, videos, and other things, up to real estate. These digital currencies (Bitcoin) witnessed an increase in their sales, from $13.7 million per coin in the first half of 2020 to more than $2.5 billion in the first half of 2021, an increase of 20 times [15].digital currencies have been able to prove their importance and benefits to businesses through companies that rushed to adopt them, moving those companies to the forefront and giving them a competitive advantage over their peers. The absence of intermediaries, the contribution of these currencies to preventing fraud, reducing transaction costs, and opening borders to international trade are the most important benefits that distinguish this encrypted monetary mechanism [16].

2- Blockchain, or chain of blocks: This is the technology called (Blockchain), which is a decentralized network or database for financial transactions. It gained importance initially as the protocol behind the cryptocurrency (Bitcoin), which was introduced in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis [17]. The reason for naming it the blockchain is that the data is stored in the (Blockchain) network in the form of blocks. Each block contains detailed information about one of the transactions that was carried out on the network. After it is stored, the stored data is encrypted and a lock is placed on it that is difficult to break and is called (hash). This process is repeated several times and the information is stored and encrypted in succession to be in the form of an infinite chain of blocks [18].

3- Artificial intelligence is widely used as an e-marketing tool to link artworks and collectibles. Artificial intelligence acts as a matching program for potential customers with a specific product when examining their online activities. The (Artfinder) website is considered the largest online art marketplace, launched in 2013, which operates according to an artificial intelligence algorithm. There are also other art companies that have developed their e-marketing strategy created by artificial intelligence to stimulate art trade online, such as (ArtAdvisor), which provides users with information about artists and helps in searching for their products [10]. AI-generated art, along with AI-powered art marketing, is considered one of the most innovative tools with commercial advantages capable of contributing to the further development of the online art market [19]. Three other AI-generated technologies also aid in the online art trade. The first is an algorithm that detects forgeries in artworks by analyzing brushstrokes. The second is virtual reality (VR), which enhances e-commerce by reaching buyers unable to visit galleries and exhibitions. The third is augmented reality (AR), with art platforms like Saatchi Art and Artsy developing applications that allow customers to virtually view artworks displayed on their walls [10].

Art platforms such as Saatchi Art and Artsy have developed applications that allow customers to view artworks at home by digitally displaying them on their walls. Digital art marketing is essentially a systematic process that cultivates awareness, focus, and interest in a particular style, technique, or artistic product before its audience or consumers. For artists, it transcends mere financial gain or the rapid sale of works within the commercial system. It's about establishing a distinctive name and building a trustworthy reputation among both followers and consumers. Therefore, when an artist succeeds, through diligent efforts on social media and multimedia, in establishing a unique artistic brand with a solid reputation and performance, several effective methods are employed by the artist through cyber channels to promote their work, facilitating its marketing and ultimately leaving their personal mark on the art world. These methods include [20]:

• Advertising: Leveraging the power of print ads, online promotions, and social media advertising to reach a wider audience.
• Event Promotion: Participating in art exhibitions and networking with other artists increases visibility and helps build valuable connections within the art community.
• Social Media Engagement: Using social media platforms to connect with potential buyers and art enthusiasts.
• The Power of Storytelling: By integrating artworks with stories. A compelling narrative about any artwork can spark interest and make it memorable.
• Word-of-Middle: Word-of-mouth is often the most powerful marketing tool. It sparks conversations and encourages people to talk about and share the artwork. Of course, choosing the right website to market artworks is also crucial for facilitating the marketing process. Some of the most prominent online platforms for 2024 that significantly support online art marketing, from paintings and photographs to printed media and sculptures, include Etsy, eBay, Amazon Handmade, Society6, Redbubble, Fine Art America, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook [21].

Indicators Resulting from the Theoretical Framework:

1) Social media platforms emerged in their modern and influential form at the beginning of the 21st century. By 2010, the most prominent and widely used of these platforms were Telegram and Facebook.

2) The widespread diversification of social media and infomedia platforms significantly and effectively influenced the shift of artistic presentation, marketing, and promotion methods towards these electronic channels.

3) The electronic aspects of artistic presentation and marketing differed from previous in-person museum displays in their direct and immediate connection with their audiences. This facilitates access, viewing, saving, retrieval, and promotion without regard for distance or circumstances.

4) The COVID-19 pandemic played a major role in the overall shift towards information and communication technologies, given that the culture and arts sectors were the most severely affected by the viral outbreak. It's worth noting that the beginnings of this shift were already documented in what was known as the dot-com economy. 5) One of the benefits of the increasing use of electronic channels in promoting and marketing the arts is the possibility of creating brands for investors in this sector, both private and public. These mechanisms also facilitate access to and sharing of information related to communication or commercial exchanges with great ease and speed. Furthermore, these technologies can expand their applications to include consumer relationship management and the accurate analysis of consumer data.

6) The online art market has witnessed steady annual growth, with increases ranging from approximately three billion dollars between 2020 and 2023. These are record figures considering the short period during which these virtual indicators have grown.

7) The main reasons for stimulating commercial growth in the art market can be attributed to three phenomena: cryptocurrency (NFT), or fungible asset, where assets are traded in monetary units called Bitcoin; the second phenomenon is blockchain, which acts as a protocol or exchange that distributes financial transactions in the form of Bitcoin, and the blockchain serves as a mechanism for storing, encrypting, and coding data for each transaction or exchange across the electronic network; and the third phenomenon is artificial intelligence, which is used as an algorithm to match and verify clients according to a specific methodology, in addition to other information that can be processed by this algorithm, such as detecting forgeries in artworks, as well as activating virtual reality (VR), which assists buyers unable to visit galleries and exhibitions, and augmented reality (AR), which allows clients to virtually preview their artwork by displaying it on their walls.

8) Art marketers can benefit from social media channels via the Internet to promote their artistic products by advertising them on those channels, and then communicate with other artists and participate with them and potential collectors. The benefit of those channels also appears when artists formulate narrative innovations for their planned works, through effective and serious oral communication with other people, whether at the level of producers or consumers.

Chapter Three – Research Procedures

1. Research Population

The research population was composed of contemporary artists who maintain a strong presence on social media platforms. Their works have achieved notable financial success and significant market value.

To build the study sample, the researchers relied on visual materials drawn from both Arabic and international sources, supplemented by information available on specialized websites across the global internet.

2. Research Sample

Three selected artworks by contemporary artists were chosen, all of whom share strong engagement on social media platforms and hold considerable influence in art markets.

3. Research Tool

The researchers relied on the theoretical indicators derived from the framework, utilizing its core propositions to enrich analysis and guide it scientifically.

4. Research Methodology

The study adopted the descriptive method and content analysis to analyze the selected sample.

5. Sample Analysis

Model (1)

A work of art by the British street artist Banksy, depicting three military drones affixed to a red “STOP” traffic sign in South London. Shortly after the artist revealed the piece through social media, photos and videos circulated online showing Banksy, assisted by another man, installing the work in place. The artist also published an image of the artwork on his official website and on Instagram.

Banksy has more than 12 million followers, and the red stop sign contained three gray drones symbolizing unmanned warplanes. It is customary for the artist to unveil his works through social media, though he provides little explanation of their details or meaning, since his art generally carries an anti-war and anti-colonial stance. He consistently seeks a world filled with goodness and peace, far removed from extremism, racism, brutality, and aggression.

The unveiling of this artwork coincided with the peak of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict, during which world leaders were divided over issuing a resolution calling on Israel to cease fire in Gaza. The piece can thus be considered a public call to stop hostilities and violence in the Middle East more broadly.

Regardless of its style, medium, or title, the work ultimately represents a successful model of art marketing via the internet, activating electronic media as a catalyst for the dissemination, promotion, and circulation of contemporary art. It is noted that Banksy’s works achieved online sales amounting to £7 million in 2023 alone.

Model (2)

The current work is titled "Family" by Brooklyn-based American artist Kaws, whose impactful work skillfully blends the worlds of art and design. Through painting, murals, large-scale sculpture, street art, graphic design, and production, his work possesses a sophisticated sense of humor and a thoughtful engagement with consumer products, evident in his collaborations with global brands. Often inspired by popular culture animation, Kaws adapts his work to create a unique artistic vocabulary spanning a wide range of media. He has created a collection of hybrid caricatures and human figures that are perhaps the most powerful examples of his exploration of humanity. His work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States and internationally.

The artist boasts over 3 million followers on Instagram, and last year his works sold for $14 million at auction. This year, his album "Album" fetched approximately £14.8 million, cementing his status as one of the most successful artists of the 21st century. The psychological effects that the artist introduced into his works made them the most interactive discourse with his following audience. Through his thoughtful choices on social media channels, he achieved a wide space for interaction between him and his audience. The modern techniques that the artist adopted in advertising, marketing, and community communication led to that valuable and tangible result, which made him and his cartoon characters with their innovative features an artistic icon with a high level of influence on recipients. In other words, the electronic spaces with their tools and cyber media, which the artist Kaws exploited, provided him with much of his growth, fame, and widespread recognition at the local and global levels.

Model (3)

The present painting, titled “Flowers”, is by the contemporary Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, known for working across multiple media and materials in fine arts (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial media (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation). Murakami has sought to blur the boundary between fine art and utilitarian art. He is credited with coining the term “Superflat”, which describes both the aesthetic qualities of Japanese artistic traditions and the nature of Japanese culture and society in the postwar period.

Murakami is the theorist behind the contemporary art movement he calls Superflat, a style that combines classical Japanese art with contemporary Japanese popular culture. He has 2.6 million followers on Instagram and is famous for his psychedelic flowers and appealing cartoon imagery. Through marketing platforms, he is known for everything from keychains and T-shirt lines to plush toys and distinctive cushions.

Few artists can boast being among Time Magazine’s “Top 100 Most Influential People,” exhibiting their works in leading galleries worldwide and attracting buyers willing to pay millions. Murakami’s art spans a wide range of media and is generally described as extremely flat. His use of color integrates motifs from traditional and popular Japanese culture, glossy flat surfaces, and content often described as “cute, satirical, or encouraging.” Among his most famous recurring motifs are smiling flowers, Mr. DOB, mushrooms, skulls, Buddhist icons, and otaku subculture complexes. One of his most renowned works, “My Lonesome Cowboy”, sold for USD 22.9 million at auction in 2010. The concept of the smiling flowers was revealed in an interview as evoking “suppressed and contradictory emotions and collective trauma among Japanese locals caused by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in 1945.” In addition to large-scale paintings known as Jirotan, he has also produced sculptures, balloons, immersive wallpaper installations, animations, prints, posters, and diverse merchandise. The value of his works continues to rise in today’s market.

Murakami’s striking media presence through social platforms has played a major role in establishing his artistic and social status both within Japanese society and globally. With his cultural and artistic heritage, he has become one of the most recognizable figures in digital and electronic spaces. His charismatic persona and iconic motifs have reached wide audiences thanks to the effectiveness of digital platforms and their deep influence on younger generations engaged in dynamic, ever-evolving online environments.

Chapter Four

Research Results

1. The marketing achievements of the most prominent and distinguished artists within social media and infotainment communities tended toward simplicity and symbolism.

2. The sample models provided a clear picture of the artistic and marketing capabilities achieved by artists through careful and intelligent study of the aesthetic preferences of their audiences and the communities they engaged with via cyber platforms.

3. The sample models, in their cyber dimension as well as their artistic and stylistic diversity, demonstrated methods of representing unique and innovative data, reflecting a high level of inferential creativity rather than originality alone.

4. The materials, media, and techniques used in creating the marketing models varied according to the intellectual and conceptual frameworks underpinning each artist’s production.

5. The marketing frameworks of the sample artists established their monetary value by maximizing the role of social media platforms as active participants in the art market.

6. Intellectual, scientific, and philosophical content was clearly present within the sample models, forming the methodological foundation upon which contemporary artists built their creative outputs.

Conclusions

1. The marketing foundations of contemporary art were built upon mechanisms and principles of modern electronic technologies and communication media, becoming an essential and vital part of assigning artistic and monetary value.

2. Indicators of marketing and commercial transformation strongly leaned toward electronic procedures in their virtual dimension, particularly in global art centers, as these dissolved many administrative stages required by direct trade.

3. Variations in electronic art marketing emerged through the vast diversity of platforms and channels adopting these transactional procedures.

4. The virtual marketing language of art unified different cultures and nationalities, creating a global character in instantaneous commercial exchange.