In a world where digital touches every interaction, marketing has changed. It’s no longer just about telling stories. It’s about living them through data, insight and seamless customer journeys. Organisations now expect marketers to do more than execute campaigns. They want them to drive business, strategise and analyse data, adapt to technology, and deliver value.
That’s why the Post Graduate Programme in Marketing & Business Management (PGPMBM) at SPJIMR is designed for exactly this purpose: to equip marketers with a hybrid of creative, strategic and technical skills needed for the digital era.
The rise of the digitally fluent marketer
Marketing today demands fluency in a new language: one that blends analytics and automation with human insight and creativity. According to the 2025 Marketing Skills Report by the American Marketing Association, the biggest competency gaps for marketers aren’t in creativity; they are in digital marketing, data analytics and measuring ROI.
Meanwhile, digital marketing trends show that AI, personalisation and automation are no longer optional. In 2025, working professionals have increasingly used AI to automate content, personalise outreach and predict customer behaviour. So if you’re a marketer who wants to thrive, you need to build skills that span strategy, tech and human insight.
Image credit: Medium
Consider Starbucks. It has transformed from a coffee brand into a data-driven digital ecosystem. Its mobile app doesn’t just process payments but also tracks preferences, rewards loyalty, and personalises offers using AI and predictive analytics. By merging marketing with technology, Starbucks turned everyday coffee purchases into meaningful, ongoing relationships with its customers.
This evolution has forced organisations everywhere to rethink what marketing talent needs to look like, which is strategic, analytical, tech-savvy, and agile.
How does digital transformation reshape marketing roles for working executives?
Consider how the marketer’s role used to be: plan campaign → execute → report. Now it’s more like: map the customer journey → design personalised experience → measure and iterate in real-time. So nowadays, in many companies:
Campaigns become journey orchestration.
Traditional branding blends into customer-experience design.
Real-time data informs creative decisions.
In this context, a marketer needs analytical agility (the ability to read the data), creative fluency (the ability to design the experience) and strategic clarity (the ability to connect it to business goals). That’s what all organisations are looking for in their working professionals.
Skills you’ll gain with PGPMBM at SPJIMR
At PGPMBM, you build tangible, career-ready skills across the following key areas:
Strategic marketing leadership
You’ll learn how to align marketing with business strategy. This will include elements like how a brand works across digital ecosystems, how to lead teams in ambiguity and more. For example: Designing go-to-market strategies for digital products or repositioning a brand in the metaverse.
Data-driven decision-making
You’ll dive into analytics, dashboards and insight-generation. The ability to interpret data and make decisions is now a top skill, and 79 % of marketers agree that data analysis is critical right now. You’ll learn to work with real tools, understand how to set up metrics and use insights to drive action.
Take Netflix, for instance. The company doesn’t just promote its shows; it studies viewer patterns, engagement rates, and even emotional triggers to determine what content to produce and how to market it. This predictive approach helps Netflix launch shows that resonate deeply with audiences across the world.
Image credit: Console Flare
Brand management in the digital age
Digital touchpoints have multiplied and keep doing so. With multiple social media platforms, influencers of different kinds, micro-moments to celebrate, and even new immersive formats, a modern-day marketer needs to learn how to build brands when the audience is as powerful as the message, and every interaction matters.
Digital marketing strategy and execution
This is hands-on understanding and learning. As a student of this programme, you will work with search, social, performance, content, automation and AI. The goal of marketing in the digital world is to show consumers that the brand truly knows them through genuine personalisation that adds value. Trends clearly show that by 2025, 88 % of digital marketers will use AI in their daily tasks. Knowing how to use these tools gives you a competitive edge.
Customer experience and innovation
Marketing is no longer siloed. It touches UX, product and service. Airbnb is a masterclass in this. Its website and app don’t just facilitate booking a stay; they tell stories, offer recommendations, and build trust through design. Every touchpoint reflects Airbnb’s promise of ‘belonging anywhere’.
In PGPMBM, you’ll study design thinking, behavioural insights, and tech disruption. You’ll learn how to build marketing that adapts, evolves and surprises.
Image credit: Scaleup Collective
Experiential learning that bridges the classroom and boardroom
In PGPMBM, the learning isn’t purely theoretical. You’ll participate in live projects, industry immersion, brand simulations and peer learning. You’ll bring what you learn into live business situations and reflect on what worked and why.
The modular format of the programme, with alternate contacts on campus, enables working executives to grow, learn and upskill without taking a career break or missing out on opportunities. With emphasis on modules like Markstrat, customer experience design and marketing in the digital world, participants report deep transformations in their way of working.
At SPJIMR, you benefit from academic rigour, industry relevance, a holistic curriculum and values-based leadership combined. You’ll learn from faculty and marketing practitioners and join a network of experienced professionals. You’ll leave ready for roles in brand leadership, digital strategy, marketing operations or business management.
The marketing landscape continues to evolve through automation, AI, immersive experiences and new platforms. In such times, it’s not enough to have just one skill or one focus. You need to learn how to learn and how to adapt to the constantly evolving ecosystem. PGPMBM builds that agility and will help you emerge as a leader who can craft strategy, use tech, and be a driver of strategic business growth.
If you’re ready to lead marketing in the digital age, explore SPJIMR’s PGPMBM
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