If you’re searching for what marketing is, chances are your business is already doing “marketing” – but it isn’t delivering the results you expect.

You may have:
A website
Active social media
Regular content going out
Yet something still feels off.

That’s because most businesses have been taught the wrong definition of marketing.
After more than 30 years working with global brands and growing businesses, here’s the bottom line:
Marketing is not what you do. Marketing is what people remember.

So, when business owners ask what marketing is, they’re usually asking why their efforts aren’t working.

What most business owners think marketing is:
Most business owners believe marketing is:
A website
Social media posts
Content schedules
Activity and visibility
In other words, output.

This is why so much marketing fails. Because output without a unifying idea doesn’t build memory. It creates noise.

What marketing actually is:
Marketing is the creation of a BIG IDEA that:
Owns a clear piece of mental real estate, makes people remember you and helps customers choose you over competitors and gives every channel a purpose.

A BIG IDEA is not a campaign.
It’s not a tactic.
And it’s definitely not “posting more”.

It’s the strategic thinking that everything else hangs off.
This is the difference between busy marketing and effective marketing.
You can see how I define and build BIG IDEAS here:
👉 https://mipphillips.com/creative-marketing-big-idea-creation/

Why this question still frustrates me after 30+ years
Despite all the tools, platforms and AI available today, marketing has been reduced to content production.

I still see businesses:
Spending money without direction
Producing endless content with no central idea
Confusing visibility with effectiveness
Treating marketing as execution instead of judgement

The businesses that succeed don’t do more marketing.
They do clearer marketing.
That clarity always starts with a BIG IDEA.

A real example: AJ Products:
AJ Products had very low brand awareness in the UK.
They didn’t need more activity.
They didn’t need louder ads.
They needed clarity and memorability.

So I created AJ the Ant – a simple, distinctive brand character that embodied the company’s values.

That BIG IDEA ran consistently through:
Website
Video
Digital marketing

Everything changed:
The brand became instantly recognisable
The messaging made sense
Results improved because people finally remembered them
You can view this work here:
👉 https://mipphillips.com/case-study-aj-products-awareness/

That’s what marketing is.
Not channels.
It’s the idea behind them.

Where AI fits into modern marketing (and where it goes wrong):
AI has become part of modern marketing – but it’s often misunderstood.
AI genuinely helps marketing when it amplifies existing thinking.

Used properly, AI can:
Accelerate idea development
Improve efficiency
Scale clarity across channels

But AI damages marketing when it’s used to:
Create vast amounts of content with no idea behind it
Replace thinking instead of supporting it
Fill platforms instead of building memory

The biggest mistake business owners make with AI is not understanding how to frame the information and questions correctly.
AI doesn’t give you judgement.
It accelerates the judgement you already have.
You can see how I work with AI properly here:
👉 https://mipphillips.com/artificial-intelligence/

So, what is marketing?
Marketing is not content.
Marketing is not channels.
Marketing is not tactics.
Marketing is the discipline of making your business memorable and chosen.

It starts with:
Clear thinking
Strong judgement
A BIG IDEA
Only then do websites, content, social media and AI actually work.
This thinking sits at the core of everything I do:
👉 https://mipphillips.com/

The real takeaway for business owners:
If your marketing feels busy but ineffective, the issue isn’t effort.
It’s clarity.

And clarity comes from the right idea.

That’s why I built Talk To MIP – not to replace thinking, but to sharpen it.
If you want to pressure-test your marketing decisions, understand what your BIG IDEA could be, or see where your marketing is losing impact, you can start here:
👉 https://mipphillips.com/talk-to-mip/