Written by Finn-Ole Höner, Ph.D. Candidate at Erasmus School of Economics and Victoria Niehues Ph.D. Candidate at Erasmus School of Economics
When thinking of a setting for a transformative gathering about the future, a picturesque Dutch castle would surely not spring to mind. Yet, last August, the Marketing the Future Symposium, hosted by the marketing group at the Erasmus School of Economics, transformed the stunning Kasteel Vaalsbroek near Maastricht into the epicenter for groundbreaking discussions. Marketing scholars from around the world gathered to explore fundamental challenges facing the science of marketing.
The Marketing the Future Symposium realized the vision of Ana Šćekić, Clément Bellet, Stefan Stremersch, and Benedict Dellaert with Bas Donkers and Nuno Camacho as co-organizers.Prominent scholars Roland Rust and Eric Johnson, served as external members of the organizing committee.
The organizing committee represented 38 unique IJRM publications and included two former IJRM editors, promising a symposium of high relevance to IJRM researchers. This was also reflected in the speaker line-up, which included familiar IJRM names, such as Peter Verhoef, Aurélie Lemmens, Gerard Tellis, Roland Rust, Ming-Hui Huang, Jacob Goldenberg, Alexander Edeling, Eric Bradlow, Simone Wies, and P.K. Kannan.
For us, Victoria and Finn, the symposium doubled as our first day of work as PhD candidates at ESE. Together with graduating PhD Hong Deng, who joins the London Business School, we got a behind-the-scenes look by handing out welcome gifts, throwing the cushioned “pillow”-microphone to discussants, and guiding people towards the (very) tasty food.
Kasteel Vaalsbroek: Drawing from the past to inspire the future
Nestled in the serene hills of Limburg, where the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany meet, remote historic Kasteel Vaalsbroek provided an idyllic backdrop for rigorous academic discourse, inviting participants to enter a headspace for deep, forward-looking conversations. Instead of sterile seminar rooms, breakout sessions took place in 18th-century chambers, surrounded by the Kasteel’s former owners’ oil paintings, and the conference dinner took the form of a summer night Barbecue in the manicured garden of the Kasteel.
The future of marketing
The symposium's program addressed pressing questions facing marketing scholars. Through a series of curated panels and keynote sessions, participants explored marketing’s role in the future, which forces shape it, and how the academic field of marketing needs to adapt to contribute meaningfully.
For us “first-day” PhD students, the Symposium was quite scary at times: Will AI make decisions for consumers, rendering marketing expertise obsolete? Is the discipline of marketing becoming ethically indefensible in an era of overconsumption and climate crisis? Can marketing research keep pace with technological change, or are we studying yesterday's problems? What if consumers stop trusting marketing altogether?were some of the ground-shaking questions, that were not exactly encouraging to those beginning their careers as marketing academics. To relieve our anxiety and get their reflections on the highlights, we interviewed the Symposium organizers, Ana Šćekić, Clément Bellet, Stefan Stremersch, Bas Donkers, and Andreas Bayerl. As it turns out, the future of marketing is bright and exciting afterall.
For organizer Ana Šćekić a symposium highlight were the debates on how to keep marketing as a scientific discipline relevant, as society perceives “marketing” more and more negatively. The importance of highlighting positive societal impacts of the marketing field, and the need for marketing academics to learn how to leverage rapidly advancing AI technologies in their research, while maintaining a distinct identity, were major takeaways for her.
“I think our creativity, critical thinking, and unique ability to observe, understand, and predict human behavior, as well as to create new knowledge, remain crucial elements for shaping the future of marketing.” Ana Šćekić
Clément Bellet believes that inequality, identity, and emotions are reshaping the marketing landscape. This raises critical questions, such as, “Who benefits from emerging AI technologies?” and “How should we design AI products to make them more accessible?” Social media and identity movements like #MeToo have heightened awareness of identity issues and reshaped consumer expectations. As a result, brands must navigate inclusivity carefully, as efforts to be more inclusive can sometimes polarize audiences or conflict with established brand perceptions.
“My view of the future has shifted in that I now see an even greater urgency for marketing to embrace its role as a bridge between stakeholders and society.” Clément Bellet
Interestingly, Clément Bellet and other scientists at the symposium, such as former IJRM-editor Roland Rust and IJRM-author Ming-Hui Huang, identify emotions as becoming more central to marketing and the economy at large. According to Clément Bellet, while AI may replace some customer service roles, its ability to effectively convey empathy remains uncertain, giving rise to increased future demand for human emotional labor.
For former IJRM-editor Stefan Stremersch one highlight of the the symposium was that the participants candidly debated capitalism itself, something that is rare at a marketing conference. In his expertise, innovation will ensure the survival of the marketing field, where the future of innovation hinges on the use of AI systems and leveraging human talent in the right way to bring value to society.
“With all the challenges that we have, the only thing that can save us or provide true value to society is innovation.” Stefan Stremersch
Benedict Dellaert also remarked on the valuable debates at the symposium: “One [highlight for me] was the openness and creativity with which participants from all different streams in marketing were willing to engage with the topic, which led to really meaningful and insightful discussions.”
“My highlight was not a single event or talk”, Bas Donkers told us, “but the overall feeling that we are up for exciting times with many and large changes in the field of marketing and marketing research ahead of us. This is a dream for us as researchers, but a big challenge for our role as educators.”
To Andreas Bayerl, who contributed in a supporting role to the symposium, talks by Simona Botti and Priya Raghubir stood out. Simona Botti argued that for marketing to remain a relevant discipline, we must connect the future with the past, building on foundational theories to incorporate new phenomena. Her advice—to master classic marketing theories and explore ideas outside our field—resonated deeply with Andreas. Priya Raghubir closed the conference, by comparing the rise of AI to the rise of the internet 25 years ago. Her perspective was that while the tools and environment evolve, the core of marketing will remain solid and strong.
Reflecting on the Marketing the Future Symposium, the serene setting at the Kasteel, and the many great discussions we had ourselves over barbecue, coffee, and breakfast, we are no longer anxious. Quite the opposite: We are thrilled to join the marketing field as young researchers!
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