Types of Marketing: A Complete List
Modern marketing labels can sound similar, but each type has a distinct definition and use case. This quick-reference glossary helps you distinguish marketing types by what they mean and remember them through examples like P&G Shiksha, Paper Boat, Red Bull, Vodafone, Amul, Dream11 and Kodak.
- Cause Marketing means linking brand to a social cause for mutual benefit, such as P&G Shiksha campaign - education for underprivileged.
- Green Marketing means promoting eco-friendly products and sustainable practices, such as Paper Boat sustainable packaging and ITC's carbon positive story.
- Experiential Mktg creates immersive brand experiences for consumers, while Guerrilla Marketing uses unconventional, low-cost, high-impact marketing tactics.
- Viral Marketing uses content designed to spread rapidly through social sharing, while Meme Marketing uses internet memes and pop culture for brand promotion.
- Sports Marketing uses sports events, teams, or athletes for brand promotion, while Ambush Marketing associates with an event without official sponsorship.
- Surrogate Marketing means advertising banned products under a permissible guise.
- Marketing Myopia is a short-sighted focus on products rather than customer needs.
Types of Marketing at a Glance
The easiest way to revise this topic is to map each type to three things: the type, its definition, and one memorable example. The table below is the complete quick-reference list.
Cause Marketing and Green Marketing
Cause Marketing is linking brand to a social cause for mutual benefit. A memorable example is P&G Shiksha campaign - education for underprivileged.
Green Marketing is promoting eco-friendly products and sustainable practices. Examples include Paper Boat sustainable packaging and ITC's carbon positive story.
Experiential Mktg and Guerrilla Marketing
Experiential Mktg means creating immersive brand experiences for consumers. Examples include Red Bull extreme sports events and Cadbury pop-up stores.
Guerrilla Marketing uses unconventional, low-cost, high-impact marketing tactics. A memorable example is Zoozoo characters by Vodafone (IPL 2009).
Viral Marketing and Meme Marketing
Viral Marketing is content designed to spread rapidly through social sharing. Examples include Ice Bucket Challenge and Amul topical ads.
Meme Marketing means using internet memes and pop culture for brand promotion. Examples include Zomato social media, Dunzo and Swiggy.
Sports Marketing and Ambush Marketing
Sports Marketing means using sports events, teams, or athletes for brand promotion. A memorable example is Dream11 IPL Title Sponsorship (₹2,500 Cr).
Ambush Marketing means associating with an event without official sponsorship. An example is Pepsi campaigns during Cricket World Cup (non-sponsor).
Surrogate Marketing
Surrogate Marketing is advertising banned products under a permissible guise. Examples include Royal Challenge 'music CDs,' and Kingfisher 'calendar'.
Marketing Myopia
Marketing Myopia means short-sighted focus on products rather than customer needs. It is associated with Theodore Levitt.
A memorable example is Kodak focusing on film cameras, missing digital revolution.
The frequent error is treating similar labels as interchangeable. For example, ambush marketing is associating with an event without official sponsorship, while sports marketing uses sports events, teams, or athletes for brand promotion.
Conclusion
Types of marketing become easier to remember when each label is tied to its definition and example. Use this glossary to quickly separate cause, green, experiential, guerrilla, viral, sports, ambush, surrogate, meme marketing and marketing myopia.