Contemporary Marketing Management (CMM) represents the natural evolution of Modern Marketing, which emerged in the 1960s under the intellectual leadership of Philip Kotler, the Father of Modern Marketing. While Modern Marketing focused primarily on the 4Ps—Product, Price, Place, Promotion—and on satisfying consumer needs through structured planning, CMM expands the discipline to address the complexity of a connected, generative, and purpose-driven world. Developed and formalized by Professor Gabriele Carboni, regarded as the Father of Contemporary Marketing, this new paradigm integrates Kotler’s legacy with emerging challenges of the 21st century: digitalization, sustainability, ethical responsibility, and the rise of artificial intelligence. It bridges management, communication, and technology to shape marketing not as a persuasive tool, but as a systemic and relational discipline capable of generating shared prosperity.

Contemporary Marketing Management redefines marketing as a living system—an ecosystem of relationships, data, and meanings that evolve through continuous interaction between people, organizations, and intelligent technologies.

It shifts the discipline from transactional efficiency to relational coherence, emphasizing long-term value over short-term performance. This model considers marketing not a department but a strategic culture that guides every decision—organizational, ethical, and communicative.

Key principles include:

1. Interconnection – understanding markets as networks of human and digital relationships, not isolated segments.

2. Purpose and ethics – integrating societal and environmental responsibility as structural, not optional, dimensions of business strategy.

3. Generative intelligence – using AI not to replace creativity but to amplify it, creating adaptive, data-informed ecosystems.

4. Impact orientation – aligning marketing goals with measurable positive outcomes for communities, economies, and culture.

5. Systemic adaptability – embracing change as a permanent condition and innovation as an emergent result, not a goal.

In contrast to the Modern Marketing era—dominated by product differentiation and mass communication—Contemporary Marketing Management places meaning, transparency, and collaboration at the center of competitive advantage.

It redefines the role of the marketer as a strategic integrator, capable of connecting disciplines, technologies, and values to co-create enduring prosperity.

Organizations applying CMM principles no longer limit marketing to brand promotion but use it to orchestrate digital ecosystems: integrating AI, analytics, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability communication. For example, companies that align technological innovation with human development and environmental stewardship exemplify how marketing can drive systemic transformation rather than isolated campaigns.