I was twenty-two when I first understood that marketing is not just about selling products. I was sitting in a cramped agency meeting room in Manchester, watching a senior strategist tear apart a campaign we had spent weeks building. The creative was sharp. The targeting was precise. The budget was approved. And yet, she shook her head and said something I have never forgotten: “This campaign is about what we want to say. But marketing is not about what we want to say. It is about what our audience needs to hear. If you do not understand that, you are not a marketer. You are just a broadcaster.” That sentence stayed with me. I realised that marketing is never just about selling. It is about understanding people, building trust, and creating value in a world that is increasingly skeptical of being sold to.
When I began exploring dissertation topics in marketing, I knew I wanted to study something that captured both the science and the humanity of the field. But the discipline was vast. I could research the ethics of AI-driven personalisation, the psychology of consumer decision-making, the dynamics of brand communities, or the role of marketing in addressing climate change. The field in 2026 is being transformed by forces that would have been unimaginable a decade ago: generative AI reshaping creativity, platform algorithms mediating consumer choice, sustainability becoming a competitive imperative, and consumers demanding authenticity over polish. These forces are not just changing what marketers do. They are changing what marketing research needs to ask.
Recent research has explored a remarkable range of topics that reflect this transformation. At the 2026 AIM-AMA International Marketing Conference, themes ranged from AI and technology adoption in global marketing to sustainability, ethics, and social impact, with rural marketing in emerging economies also receiving significant attention. A systematic literature review of digital marketing from 2024-2025 found that the dominant research topics include the adoption of digital marketing by small and medium enterprises, the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and the metaverse, and the influence of digital marketing on business performance and consumer behaviour. The French Marketing Association’s 2026 doctoral colloquium covered an exceptionally broad spectrum: artificial intelligence and consumer trust, sustainable mobility, circular economy, experiential marketing, video game-induced tourism, and employee advocacy on social networks. This breadth of inquiry reflects a discipline that is simultaneously expanding and deepening.
If you are looking for a structured starting point for your research in marketing, Premier Dissertations offers a curated collection of dissertation topics across multiple subfields, including consumer behaviour, digital marketing, branding, advertising, and marketing strategy. You can explore the full range of topics here: https://premierdissertations.com/dissertation-topics/. These topics provide a solid foundation that can be adapted to different theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches.
The field of marketing research offers a rich range of topics that extend far beyond traditional promotional strategy. Artificial intelligence and marketing has emerged as one of the most dynamic areas of inquiry. As AI agents begin to make autonomous decisions for consumers, marketers face a new kind of buyer: machines. Research questions in this area might explore how marketing strategies must adapt to appeal not just to humans but also to AI agents, drawing on research related to algorithmic decision-making, search and generative engine optimization, and AI-mediated consumption. The perceived anthropomorphism of AI interfaces has been shown to positively influence customer trust, which in turn enhances customer engagement across the customer journey. Generative AI interfaces lead to higher perceived value co-creation in the post-purchase stage compared to rule-based chatbots. Technology anxiety negatively moderates the relationship between AI-enabled personalization and customer satisfaction.
Consumer behaviour and psychology remains a foundational area of marketing research. A comprehensive review of consumer behaviour studies from 2020 to 2025 argues that consumer decision-making has shifted from choices grounded in relatively stable preferences to dynamic adjustment shaped jointly by shocks, platform technologies, and governance rules. Research has examined the circular economy and consumer behaviour, the effect of COVID-19 on consumer shopping behaviour across generational cohorts, and the evolution of consumer well-being over the last four decades. Other studies have explored dark patterns in online retailing, AI digital human responsiveness and consumer purchase intention, and consumer vulnerability and well-being across contexts. The fear of missing out (FOMO) has been studied as a marketing tool, with findings suggesting that mindfulness can reduce unnecessary purchases.