The Evolution of Marketing: From 1.0 to AI Agentic

The Evolution of Marketing

From Product-Centric (1.0) to AI Agentic Economies (6.0)

Strategic Overview 2026

1. Defining the Core

Before exploring the evolution, we must ground ourselves in the definition of marketing itself. It is the bridge between societal needs and business solutions.

General Definition

"Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."

- American Marketing Association

CIM Definition

"Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably."

- Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

Strategic Marketing: The STP Model

Regardless of the technology era (1.0 or 6.0), the STP model remains the strategic bedrock. It focuses on prioritizing resources to serve the most valuable audience segments.

• Identifies niche markets
• Tailors the value proposition
• Guides tactical execution

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Segmentation

Dividing the market into distinct groups of customers (Demographic, Psychographic).

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Targeting

Selecting the most attractive segments to focus on.

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Positioning

Defining how the offering is perceived in the minds of the target audience.

3. Global Digital Landscape: 2000-2026

Understanding the "Where" and "How Much" is crucial. The explosive growth of connectivity has paved the way for Marketing 4.0 and beyond. As we approach 2026, we see a mature digital ecosystem characterized by mobile-first usage and near-ubiquitous social connectivity.

Global Internet User Growth (Billions)

Source: Historical Data & Projections based on Datareportal

Projected 2026 Digital Snapshot

68%

Global Pop. Online

5.4B

Social Media Users

6h 40m

Daily Screen Time

92%

Mobile Web Access

4. The Evolution Timeline

Marketing 1.0: Product Centric

The Industrial Age

Focus on product development and functional value. "Any color as long as it's black." One-to-many communication via mass media.

Marketing 2.0: Customer Centric

The Information Age

Focus on the consumer. Differentiation and segmentation become key. "The customer is king."

Marketing 3.0: Human Centric

The Values Age

Treating customers as whole human beings with minds, hearts, and spirits. Rise of CSR and ethical marketing.

Marketing 4.0: Digital Transformation

Moving from Traditional to Digital

Combining online and offline interaction. The shift from vertical to horizontal power. Connectivity is key.

Marketing 5.0: Tech for Humanity

Data & AI

Applying "Next Tech" (AI, NLP, Sensors) to create value across the customer journey. Predictive marketing and hyper-personalization.

Marketing 6.0: Immersive & Agentic

The Metaverse & AI Agents

Seamless integration of physical and digital (Phygital) via XR. Rise of Business-to-Robot (B2R) marketing where AI agents act as gatekeepers and buyers.

5. Digital Marketing Characteristics & Methods

The 6 I's of Digital Marketing (Dr. Dave Chaffey)

1. Interactivity

Two-way communication, not broadcast.

2. Intelligence

Low-cost market research via analytics.

3. Individualisation

Tailored communications (personalization).

4. Integration

Combining media channels (Omnichannel).

5. Industry Restructuring

Disintermediation (cutting out middle-men).

6. Independence of Location

Reach anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Core Digital Marketing Channels

Common methods including SEO, PPC, Email, and Content Marketing dominate the 4.0 landscape.

Why These Channels?

Digital marketing methods focus on pulling the customer via relevance (SEO/Content) or targeting them precisely (Social/PPC). Unlike traditional billboards, these channels offer:

• Measurable ROI
• Real-time adjustment
• Lower barrier to entry

6. AI & Agentic Marketing (The Frontier)

Agentic Marketing Characteristics

We are moving beyond "automated" to "autonomous". Agentic marketing involves AI agents acting on behalf of brands to interact with customers (or other agents).

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Hyper-Personalization: Content generated in real-time for the specific user context.

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Predictive: Anticipating needs before the user articulates them.

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Autonomous Execution: Agents negotiate and buy/sell without human intervention.

Business-to-Robot (B2R)

A subset of Agentic Marketing. As consumers adopt AI assistants (Machine Customers), brands must market to the *algorithm*, not just the human.

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Brand API

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Data/Offers

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Buying Bot

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Product

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Human

AI & Agentic Methods Impact

Methods positioned by Automation Level vs. Business Impact

7. Comparative Landscape

How does the new era compare to the old? The shift represents a fundamental change in speed, precision, and directionality.

Era Comparison Radar

Feature	Traditional	Digital (4.0)	AI/Agentic (6.0)
Targeting	Broad / Mass	Segmented / Behavioural	Hyper-Individual / Predictive
Communication	One-to-Many	Many-to-Many	Agent-to-Agent (M2M)
Data Use	Historical / Limited	Real-time Analytics	Generative / Autonomous
Customer Role	Passive Receiver	Active Participant	Co-Creator / Delegator

Generated for educational analysis of Marketing Evolution.

Sources: Chartered Institute of Marketing, Datareportal 2024-2026 Projections, Kotler's Marketing X.0 Series, Dave Chaffey's Digital Marketing Models.

Note: This infographic contains no SVG or Mermaid diagrams. All visualizations are CSS or Canvas-based.