Marketing has come a long way in recent decades, and current trends suggest it will go much farther in the next 25 years. The world of marketing in the 1970s was primitive wasteland of general print ads, coupons, and AM radio promotional broadcasts. Targeted marketing to specific consumer segments was practically nonexistent by today's standards, and managers were years away from computerized databases and graphic-design.

However, the 1980s saw the rise of sponsorships, branding, tie-ins and loyalty programs, as new venues for reaching the consumer were being explored. The Super Bowl was rapidly transforming into a sacred marketing event, and the advent of the desktop computer was placing sophisticated new tools in the hands of marketers.

Technological advances of the 1990s introduced revolutionary new media such as the Internet, and fresh ideas such as integrated campaigns, cross-selling, and relationship marketing took promotion and sales to new levels.

Given that we've come so far so fast, what will the future of marketing look like? It's anyone's guess, but trends in technology over recent years suggest that the only limits will be those of the human imagination.