131 different kinds of marketing

If ever you wanted evidence of just how sweeping and fragmented “marketing” is, try making a list of every kind of marketing out there. It starts simple enough, with search marketing, email marketing, product marketing, viral marketing — next thing you know, you have over a hundred terms!

Inspired by a conversation with my friend Mark Kapij, I decided to put together such a list.

To keep it somewhat manageable, I decided to only include terms that ended with the word marketing — any “                   marketing” phrase. So my apologies to advertising, branding, public relations, packaging, pricing, and all other such nomenclature. I also decided to leave out industry-specific terms such as real-estate marketing, healthcare marketing, political marketing, etc., as well as segments like Hispanic marketing and Millennial marketing.

I included anything that qualified as a tactic (“loyalty marketing”), a channel (“mobile marketing”), a style (“conversational marketing”), a structure (“corporate marketing”), or any other widely applicable aspect of marketing. I included some synonyms (“Internet marketing” and “online marketing”), but not exhaustively so. For each phase, I added a brief description and a link to a resource or more detailed definition.

Do you have other phrases to nominate? Better descriptions or resources? Please add them in the comments.

account-based marketing — marketing to individual, key accounts as markets of one (Wikipedia)
affiliate marketing — paying affiliates to send traffic/customers to your website/business (Affiliate Scout)
agile marketing — using agile development methodologies in the marketing department (a manifesto)
algorithmic marketing — using software algorithms to execute (semi-)automated marketing (computational)
ambush marketing — piggybacking marketing on a major event without paying for sponsorship (WSJ article)
analytical marketing — quantitative methods and models of marketing (Carnegie Mellon program)
article marketing — writing articles (online and offline) to promote one’s business (Wikipedia)
B2B (business) marketing — marketing to other businesses (B2B Magazine)
B2C (consumer) marketing — marketing to consumers (B2C Marketing Insider)
B2P (person) marketing — marketing to persons, in business and life (New Marketing Labs post)
behavioral marketing — targeting advertising/offers based on user behavior (ClickZ column)
blackhat marketing — primarily in SEO, unethically fooling the search engines to game rank (About.com)
brand marketing — developing your brand, often contrasted to direct marketing (Best Brands 2010)
buzz marketing — getting people to talk about your stuff, similar to viral (Mark Hughes book)
call center marketing — outbound telemarketing and handling of inbound prospect/customer calls
campus marketing — marketing to (and often by) college students, campus ambassadors (Boston Globe)
catalog marketing — marketing through printed catalogs delivered in the mail (DIRECT article)
cause marketing — businesses marketing cooperatively with nonprofit(s) to mutual benefit (Alden Keene)
celebrity marketing — use of celebrities as spokespeople, for endorsements or testimonials (BSI post)
channel marketing — marketing promotions through wholesalers, distributers, resellers (definition)
closed loop marketing — measuring ROI from lifecycle of marketing to sales (Closed Loop Marketing blog)
cloud marketing — using software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications for marketing (CloudMarketing.org)
cooperative marketing — companies co-marketing a jointly developed product, service or brand (Wikipedia)
communal marketing — engaging the public in the development of a marketing campaign (Wikipedia)
community marketing — marketing by building an online community (Jeremiah Owyang’s blog)
computational marketing — the marketing equivalent of computational finance (my post)
content marketing — producing useful or entertaining content for your audience (Chris Brogan’s post)
contextual marketing — delivering relevant, optimal messages/offers, esp. online (HBS article)
controversial marketing — generating attention through controversy or conflict (Michael Gray’s post)
conversational marketing — actively engaging with consumers in two-way conversations (Nokia preso)
conversion (rate) marketing — optimizing conversion rate in online marketing and sales (ion’s blog)
conversion content marketing — a hybrid of content marketing and conversion marketing (SEL article)
corporate marketing — company-wide marketing and standards, esp. in multi-product firms (Forrester report)
cross-marketing — co-marketing, product bundling, co-promotion, licensing, etc. (Wikipedia)
culture marketing — branded content, the intersection of culture and marketing (Chief Marketer article)
data (web) marketing — using data as a marketing channel, esp. with the semantic web (my post)
database marketing — using databases, such as CRM systems, to drive marketing programs (The Book)
data-driven marketing — use data, especially analytics, to direct marketing decisions (Kellogg program)
digital marketing — marketing through digital channels, primarily the Internet (AdAge Digital)
direct marketing — marketing directly to audience, often without TV, radio, or print ads (DMA)
direct response marketing — direct marketing expressly designed to solicit a response (Wikipedia)
disruptive marketing — applying disruptive innovation in marketing to create new markets (Digital Tonto post)
diversity marketing — marketing to different culture groups in audience, i.e. in-culture marketing (TransCity)
door-to-door marketing — salespeople walking to houses, knocking on doors (MSNBC story)
drip marketing — sending pre-planned messages to prospects/customers on a schedule (Inside CRM article)
email marketing — emailing prospects/customers, either by list rental or express permission (Email Insider)
entrepreneurial marketing — marketing in start-ups and new ventures, often guerilla style (MIT course)
ethical marketingmarketing ethics for being socially/morally responsible (Wikipedia)
event marketing — running events such as trade shows, conferences, seminars, festivals (Event Marketer)
expeditionary marketing — forging new markets before competitors (HBR article)
experiential marketing — enabling sensory interactions with brands (Experiential Marketing Forum)
Facebook marketing — marketing on and through Facebook (SEOmoz Ultimate Guide)
field marketing — people selling and promoting in person, “in the field” (The Handbook)
geomarketing — geo-targeting for marketing tactics such as price, promotion (Geomarketing in Practice)
global marketing — marketing of products/firms worldwide, global strategy and structure (Forbes article)
green marketing — explicit promotion of products that are environmentally friendly (Green Marketing book)
guerilla marketing — low-budget, high-impact marketing, typically entrepreneurial (Jay Conrad Levison)
horizontal marketing — similar message across different groups/industries, in contrast to vertical marketing
inbound marketing — pulling in customers via content, instead of pushing ads or cold-calls (HubSpot)
industrial marketing — B2B marketing but specifically for large firms, esp. manufacturers (Wikipedia)
influence(r) marketing — focus on convincing a few influential people in a market (Influencer Marketing book)
informational marketing — providing useful/educational material to nurture audience, like content marketing
in-game marketing — in-game advertising, also known as advergaming, and in-game promotions (Wikipedia)
in-store marketing — promotions based at a retailer’s location (In-Store Marketing Institute)
integrated marketing — coordination and integration of multiple marketing tools, channels, vehicles (ClickZ)
interactive marketing — interactions between marketers and prospects, mostly online (Forrester blog)
Internet marketing — synonymous with online marketing and web marketing (Wikipedia)
internal marketing — marketing to one’s own employees to synchronize customer experiences (Wikipedia)
international marketing — marketing overseas/across national borders, same as global marketing (Wikipedia)
keyword marketing — researching and optimizing keywords in search marketing (WordStream blog)
left-brain marketing — roughly synonymous with analytical marketing (Left Brain Marketing blog)
local marketing — ad targeting and promotions to support brick-and-mortar stores (WilsonWeb)
Long Tail marketing — marketing to many niche segments that aggregate to a huge audience (Wikipedia)
loyalty marketing — focus on growing and retaining existing customers, e.g., rewards programs (Wikipedia)
mobile marketing — marketing delivered via mobile devices such as (smart)phones (Mobile Marketer)
multichannel marketing — using multiple channels to reach customers (Multichannel Marketing Metrics)
multicultural marketing — pursuing ethnic audiences with products, advertising, experiences (The Book)
multi-level marketing — marketing by recruiting others, who recruit more; e.g., pyramid scheme (Wikipedia)
neuromarketing — the intersection of brain/cognitive science and marketing (Neuromarketing blog)
new media marketing — essentially synonymous with online marketing, fading term (Wikipedia)
newsletter marketing — delivering regular newsletters to target audience via email or print (DIRECT article)
niche marketing — targeting very specific audience segments (Entrepreneur article)
non-traditional marketing — methods outside the norm, e.g., publicity stunts, guerrilla marketing (Inc. article)
offline marketing — all marketing that doesn’t happen online, traditional marketing (MarketingSherpa)
one-to-one marketing — marketing to individual consumers: identify, differentiate, interact, customize (book)
online marketing — marketing online, same as Internet or web marketing (Online Marketing Summit)
outbound marketing — contact prospects via ads, cold calls, list rental; opposite of inbound (BridgeGroup)
outdoor marketing — examples: door hangers, car advertising, billboards, balloons (eHow article)
out-of-home marketing — marketing to people in public places, e.g., outdoor marketing (Wikipedia)
performance marketing — marketing driven by performance metrics and ROI (Performance Insider)
permission marketing — inspiring your audience to want to hear from you (Seth Godin’s book)
personalized marketing — like one-to-one marketing, including product customization (Wikipedia)
persuasion marketing — derived from “persuasion architecture” for effective web marketing (the Eisenbergs)
point-of-sale marketing — advertising to customers at point of a purchase in a store (eHow article)
post-click marketing — user experience after an ad/email click, e.g., landing pages (ion’s blog)
PPC marketing — pay-per-click marketing on search engines, ad networks, social sites (PPC Hero)
product marketing — marketing around a particular product, versus corporate marketing (Wikipedia)
promotional marketing — broadly speaking, almost any kind of marketing to attract customers (PROMO)
proximity marketing — localized wireless distribution of advertising associated with a place (Wikipedia)
pull marketing — pushing messages to prospects, synonymous with inbound marketing (The Power of Pull)
push marketing — prospects pull messages from you, synonymous with outbound marketing (Wikipedia)
real-time marketing — accelerating marketing in the age of speed (David Meerman Scott book)
referral marketing — encouraging/incentivizing existing customers to refer new customers (Wikipedia)
relationship marketing — emphasis on building long-term relationships with customers (Regis McKenna)
remarketing — modern meaning: behaviorally-targeted advertising (Google Ad Innovations)
reply marketing — replying to end-users with personalized messages, e.g., Old Spice campaign (Wikipedia)
scientific marketing — application of analytical testing/statistical methods in marketing (Scientific Advertising)
search (engine) marketing — organic and paid promotion via Google, Bing, etc. (Search Engine Land)
self marketing — marketing yourself, also known as personal branding (U.S. News article)
services marketing — approaches for selling services instead of products (Delivering Quality Service)
shadow marketing — unexpected marketing outside the control of the marketing department (my post)
shopper marketing — understanding how consumer shop across channels and formats (Wikipedia)
social marketing — changing people’s behaviors for the better, not social media marketing (Squidoo)
social media marketing — interacting with prospects in social media channels (Social Media Insider)
sports marketing — use of sporting events, teams, and athletes to promote products (Wikipedia)
stealth marketing — ways of marketing surreptitiously to people, undercover marketing (HBR article)
street marketing — unconventional marketing in public places meant to engage prospects (Wikipedia)
technical marketing — marketing with technical depth to a technical audience (great post)
telemarketing — calling people on the phone with a pitch, usually uninvited (Wikipedia)
test-driven marketing — systematically and iteratively testing marketing ideas (Test-Driven Marketing)
time marketing — research on when to release and promote products in the market (Wikipedia)
trade show marketing — subset of event marketing, exhibiting and promoting at trade shows (TSNN)
traditional marketing — pre-Internet marketing methods and channels (MarketingProfs)
undercover marketing — when consumers don’t know they’re being steathily marketed to (Wikipedia)
user-generated marketing — marketing created by consumers, communal marketing (Disney campaign)
vertical marketing — packaging a solution differently for different industries (Wikipedia)
video marketing — incorporating videos in online marketing, leveraging YouTube (Pixability)
viral marketing — tapping into existing social networks to spread a marketing idea (Wikipedia)
web marketing — marketing on the web, synonymous with online marketing (Web Marketing Today)
word-of-mouth marketing — when happy customers spread your marketing message (WOMMA)
youth marketing — targeting young audiences, often using emerging channels (Wikipedia)

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31 thoughts on “131 different kinds of marketing”

  1. anticipation marketing – marketing that builds up to a product release
    cpa marketing – cost per action marketing, paying people who get prospects to take an action such as fill out a form

    1. Hey, Thank you. Family marketing where you target families that most especially gather and have group eating habits. I would think that we can call this the scope of marketing activities.

  2. Concentrated marketing – when the message is aimed at just one small market
    UnMarketing – according to Scott Stratten a way to start to engaging with customers and cut the white noise
    Nice research btw Scott.
    -Danny.

  3. Hey Scott, why don’t you use Google Fusion Tables (in case you want to filter by use or geographic location of most uses etc..) Or Google Spreadsheet so we can keep adding to this list publicly.
    Makes it easier and traceable 🙂

  4. Danny — thanks for two more great additions!
    Hector — you’re right, this really should be in a spreadsheet-like collaborative format. Will plan to do that with version 2.0. Thanks!

  5. FUD marketing (instilling Fear, Uncertainty or Doubt about a competitor) I’m not a proponent though.
    Engagement Marketing (encompasses email, social media & direct marketing)

  6. in-movie marketing – Product brands related to a scene are being promoted within a movie or a daily soap.
    This kind of marketing is becoming quite common in regional films and the trend will soon be picked up across.

  7. A few others I’ve heard of lately:
    – reverse marketing
    – presence marketing
    – grassroots marketing
    – alternative marketing
    – tissue-pack marketing
    – live-in marketing
    – wait marketing

  8. What about “network marketing”? I know some people hate it but it has gotten quite a good reputation for getting a few companies over the $1 billion mark in record time.

  9. thanks a lot for this wonderful post , i m from india and my college is conducting an exhibition portraying models of various forms of marketing….. ur post was really useful
    thnks again 🙂

  10. Dennis Williams II

    sexual marketing – marketing that involves using promotional buzz words and brand references during live intercourse

    botox marketing – marketing that involves injecting company-sponsored botox into the facial area

    brute-force marketing – marketing that involves taking a persons hand and physically making them conduct a transaction

    reality-television marketing – marketing that involves setting up real life situations where a person will integrate “company x” into their conversation

    rapper marketing – marketing that involves embedding your brand/logo into the individuals “bling”

    and of course…

    refund marketing – anti-marketing that involves putting your companies slogan on them receipt given to the customer after returning their purchase

  11. Chintan Bharucha

    Hi couple of additions :

    Captive Marketing – where primary product is sold for a low price but the supplementary product is the one which generates revenue for company e.g. – Gillette;s ” Razor n Blade strategy”

    CSR Marketing – Similar to Cause marketing – using social issues mainly environmental and social conditions to promote the product e.g.CFC free electronic Goods.

  12. Someone I work with mentioned that we should be using ‘swivel marketing’? I have no idea what this is and did not get a chance to question them. Has anybody on here got any ideas?

  13. A fantastic list – Thank you. It is often wondered what the marketing function in a business actually does. This proves that so many touch points are covered.

  14. Please excuse me if I duplicate any of the above by another name… I think we left off some important ones…

    Package marketing – Complimentary products to ‘complete the set’. Ex: Any Star Wars or superhero figure packaging.
    Product alignment marketing – reciprocal product tie-ins with complimentary brands. Ex: “Energizer” bunny crossing through various other brand ads.
    Gift marketing – High dollar coupon’s provided as a gift, usually to a restaurant.
    Gift Card marketing – Convenient way to transfer the loyalty of one customer to another as a gift. Ex: Go to walmart they have one for every store in the world.
    Post sale marketing – aka Targeted loyalty marketing.
    Cluster marketing – complimentary or coordinated groupings of products, Ex: college dorms, “Room Store”
    Network marketing – Um Yah… “meh”
    Recommendation marketing – suggesting other products at the time of the sale. Ex: “Amazon.com”
    Mobile Tracking marketing – providing alerts to cashiers for add-on products when a ‘known’ device appears on the wifi network. Ex: Starbucks
    Vegas marketing – “We will give you free money! Come gamble at our casino!”
    Loss Leader marketing – Promoting ‘expensive looking’ product images at a loss, while positioning them to to high profit equally priced items.
    End Cap marketing – See loss leader marketing
    Authority marketing – promoting the company executives as experts, drawing attention to your company, products or the individual.
    Edification marketing – aka Ego marketing (Arcadian Sun)
    Award marketing – Awarding or nominating your key prospect CEO (Arcadian Sun)
    Apparel marketing – Your logo on the apparel that people want to buy. Ex: Nike
    Affinity marketing – A partnership between a company and an organization that gathers persons sharing the same interests. Ex: Banks partnered with Amazon.com to offer “Amazon Rewards Visa Card”
    Co-branding marketing – Attaching your brand to another popular brand. Ex: Cool Ranch Doritos tacos at Taco Bell
    Social Sentiment marketing – Targeted marketing using social monitoring tools to market to the individual or develop new strategies to promote or respond to the social sentiment.
    Video Collaboration marketing – direct-to-consumer video syndication that builds connections between entertainers, brands and their fans.

    AND the big new ones. Social media marketing is fast becoming segmented. Each has it’s own strategy and use:
    LIKE marketing –
    YouTube marketing –
    Facebook marketing
    LinkedIn marketing –
    Story-line marketing –
    Contextual marketing –

  15. Here i m going to share with you another. That is ‘O’ Marketing. Where a Brand promoting it from another’s plat form.

    For Example; A telecom sector use its publicity from a Multinational Restaurant platform .

  16. Gateway Marketing? I’m looking for a term that I’m sure is out there that I call “gateway marketing,” where you market from a low cost (but *not* loss-leader) good or service to generate clients for a premium good or service. It is not loss-leader marketing (is that on the list?) because you are still making money from the good or service, and that good or service can be marketed on its own. LMK if there’s a term out there, and thanks for the list!

  17. Some of the above should be called ‘marketing’ , and some ‘advertising’. Advertising is a tactic used by a marketing professional to gain a response. Medical doctors don’t call what they do, “_____ doctoring”. Amazing how often some form of channel communication (advertising) is often nominated as ‘marketing.’

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