A CMO’s guide to growth hacking in the AI-driven era

New Delhi: MMA Global India and GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, unveiled the Modern Marketing Reckoner 2025: The CMO’s Guide to Growth Hacking at the 14th edition of MMA IMPACT India, held on May 7–8 in Gurugram. 

Now in its fifth edition, the Reckoner is a flagship publication designed to equip modern marketers with strategic foresight to navigate the complex, high-velocity world of modern business where disruption is constant and growth is no longer guaranteed.

The report delves into cutting-edge growth hacking strategies, emphasising the critical role of first-party data, AI-driven experimentation, and personalised customer experiences in achieving sustainable business growth.

Harnessing insights and expertise of 50+ senior leaders, strategists, and digital trailblazers, the report delivers a bold blueprint for CMOs shaped by the seismic forces transforming marketing today: from Gen Z's shifting loyalties and Generative AI’s creative disruption, to the velocity of quick commerce and the rise of premiumization, all within a landscape demanding speed, precision, and performance-driven impact.

Key themes explored in the report include:

• Gen Z’s disruption of brand engagement norms- loyalty, relevance, and values all redefined
• The emergence of quick commerce and new distribution models is challenging traditional value chains
• The accelerating trend of premiumisation as a lasting shift in consumer behaviour
• The transformation of brand purpose from campaign narrative to organisational philosophy
• The strategic need for sharp segmentation and precision targeting in a post-mass-marketing era
• The impact of Generative AI in redefining personalisation, speed, and decision-making
• The growing expectation for CMOs to think like CFOs—leading with financial discipline, ROI focus, and frugality

Prasanth Kumar, MMA Global India Co-Chair & CEO of GroupM South Asia, said, “In a world where technology is disrupting faster than what businesses can adapt to, the marketing function today stands at a defining inflection point. Amidst an environment where consumer behaviour is constantly evolving and expectations growing sharper, this Reckoner reflects a growing consensus: that growth must be engineered, not expected. It calls for a new kind of leadership—one that balances creativity with accountability, experiments boldly, and always keeps business outcomes in focus. At GroupM and MMA Global India, we see this report as more than a publication—it is a leadership guide for CMOs, built for a new era where growth is not just a goal, but a shared responsibility across the boardroom.”

The central theme of the 2025 edition is clear: Growth hacking is not about shortcuts. It’s about being sharper, faster, and braver. It’s about leading with curiosity, embracing calculated risk, and building organisations that value agility as much as ambition.

Moneka Khurana, Country Head & BOD, MMA Global India, said, “Growth hacking is now the CMO’s core responsibility—it is not about shortcuts, but about bold action, rapid experimentation, and measurable impact. In today’s fast-changing market, real growth comes from curiosity, courage, and mastering the art of duality at every stage between diverse audiences and brand and performance at every stage. Shaped by the expertise of over 50 practitioners and thinkers across the MMA member ecosystem, a must-consume collective offering tools, insights, and provocations, CMOs need to lead with purpose and agility. Because in a world defined by change, the ultimate hack is how we choose to lead.”