This is lesson two. This is towards one of our missions. Education. You’ll learn everything about marketing — from the basics to the most advanced strategies — for free, thanks to VellumWorks.
Marketing has never stood still. The way businesses connect with people has changed dramatically over the last century — and it’s still evolving faster than ever. Marketing is one of the careers and industries that evolve and change rapidly, especially with the introduction of AI.
The four stages of marketing
Product Focus (early 1900s – 1950s)
Marketing was about what a company could make. Businesses pushed products out, and customers had limited choice. The focus was efficiency and availability.Brand Focus (1950s – 1990s)
As competition grew, businesses needed to differentiate. Marketing shifted toward building strong brands, unique positioning, and emotional connections.Digital Era (1990s – 2010s)
The internet changed everything. Marketing became interactive, measurable, and global. Websites, search engines, social media, and email have transformed communication.Data & AI-Driven Era (2010s – today)
Marketing is now powered by data, automation, and AI. Brands personalise at scale, predict behaviour, and measure every interaction. Especially in the last few years of the 2020s, AI has grown immensely and changed how marketing functions.
If you’re a charity, understand these eras:
Brand era: Clarify your mission + proof of impact (1-page story + stats).
Digital era: Build an email list; publish one helpful resource/month.
Data/AI era: Automate welcome & nurture emails; ask one VoC question in every form (“What nearly stopped you donating/joining?”).
If you’re a charity and have any questions about these, or want our FREE help to grow your marketing, contact us below.
Why does this matter?
These shifts show why marketing is about much more than tactics and strategies. Each new era built on the last, but the foundation stayed the same: creating and delivering value for customers.
Knowing the history helps you see where we’re going next, but it also helps you know that if you provide something to the audience before you ask for the sell, this will give you an even bigger return.
Why is this important to know?
Because this is where all of marketing begins, if you don’t understand value exchange, customer-centricity, and relationships, every other framework, from the 4Ps to AI-driven campaigns, will feel like scattered tactics.
When you see marketing as creating mutual value, you stop thinking about “selling” and start thinking about serving. That shift changes how you design products, run campaigns, and connect with people.
This matters not just for businesses, but for charities, communities, and society — because marketing done right builds trust, spreads ideas that matter, and makes people’s lives better.
At VellumWorks, we believe knowledge should be free. That’s why this series will guide you, step by step, through everything from the basics to the most advanced strategies in marketing: no jargon, no gatekeeping, just education that empowers.
You’ve just seen how marketing has evolved through the product era, the brand era, the digital age, and today’s AI-driven world. But one thing still confuses almost everyone: what’s the difference between marketing, sales, branding, and advertising?
They’re often used interchangeably — yet they play very different roles.
In Lesson 3, we’ll break down the four terms, show how they connect, and give you a simple visual framework you can use to explain it to anyone.
