MMA India Board shares 10 commandments for marketers to thrive in 2025

As 2024 draws to a close, the MMA Global India Board, a collective of professionals from brands like Google, McDonald’s India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nestlé India, Disney+ Hotstar, BARC, Aditya Birla Group, Perfetti Van Melle, Kantar, Google India, InMobi, and more, locked themselves in a room to address the need of the hour. This included understanding marketing challenges and uncovering opportunities for growth in an increasingly complex landscape.

Fresh from their insights, here are 10 key perspectives and actionable insights that reflect the pulse of modern marketing and lay out a path for brands to navigate the K-shaped economy, balance short-term gains with long-term value, and innovate for success in 2025. Marketers can jot these down as the 10 commandments they should focus on to thrive in the coming year.

1.     Preparing for The K economy: Bridging growth gaps

India is at the cusp of a K-shaped recovery. The Q2 earnings season from major companies highlighted signs of distress in urban India, with slowing growth in larger cities that have long driven business expansion. many organisations, be it in FMCG, F&B or lifestyle, reported a downturn across various channels and segments, reflecting broader urban challenges. This could be traced to rising costs, wage pressures, and regulatory actions, which are altering urban spending habits and causing mass-market brands continue to struggle. 

This is juxtaposed with rural resilience. According to a NielsenIQ report, rural regions are outpacing urban areas in volume growth across much of India. In Q3 2024, rural consumption grew by 6%, up from 5.2% in the previous quarter, doubling the urban growth rate of 2.8%. This surprising growth engine demands tailored marketing strategies. 

Board Suggestion: Identify segmented opportunities with hyper-targeted value propositions to bridge the widening consumption gap. Embrace frameworks that can help refine consumer journeys and strategies for distinct markets. 

2. Balancing short-term gains with long-term growth

Amid compressed margins, the pressure for quick wins is understandably high. Brands that avoided deep price cuts saw stronger resilience. Now is the time for companies to experiment for immediate returns, but they must ensure that these experimentations align with sustainable brand equity. 

Board Suggestion: Marketers must connect short-term performance marketing with long-term brand health. They must leverage tools that enable smarter alignment between brand building and performance outcomes and which allow them to tap into the science of brand-driven financial growth.

3. Evolving CMOs into financial leaders

For many executives, the demand to deliver short-term financial results each quarter often discourages transparency around marketing expenditures. Gaining a voice for marketing at the leadership table hinges on a strong grasp of the profit and loss statement.

Since marketing’s influence in the boardroom depends on understanding the P&L, it is essential that financial literacy should bridge the gap between campaigns and business impact. CMOs must lead from the front, linking costs, growth, and profitability. 

Board Suggestion: Equip teams with financial acumen to better align with business objectives. They should tap frameworks that can help them link marketing actions to measurable business outcomes. 

4. Innovating amid constraints

In 2024, innovation became survival. Brands thrived by balancing premiumisation with affordability. At the same time, precision targeting emerged as critical in India’s fragmented market. 

Board Suggestion: Focus on fewer, high-impact initiatives. Refining media measurement strategies can help optimise fragmented ad spends. 

5. Gen AI is reshaping consumer behaviour

Consumers are rapidly adopting AI-driven discovery and search. Today, Gen AI has transformed how brands are discovered and engaged. It has also become effective for brands with long-term investment, less so for short-term strategies. 

Board Suggestion: Humanise AI-led strategies to ensure empathy and relevance. AI must drive personalised, meaningful engagement rather than short-term noise. 

6. Rebuilding brand differentiation

Marketers are battling brand dilution and consumer fatigue. On one hand, loyalty is declining, and choice is fragmented. On the other hand, the lack of differentiation depletes ‘brand equity banks’.

Board Suggestion: Revisit brand fundamentals. Create clear, purpose-driven narratives that position brands as cultural and emotional anchors. 

7. Connecting consumption, channels, and competition

2024 was about identifying the dots; 2025 must be about connecting them. This is because consumption patterns vary significantly across urban and rural India. Moreover, multiple digital platforms have scaled to over 4-5 million users. 

Board Suggestion: Align marketing strategy to unify consumption insights, channel investments, and competitive pressures for sustainable growth. They should keep an eye out for tools that can help marketers segment effectively and optimise omnichannel approaches. 

8. Purpose beyond profits

Purpose-driven campaigns aren’t an option—they are essential. Campaigns addressing societal issues like DE&I and sustainability outperformed peers. Brands with clear purpose retained higher engagement and trust. 

Board Suggestion: Purpose must move from a campaign idea to an intrinsic brand philosophy. Thoughtful execution that delivers on purpose will unlock long-term loyalty and growth. 

9. Effective segmentation: Reaching India’s cohorted markets

India’s markets are highly fragmented. Reaching the right cohorts has become a challenge amidst growing complexity. Tailored propositions are, therefore, critical to break through. 

Board Suggestion: Segment with precision and deliver value to specific cohorts. Utilise data-driven frameworks to identify relevant audiences across channels and media platforms. This is no longer just a ‘marketer’s challenge’—it is the opportunity. 

10. The new face of aspiration: Navigating nuanced consumption

As spends shrink and diversify, aspirations are changing. Generalised assumptions no longer apply to India’s multi-dimensional consumers. The evolving intersections of income, behaviour, and values require nuanced strategies. 

Board Suggestion: Invest in deep consumer insights to decode this evolving aspiration. Understanding cultural and economic shifts will help marketers craft propositions that align with the changing face of consumption. 

Setting the stage for 2025

2024 has been a year of critical recalibration. The MMA Global India Board’s insights reflect a roadmap for marketers to navigate economic realities, rebuild differentiation, and create purpose-driven brands. 

For 2025, the command is clear: balance short-term profitability with long-term sustainability, embrace AI without losing humanity, and unify fragmented efforts to connect consumers, channels, and competition. 

It’s time to step into the new year ready to innovate, adapt, and lead. The future is no longer something to be navigated—it is yours to shape.