67 Emerging Trends in Marketing

67.1 The Marketing 5.0 Era

Philip Kotler’s Marketing 5.0 (2021) — “Technology for Humanity” — captures the modern era in which technology and human-centric marketing converge (kotlermarketing50?). The trajectory:

Kotler’s Five Marketing Eras

Era	Focus	Period
Marketing 1.0	Product-centric — features, mass production	1950s–70s
Marketing 2.0	Customer-centric — satisfaction	1970s–90s
Marketing 3.0	Human-centric — values, mind-heart-spirit	2010s
Marketing 4.0	Digital — connectivity, online-offline	mid-2010s
Marketing 5.0	Tech for Humanity — AI, IoT, AR/VR with human touch	2020s

67.2 Digital Marketing — A Refresher

Already covered in topic 60. The compact taxonomy:

Digital Marketing Channels

Channel	What it does
SEM (Paid search)	Google Ads, Bing Ads
SEO	Organic search ranking
Display & Programmatic	Banner ads via auctions
Social Media	Meta, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram
Content Marketing	Blogs, videos, podcasts
Email & SMS	Direct messaging
Influencer	Creator partnerships
Affiliate	Pay-for-performance
Mobile / In-app	Push notifications, IDFA
Marketing Analytics	Attribution, MTA, MMM

67.3 Major Emerging Trends

Twelve Major Emerging Trends in Marketing

Trend	What it captures
AI and Generative AI in marketing	Personalisation at scale, content generation, agents
Predictive and prescriptive analytics	Recommend the next-best action
Omnichannel marketing	Seamless online-offline experience
Voice and Conversational marketing	Alexa, Google Assistant, chatbots
Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality	Try-on, virtual stores, immersive experiences
Influencer and Creator economy	Micro and nano influencers; UGC
Quick commerce	10–30 minute delivery — Zepto, Blinkit
Subscription / D2C	Recurring revenue; D2C brands cutting traditional channels
Privacy-first marketing	GDPR, India DPDP Act 2023; cookie deprecation
Sustainable / Purpose-driven marketing	ESG, climate-conscious, B-corp
Personalisation and Hyper-targeting	1:1 communication, dynamic creative
Retail Media	Walmart, Amazon Ads, Flipkart Ads as marketing platforms

flowchart LR
  D[Digital + AI] --> P[Personalisation]
  D --> O[Omnichannel]
  D --> V[Voice / AR / VR]
  P & O & V --> E[Customer Experience]
  S[Sustainability + Privacy] -. shapes .- E
  C[Creator + Quick + D2C economy] -. shapes .- E
  style D fill:#E3F2FD,stroke:#1565C0
  style E fill:#E8F5E9,stroke:#2E7D32

67.4 AI in Marketing

AI has moved from niche to mainstream. Five applications dominate:

Five AI-Powered Marketing Use Cases

Use case	What it does
Personalisation	Recommendation engines (Netflix, Amazon)
Generative content	Text, image, video, code production
Predictive lead scoring	Rank prospects by conversion probability
Pricing and demand forecasting	Dynamic pricing
Conversational AI	Chatbots, voice agents, GenAI assistants

The 2022–25 wave of generative AI — ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Llama — has accelerated the use of AI in marketing dramatically.

67.5 Sustainability and Purpose-Driven Marketing

Modern brands are expected to stand for something beyond profit. Three concepts:

Three Concepts of Purpose-Driven Marketing

Concept	What it captures
Triple Bottom Line	People, Planet, Profit (Elkington)
Cause-related marketing	Tied to a social cause
ESG marketing	Environmental, Social, Governance disclosures

Greenwashing — false ESG claims — is a recognised risk; modern regulation (SEBI BRSR in India; EU Green Claims Directive) is tightening.

67.6 Privacy-First Marketing

Privacy Frameworks Affecting Marketing

Framework	Coverage
GDPR (EU, 2018)	Consent, right to be forgotten, fines up to 4% of global revenue
CCPA / CPRA (California)	Privacy rights for California residents
India DPDP Act, 2023	Indian first comprehensive privacy law
Cookie deprecation	Third-party cookies disappearing in browsers
ATT (App Tracking Transparency)	Apple iOS opt-in for IDFA tracking

67.7 Indian Digital-Marketing Context

Indian Digital-Marketing Realities

Reality	Implication
Mobile-first ~600M+ smartphone users	Mobile-app and reels dominate
Cheap data (Jio effect, 2016+)	Video consumption highest globally
UPI-led digital payments	Frictionless commerce
Vernacular content boom	Hindi and regional languages overtaking English
ONDC	Open Network for Digital Commerce — government-backed open protocol
DigiLocker, DigiYatra, India Stack	Public digital infrastructure for marketing identity and KYC

67.8 Practice Questions

Q 01 Marketing 5.0 Easy

Kotler's Marketing 5.0 (2021) is best summarised as:

AProduct-centric mass production
BTechnology for humanity — AI/IoT integrated with human-centric marketing
CSelling-only orientation
DCustomer-centric satisfaction era

View solution

Correct Option: B

Marketing 5.0 = Technology for Humanity — AI, IoT, AR/VR alongside human-centric values.

Q 02 Privacy Medium

India's first comprehensive data-privacy law is:

AIT Act, 2000
BDPDP Act, 2023
CConsumer Protection Act, 2019
DCompanies Act, 2013

View solution

Correct Option: B

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. The IT Act 2000 had limited privacy provisions only.

Q 03 GenAI Medium

"Generative AI" in marketing is most commonly used for:

AProducing personalised content (text, image, video) at scale
BReplacing the marketing team entirely
CBanning all human marketing
DPredicting weather

View solution

Correct Option: A

GenAI generates content — text, images, videos — at scale, enabling personalisation, A/B testing, and creative ideation.

Q 04 Quick commerce Easy

Indian quick-commerce (Q-commerce) firms typically promise delivery within:

AA few seconds
B10–30 minutes
CSame day (8–10 hours)
DNext day

View solution

Correct Option: B

Q-commerce = 10 to 30 minutes via dark stores in dense neighbourhoods.

Q 05 ONDC Medium

India's ONDC stands for:

AOnline National Digital Commerce
BOpen Network for Digital Commerce
COptimised Network of Distribution Channels
DOnline Net Domestic Commerce

View solution

Correct Option: B

Open Network for Digital Commerce — a government-backed open protocol enabling interoperability between buyers, sellers and logistics providers.

Q 06 GDPR Medium

The European Union's GDPR provides for fines up to what percentage of global revenue?

A1%
B2%
C4%
D10%

View solution

Correct Option: C

GDPR (2018) — fines up to €20 million or 4% of global annual revenue, whichever is higher.

Q 07 Greenwashing Easy

"Greenwashing" refers to:

AA water-conservation programme
BFalse or exaggerated environmental claims by firms
CA type of carbon credit
DEco-friendly packaging

View solution

Correct Option: B

Greenwashing = misleading consumers about a firm's environmental performance. Tightening regulation: SEBI BRSR (India), EU Green Claims Directive.

Q 08 Retail Media Medium

"Retail media" refers to:

ANewspapers run by retailers
BAdvertising platforms operated by retailers (Walmart, Amazon, Flipkart)
CIn-store music
DOutdoor billboards near stores

View solution

Correct Option: B

Retail Media — large retailers (Walmart, Amazon, Flipkart) sell on-platform ads to brands, leveraging their first-party transaction data. Now the third major digital-ad pillar after search and social.

Quick recall

Marketing 5.0 (Kotler, 2021): Technology for Humanity — AI/IoT/AR/VR with human-centric marketing.
Five marketing eras: 1.0 product → 2.0 customer → 3.0 human → 4.0 digital → 5.0 tech for humanity.
Twelve major trends: AI/GenAI, predictive analytics, omnichannel, voice, AR/VR, influencer, Q-commerce, subscription/D2C, privacy-first, sustainability, personalisation, retail media.
Five AI use cases: personalisation, generative content, lead scoring, pricing, conversational AI.
Privacy frameworks: GDPR (EU, 4% fines), CCPA, India DPDP 2023, cookie deprecation, ATT.
Indian context: mobile-first, cheap data, UPI, vernacular boom, ONDC, India Stack.
Greenwashing — false ESG claims; SEBI BRSR and EU Green Claims tighten the screws.