Marketing insights from recent MMA Global events – A series !
Over the last couple of months, the MMA Global events have reflected the wider churn afoot in the marketing world, triggered largely by rapid technological advancement.
A compelling manifesto for the modern CMO has emerged from this industry-wide huddle. A blueprint, not for next quarter, but for the next era that is already upon us.
Here’s an attempt to capture the learnings that can potentially define the future of marketing and advertising.
1. Marketing is the Growth Engine. Period. The biggest shift CMOs must make is internal: marketing is not a support function, it is business strategy in motion. Growth starts when marketing stops trying to justify its existence and instead starts proving its impact. Your CFO doesn’t want more adjectives. They want metrics. The frameworks exist. The proof is mounting. The onus is ours.
2. The Missing Scientific Discipline in Marketing Other business functions are backed by a body of science. Marketing, for too long, has gotten by on anecdotes, intuition, and well-crafted decks. The curtains are drawing on this era. We need to codify what works. Adopt validated models. Use empirical generalisations. Build marketing’s credibility not just with creativity, but with rigour. The discipline is ours to build.
3. AI is Not the Future. It’s the Baseline. AI should already be embedded in how you operate. From unsupervised learning that adapts in real time to hyper-personalisation at scale, the AI advantage is now proven across pilot after pilot. Some brands are seeing triple-digit gains. If you’re still dabbling, you’re already behind.
4. Act. Accelerate. Advance. Growth doesn’t happen by accident. It needs a system. The ACT framework — Act, Accelerate, Advance — gives CMOs a way to map the journey. Act with clarity. Accelerate with data and tech. Advance by plugging growth leaks and building marketing muscle. Think of it as an operating system for CMO transformation.
5. Streaming Has Officially Taken Over Streaming isn’t the next big thing, it has well and truly arrived. 83% of India’s internet users stream video. More than just eyeballs, they’re immersed, intent-driven audiences. The smartest marketers aren’t creating native content, data-fuelled strategies to win attention where it now lives.
6. Growth Must Be Frugal to Be Sustainable More with less is yesterday’s game. Today, it’s about better with less. Indian marketers are pioneering frugal growth — turning constraints into creativity, and scarcity into strength. Don’t confuse it with sacrifice, it’s a viable strategy. The future belongs to brands that can innovate under pressure without compromising ambition.
7. Micro-Actions Create Macro-Impact Growth takes shape, one brick at a time. CMOs need to build like Lego architecture — modular, reconfigurable, scalable. Your next big leap won’t come from a moonshot. It will come from compounded micro-actions, each one feeding the next. This is how performance scales quietly until it shows up loudly.
8. Rethink Your Targeting: Find the Movable Middle Your brand loyalists don’t need convincing. The disinterested won’t move. But there’s a middle band — the “movable middle“— who can be persuaded and deliver a 5X return. The science is clear: this is where marketing money multiplies. Stop targeting impressions. Start targeting impact.
9. Speak the CFO’s Language The finance team isn’t the enemy. But if you keep showing up with soft metrics and purpose manifestos, expect soft budgets. Marketing has the tools to prove revenue lift, margin impact, and even enterprise value creation through higher stock prices. Learn to speak the language of finance with the tools of a marketer.
10. Don’t Build Alone. Build Ecosystems. Modern marketing isn’t a solo sport. It’s system building. MMA’s work with councils and collaborative frameworks shows that collective intelligence drives scalable growth. CMOs must design ecosystems — with publishers, agencies, tech enablers, and platforms — where value flows in multiple directions.
11. Creativity Needs Compatibility Ideas matter. But ideas that plug in, scale, and sustain matter more. Whether it’s tech stacks or campaign layers, creativity must now be compatible by design. The age of stand-alone brilliance is over. If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t function.
12. Change is the New Default If you’re still riding the “dead horse” of what used to work, dismount. Change management is marketing’s operating condition now. The most successful CMOs aren’t just navigating change. They are building marketing departments that are made for change.
The next time someone asks, “What does marketing really do?” — you should be ready with an answer that moves not just minds, but numbers.
Stay tuned for detailed articles on each of these 12 imperatives—because knowing isn’t enough, implementation is everything.
