Marketing

Marketers as the catalysts of growth, driven by customer engagement, supercharged by brands

Peter Fisk has over 30 years of marketing experience, from his first job as a brand manager in the airline industry, through many roles in developing marketing strategies for the likes of Asahi and Coca Cola, P&G and Unilever, Barclays and Santander. In 2002 he became the CEO of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, with over 60,000 global members, member of the World Marketing Council, a fellow of the Marketing Society, and judge of the annual Marketing Excellence Awards. His bestselling book “Marketing Genius” has been translated into 35 languages, and explores “the left and right brain of marketing thinking, how to be the Einstein and Picasso of brands, combining intelligence and imagination”.

Markets have fundamentally changed, and so has marketing

In a world of rapid disruption, marketing is undergoing a profound transformation. Once confined to the promotion of products, the modern marketer now sits at the heart of strategy, growth, customer experience, and innovation. Marketing today is dynamic, data-fuelled, culturally aware, and deeply integrated across every business function. What’s new and next in marketing is not just about channels or campaigns—it’s about reshaping how brands grow, connect, and thrive in real time.

From Brand Promotion to Strategic Growth Driver

The modern marketer is no longer an executor at the end of the value chain—they are architects of value creation. CMOs today are expected to drive top-line growth and contribute to strategic direction. This shift is being powered by marketing’s unique capability to connect customer insight, brand purpose, and innovation. Whether through pricing strategy, product design, or ecosystem partnerships, marketers are helping to reinvent the business model around customers, communities, and culture.

Deeper Customer Understanding in Real Time

Customer centricity is nothing new, but the tools to truly understand customers are. Advances in AI, behavioral analytics, and social listening now allow marketers to move beyond demographics to map emotions, intentions, and micro-behaviors. This enables real-time segmentation, contextual personalization, and predictive engagement across the customer journey.

Today’s successful marketers are not only building customer personas—they’re building living, evolving human maps that help brands empathize, anticipate, and act. Brands like Nike and Netflix leverage these insights to tailor offers and messaging in the moment, rather than relying on broad campaigns planned months in advance.

Multi-Platform Storytelling, Liquid and Linked

The marketing funnel has been replaced by a matrix of moments. Customers don’t move through a linear path anymore—they bounce between search, social, stores, influencers, and apps. This requires a new approach to storytelling: platform-native, modular, and agile.

Marketing leaders now think in terms of storytelling by channel. TikTok demands spontaneity and authenticity. YouTube invites long-form narratives. Instagram is visual-first. X (formerly Twitter) thrives on commentary and timeliness. Meanwhile, connected TV and in-game advertising require immersive content that blurs the line between entertainment and commerce.

The most effective campaigns today unfold as narratives that adapt and evolve across platforms—each piece tailored to the medium while reinforcing a larger brand truth.

Unlocking Data for Creative Precision

Data and creativity are no longer opposing forces; they are complementary levers. With advancements in AI and machine learning, marketers can now use data to inform not only who sees a message, but what message they see, when, and why.

The future of marketing belongs to those who can integrate first-party data, contextual signals, and predictive intelligence to deliver creative at scale. Platforms like Adobe, Salesforce, and Google are making it easier to turn data into actionable insights and personalized journeys—while respecting privacy and transparency.

This data-driven approach allows for A/B testing in real time, dynamic creative optimization, and even AI-generated content tailored to different segments. It’s marketing that listens, learns, and adapts.

Connecting to Culture, to be Real and Relevant

More than ever, brands are being judged by how well they understand, respect, and reflect the culture around them. Marketing is becoming cultural strategy—requiring teams to be fluent in memes, movements, music, and meaning.

Successful brands today don’t just “advertise” to an audience—they participate in conversations, contribute to causes, and create moments that resonate. Whether it’s Ben & Jerry’s advocating for social justice or Duolingo going viral on TikTok with humor and self-awareness, brands are finding new ways to connect emotionally and authentically.

This also means embracing diversity not as a box-ticking exercise, but as a source of creativity and relevance. Inclusive storytelling and representation are no longer optional—they are essential to brand trust and longevity.

Gamified Engagement and Immersive Experiences

One of the most exciting frontiers in marketing is the use of game mechanics to deepen engagement. From loyalty programs that reward interaction (like Starbucks Stars) to immersive brand worlds in platforms like Roblox or Fortnite, gamification is driving longer, more rewarding interactions with customers.

Interactive quizzes, digital collectibles, virtual events, and AR filters are turning passive audiences into active participants. Gamified engagement not only boosts time spent with a brand—it generates valuable data, drives sharing, and builds affinity in fun, memorable ways.

Looking forward, technologies like spatial computing, metaverse platforms, and VR/AR will unlock even more immersive experiences where brands can tell stories, host events, and even transact in 3D environments.

Social Influence and Instant Commerce

Influencer marketing has matured from a trend to a core pillar of strategy. But what’s next is not just hiring influencers to endorse a brand—it’s co-creating with communities in real time. With live shopping on TikTok, affiliate marketing on Instagram, and AI influencers on YouTube, the line between content and commerce is disappearing.

Consumers today expect instant gratification—if they see it, they should be able to buy it. Platforms like Amazon Live, TikTok Shop, and YouTube Shorts are making that possible. Social commerce is growing exponentially, especially in Gen Z and Millennial segments.

Marketers are now blending inspiration with transaction—building moments where discovery, engagement, and purchase happen simultaneously. The ability to drive impulse-driven sales through storytelling and social proof is one of the most powerful shifts underway.

Marketers as the Future Drivers, Growth and Possibilities

Perhaps the most important evolution in marketing is that it’s no longer just about communicating value—it’s about creating value. This is why marketers are increasingly embedded in product teams, design studios, sustainability strategies, and AI labs.

By bringing the voice of the customer into innovation processes, marketing can shape the very products and services being developed. The best marketing starts not with a message, but with a mission—how the brand can serve unmet needs, solve real problems, and design for better lives.

Companies like Apple, Airbnb, and Patagonia have shown that when marketing and innovation are integrated, brands become movements—and movements create markets.

The New Marketing Mindset

Marketing is no longer a department. It’s a mindset—a way of thinking about how to engage, create, and lead in dynamic, interconnected markets.

What’s new and next is not just about better tools or faster data. It’s about seeing the world through customers’ eyes, listening deeply, acting responsibly, and creating experiences that matter. It’s about blending art and science, intuition and insight, purpose and performance.

Today’s marketers are growth strategists, storytellers, data scientists, experience designers, and cultural translators. They operate at the intersection of creativity and commerce, tech and humanity.

And in this new era, the marketers who succeed won’t just sell products—they’ll build relationships, shape culture, and lead business into the future.

Marketing is the driving force of business – it moves the business forwards, shapes the future, engages the customer and aligns the organisation to deliver. It is the growth engine, the innovation catalyst and customer champion. Markets are changing at incredible speed, requiring new agility and new capability.

There has never been a more exciting time for marketing, or to be a marketer.

The most innovative marketers today understand that brands are not just about logos or campaigns—they are ecosystems of meaning. These leading companies combine deep cultural fluency, cross-platform creativity, purpose, and data to engage consumers in new and lasting ways. They don’t just react to trends—they shape them, earning attention through authenticity, relevance, and innovation. From Bangalore to Bogotá, Zurich to San Francisco, the future of marketing is being built by those who see customers not as targets, but as co-creators in a constantly evolving brand story.

More then Products, More than Ads

Some marketers stand out not just for their scale or spend, but for how they reimagine brand building through creativity, technology, and purpose. Among the most innovative is Nike, which continues to blend cultural storytelling, platform-native content, and deep social engagement. From its “You Can’t Stop Us” campaign to its Nike Run Club app, Nike integrates brand, purpose, and utility. It uses storytelling that champions inclusivity and social justice, while also investing in sustainable innovation through its Move to Zero initiative. Nike is a masterclass in branding as cultural leadership.

TikTok Experiences, Built by Fans

Duolingo offers a different but equally powerful playbook. Its irreverent, meme-driven marketing—especially on TikTok—has made language learning unexpectedly viral. The green owl mascot has become a pop culture character, and its gamified features keep users returning while also promoting the brand. This success shows how humor, authentic tone, and smart platform strategy can turn a utilitarian product into an entertainment brand. In much the same way, Xiaomi, based in China, has built an iconic global brand by listening deeply to its community, crowdsourcing product ideas, and integrating user feedback into everything from product launches to marketing campaigns. Xiaomi’s fans don’t just buy the brand—they build it.

Fast, Local and Relevant

In Latin America, Rappi is reshaping brand engagement by merging utility and experience. What started as a delivery platform has grown into a lifestyle super-app. It now offers streaming, payments, and real-time commerce—and markets itself with local cultural references, influencer networks, and experiential brand moments that feel organic to each market. Rappi’s approach illustrates the power of localisation, speed, and emotional connection in creating brand stickiness.

Beyond Digital, Beyond an App

In India, Jio has radically transformed telecommunications and digital services, not only through its pricing and infrastructure, but through bold marketing strategies. Jio’s campaigns don’t just promote a telecom product—they promote a digital lifestyle and national transformation. Its bundling of music, video, messaging, and broadband has allowed it to market a complete ecosystem, much like Apple does in the West, but at a much larger, more inclusive scale. Jio’s ability to turn brand into infrastructure—and infrastructure into cultural relevance—is a new model for emerging markets.

Experiential and Communal

Sephora remains a global benchmark in experiential and community-driven marketing. Its Beauty Insider program is among the most advanced loyalty ecosystems in retail. The brand invites consumers into content creation, fosters peer-to-peer discovery, and blends online and offline engagement through apps, AR tools, and in-store tech. Its commitment to inclusion and diverse representation in marketing is also a key part of its success, making customers feel seen and valued, not just sold to.

Aspirational and Cool

Meanwhile, On Running, a Swiss performance shoe brand, shows how a design-led product can become a premium lifestyle brand through intelligent positioning. Its visual identity, athlete partnerships, sustainability narrative, and immersive retail spaces work together to create a cohesive brand world. It builds meaning through its product, and markets performance through values—not just features.

Iconic and Elegant

Apple remains one of the world’s most admired marketing machines. Its minimalist storytelling, elegant product launches, and seamless ecosystem are iconic. The company’s campaigns are not only emotionally resonant (“Shot on iPhone”), they’re also deeply integrated across retail, media, and product use. Its stance on privacy, environment, and responsible tech is now central to its brand positioning, proving that values-based marketing isn’t just a niche—it’s mainstream.

Culture and Collabs

LEGO, once a traditional toy company, has transformed into a global content and experience brand. It partners with cultural icons—from Star Wars to BTS—and co-creates with fans through its LEGO Ideas platform. It bridges entertainment, education, and gaming across digital and physical platforms, and constantly renews its cultural relevance. Its marketing doesn’t just sell toys—it sells imagination and community.

Data Gets Personal

Among digital-first brands, Spotify stands out for its creative use of data and personalization. Its annual Wrapped campaign turns every user into a micro-influencer, creating viral loops at massive scale. It also leverages artist partnerships, personalized playlists, and real-time mood-targeted ads to turn product use into marketing moments. Spotify exemplifies how marketing and product can be designed as one system.

Brand Ecosystems

Amazon, though often underappreciated for its brand creativity, is reshaping performance marketing through technology and data. Its internal retail media network personalizes product discovery and advertising in real time. Amazon also uses packaging, voice interfaces, and same-day delivery to turn logistics into touchpoints. Its marketing isn’t loud—but it’s omnipresent, predictive, and increasingly intelligent through AI and machine learning.

From B2C or B2B to DTC and C2C

Glossier, born from a beauty blog, pioneered direct-to-consumer branding by building with its audience. It sources product ideas from real customers, maintains a strong and relatable brand voice, and activates community through social storytelling. It proved that you don’t need celebrity endorsement to build trust—you need authenticity and shared values. This playbook has inspired a wave of new brands in beauty, wellness, and fashion globally.

Doing More

Finally, Patagonia remains the gold standard for purpose-driven branding. Its “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign, its environmental activism, and its decision to give away the company to fight climate change have all made headlines—not just for their values, but because they drive loyalty and sales. Patagonia proves that marketing doesn’t have to manufacture meaning—it can amplify it when it’s already baked into the mission.

The most innovative marketing organizations today share key traits:

  • Deep cultural fluency and human insight

  • Platform-native content strategies across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, etc.

  • Storytelling as system (not just campaigns, but immersive experiences)

  • Data-driven personalization at scale

  • Purpose and values at the core of their brand

  • Tech-forward innovation in retail, media, and experience

  • Community-first mindsets that turn customers into creators and ambassadors

They are not just reacting to trends, they are shaping them.

More from Peter Fisk

Peter Fisk has 30 years of marketing experience, having started his career in brands and marketing at British Airways, through to becoming CEO of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the world’s largest professional network of marketers, and authoring the bestselling Marketing Genius, which is published in 35 languages.

He helps you to develop marketing excellence in a digital world. This starts with a growth strategy – which markets, customers, and how to succeed with them. It is then about focusing in on the best opportunities – developing insights, customer value propositions, and mapping out the customer experience. At the same time, it is about building mindset and capability, so that marketers define and become the future of your business.

Examples of recent marketing projects include:

  • Adidas – catalysing new ideas and possibilities for the Adidas Global Running Strategy, working with brand and marketing teams to reimagine products and services, building new brand platforms and performance.
  • BAT – rethinking brands in a world of rapidly changing motivations, to engage in responsible marketing that explores new alternatives for a healthier world.
  • Bayer – developing patient-centric brands and marketing, aligning the corporate brand promise with product or therapeutic area branding and marketing
  • Campari – working with the senior leaders around the world, to reimagine how to drive growth – building on the success of Aperol Spritz which redefined an occasion, to new platforms and opportunities for growth in each region.
  • Cartier – reimagining the global brand for the future, less about heritage more about possibilities, less about the product more about the consumer, to drive innovation and growth.
  • Coca Cola – creating a global DNA for marketing excellence. then supporting local teams in deploying a global framework in more locally relevant and intelligent ways.
  • Coty – rethinking marketing in the beauty industry, given the disruption of digital start-ups, to develop new market and brand strategies, new business models and go to market strategies.
  • GSK – developing a more patient-centric approach to the market, building brands around benefits not drugs, embracing new technologies and channels, to engage all stakeholders.
  • Microsoft – helping the B2B sales and marketing teams to engage business leaders, rather than just technologists, in solving bigger problems, rather than just selling products.
  • Oriflame – developing markets and propositions for global growth, built around a redefined Swedish brand, and “customer get customer” business model.
  • Red Bull – thinking beyond the can, to engage audiences more deeply through inspiring content and extreme experiences that build the brand as an attitudinal community.
  • Visa – brand sponsorship strategy for the Olympic Games, seizing on a unique moment to showcase the brand and its future potential in incredible ways.
  • Vodafone – rethinking marketing practices in a world of mobile and social consumers, tapping into the power of influencers and facilitating the development of brand communities.

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