Guest Column: Ganapathy Viswanathan, Independent Communication Consultant & Author, shares how a news story about missing KitKat shipment quickly went viral, ca...
Industry Trend
Marketing Trends in 2026
The articles explore the evolving landscape of marketing strategies in 2026, focusing on digital journeys, brand storytelling, and the impact of AI on consumer engagement. Insights from industry leaders highlight the need for innovative approaches to connect with consumers in a fragmented market.
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33 articles in this topic
Shift to Digital Journeys
Everyone wants a break or are brands just jumping in too fast?
Key Insights
5 Insights
Shift to Digital Journeys
Brands are increasingly focusing on structured digital journeys to enhance consumer experiences from discovery to purchase.
AI's Role in Marketing
The integration of AI in marketing strategies is becoming crucial as brands aim to avoid a 'Sea of Sameness' in their messaging.
Rethinking Metrics
There is a growing emphasis on business outcomes rather than traditional metrics like impressions in evaluating marketing success.
Cultural Targeting in Marketing
Marketers are urged to shift towards cultural targeting to better connect with diverse consumer segments.
Purpose-Driven Storytelling
Brands are increasingly focusing on purpose-driven narratives rather than mere persuasion to engage consumers effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions
5 Q&A
Key trends include a focus on digital journeys, AI integration, and purpose-driven storytelling.
Brands are rethinking their communication strategies to avoid overwhelming consumers with messages.
AI helps brands create more personalized and effective marketing strategies, reducing the risk of generic messaging.
Cultural targeting allows brands to connect more deeply with diverse consumer segments, enhancing engagement.
Metrics are shifting from traditional measures like impressions to business outcomes that reflect actual consumer behavior.
Latest Articles in This Topic
33 Articles
Everyone wants a break or are brands just jumping in too fast?
The Creative Question: Building a full-funnel brand engine with Rusk Media’s Rahul Arora
Head of Rusk Ads at Rusk Media, Rahul Arora, on cohort thinking, creator authenticity, and why relevant reach will always beat raw numbers
How brands are moving beyond jingles to remixed music in advertising
As original compositions give way to nostalgia-fuelled remixes, the Indian advertising industry is caught between the craft of sonic identity and the pull of in...
Brands build structured digital journeys - from discovery to purchase
Marketers note brands are integrating touchpoints to ensure consumers get the right message at the right stage of decision-making; multiple channels orchestrate...
In the age of AI, brands risk entering a ‘Sea of Sameness’
As AI enables faster testing, optimisation, and scale, marketers at the e4m Pitch CMO Summit 2026 discussed how to drive sustainable growth without eroding trus...
Stop reacquiring the customers you already have: Rajesh Jain at Pitch CMO Summit 2026
The Netcore founder lays out an AI-powered framework for maximising customer lifetime value, and calls on marketers to think of themselves as chief profitabilit...
I truly believe marketers must wear bifocal lenses: GCPL’s Ashwin Moorthy
Ashwin Moorthy, Global Head of Category Direction & Head of Marketing – India at Godrej Consumer Products, spoke about the challenge of balancing brand building...
Virality is an outcome, not a brief: Marketers decode the formula at Pitch CMO Summit 2026
Held at the Pitch CMO Summit 2026, the session explored the idea that viral marketing cannot be engineered on command but emerges when brands tap into authentic...
Always-On vs Burst Campaigns: What do marketers prefer?
For categories with frequent consumption cycles, sustained engagement often makes sense, but where purchases are infrequent or seasonal, high-impact bursts rema...
How the She-economy is rewriting India’s brand playbook
The She-economy is rising through digital access, financial independence, and greater participation in entrepreneurship and work, steadily expanding women’s eco...
Is CTV overhyped? Auto marketers debate the Bharat growth play
Auto marketers debated whether CTV and digital OOH are truly driving growth in Bharat, at the e4m Automotive Marketing Summit
Marketing in the age of fatigue: How brands can communicate without exhausting consumers
Guest Article: Apoorva Nijhara, Corporate Communications Lead, Aviva India examines how the shift from an attention economy to an exhaustion economy is forcing...
ShareChat & Moj’s Kartik Patiar calls for cultural targeting shift in auto marketing
Kartik Patiar, National Head - M&E, ACHT, Online, at ShareChat & Moj, urges brands to move beyond demographics and tap into language, microdrama, and hyperlocal...
‘Advertising Plus’ era begins as digital hits 60% of ₹1.55 lakh crore market
According to Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2026, India’s ad market reached ₹1,55,105 crore in 2025 under an expanded ADEX definition, marking 12% growth over...
Why marketers must rethink the bundled vs unbundled debate
Guest Column: Rajiv Dubey, Vice President, Head of Media and Head of Brand Activations at Dabur India, explains why modern marketers must move beyond the agency...
Great partnerships will always last: Amit Syngle, Asian Paints
At the launch of the PMAR 2026, Amit Syngle, MD and CEO of Asian Paints, addressed the evolving dynamics between advertisers, agencies and media owners in an er...
The death of absolute reach? Rethinking metrics in a fragmented market
As CMOs navigate investor pressure, platform proliferation and premium ambitions, panellists at the PMAR 2026 launch explored whether brand building still holds...
Fire bullets before cannonballs: Shivam Puri’s playbook for marketers
At the launch of PMAR 2026, Puri, CEO of Cipla Health, shared that marketers must adapt quickly to change, test ideas before scaling them and measure outcomes r...
From campaigns to content kingdoms: Are Indian brands finally building long-term IP?
A quiet shift is underway in Indian advertising as brands move from seasonal campaigns to multi-season content properties, but is this a true strategy or just s...
10 questions for advertising & marketing leaders
Dr Annurag Batra speaks on the structural reset reshaping Indian A&M on the MatheMedia Podcast, curated and structured by Shripad Kulkarni
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AI-assisted summary, reviewed by our newsroom
The articles explore the evolving landscape of marketing strategies in 2026, focusing on digital journeys, brand storytelling, and the impact of AI on consumer engagement. Insights from industry leaders highlight the need for innovative approaches to connect with consumers in a fragmented market.