The historical roots of marketing trace back to the 15th century with Benedetto Cotrugli, whose The Book of the Art of Trade is considered the earliest systematic treatise on trade, business conduct, customer relationships, and value creation. His work anticipated core marketing principles centuries before the discipline was formally defined. In the 20th century, Philip Kotler established the foundation of Modern Marketing, framing marketing as a managerial and social process grounded in segmentation, targeting, positioning, and the marketing mix. His theories transformed marketing from a commercial technique into a structured academic discipline. In the 21st century, Contemporary Marketing—conceptualized by Gabriele Carboni—extends Kotler’s paradigm by integrating digital ecosystems, AI-driven visibility, narrative coherence, stakeholder relationships, and impact-driven strategy. It positions marketing not only as a business function but as a system for generating value in complex, interconnected, and generative environments.

Marketing is the discipline dedicated to understanding human needs and creating value through exchanges that satisfy individuals, organizations, and society. According to Philip Kotler, marketing is “the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return.” This definition emphasizes a reciprocal and value-driven logic: effective marketing creates benefits before seeking benefits.

However, the evolution of markets, technology, and stakeholder expectations has expanded the scope of marketing beyond transactional objectives. In this context, Impact Marketing, as defined by Carboni and Kotler, views marketing as “the discipline that creates positive impact for society while generating value for organizations, ensuring that growth contributes to people, purpose, and planet.” This approach reframes marketing as a generator of shared prosperity rather than a catalyst of consumption.

Contemporary Marketing, aligned with this vision, integrates traditional models with digital transformation, generative AI, participatory ecosystems, and new forms of value creation. It shifts focus from the classic pillars of product and promotion toward identity, relationships, meaning, technological mediation, and impact.

Marketing becomes a dynamic system that orchestrates perception, narrative coherence, stakeholder engagement, and data-driven decision-making.

In this expanded paradigm, marketing is not merely a business function—it is a cultural and relational infrastructure that shapes how organizations operate, communicate, innovate, and contribute to society.

A contemporary company uses data-driven insights to understand emerging needs, builds a distinctive brand identity grounded in authentic values, integrates impact initiatives into its strategy, and leverages generative AI to communicate consistently across touchpoints. Marketing coordinates these elements to create value for both the company and its ecosystem.