The past two decades have seen the proliferation of media channels and stations. There is a general tendency towards "channel surfing" or zapping, and marketers are finding it difficult to capture the attention of the audience. The advent of technology has made the traditional AIDA model of marketing obsolete. This article is based on a speech by Branding Guru Jean Noel Kepferer, during his visit to India for the CII Brand conclave, who spoke about a new approach to marketing—Proximity Marketing—which has the best of mass marketing and one-to-one marketing.

It's always been fashionable to talk of brands and brand management. But in recent years a new approach to brand marketing and management is taking place. The past two decades have seen the spread of technology and the media in general. Earlier, one used to think of brand marketing in terms of the traditional AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action) model and its derivatives (repeat action, loyal). However, with the advent of technology and with the availability of tools such as relationship databases, CRM, etc., the validity of this model has been questioned. Mass marketing or segment marketing is now being replaced by one-to-one or individual-to-individual models of marketing in order to create customer loyalty.

In markets of heavily commoditized products or business services, brands play an important role in differentiating their offerings from those of the competition. Successful brands have retained their competitive advantage over long periods of time either by changing the nature of the brand in response to shifting customer trends or by keeping one step ahead of the competition—innovating products or services, extending the brand into other categories, and increasing the customers' perceived value of the brand. All this is "brand management" in action.

Marketing Mastermind Magazine, Proximity Marketing, Brand Management, Mass Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, CRM, Brand Equity, Marketing Management, Business Goals, Consumer Loyalty, Strategic Management.