The New Marketing in the AI and Social Media Era
This training session introduces doctoral students to the transformation of marketing in the era of artificial intelligence and social media. It explores how AI-driven tools, data analytics, and algorithmic personalization are reshaping how organizations understand consumer behavior, design campaigns, and communicate with audiences. The session highlights the shift from traditional mass marketing to highly targeted, data-driven strategies enabled by machine learning, predictive analytics, and automated content creation.
Participants will also examine the strategic role of social media platforms in modern marketing ecosystems, including influencer marketing, real-time engagement, and user-generated content. The training discusses emerging opportunities and challenges such as ethical considerations, data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the growing importance of authenticity and trust in digital communication. By the end of the session, doctoral students will gain a conceptual overview of key trends and research directions shaping marketing in the AI-powered, socially connected environment.
Prof. Dr. Vesselin Blagoev is Professor of Marketing and Management at Varna University of Management. He holds a PhD in Marketing and Innovation Management from the Technical University, Sofia (1996). He has also master degrees in Mechanical Engineering (1974), Management (1976) and Operations management (1977).
Dr. Blagoev has an extensive career as professional manager. He served as Chief Secretary of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria (1994), CEO of the Bulgarian Privatization Agency (1995-1997), Chief Executive Director of Credit Bank PLC (1997-1998), and Editor-in-Chief of BusinessWeek Bulgaria (2006-2008). Currently he is President of the Bulgarian Marketing Association and Board member of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Blagoev authored or co-authored 17 books on Marketing Management, Innovation Management and Cross-Cultural Management, published in Bulgaria, USA, Russia, and the UK, and over 60 articles. He has authored the first textbook on marketing in Bulgaria, and one of the first textbooks on marketing in Russia and the USSR countries. According to Yandex (Russian version of Google), his book on marketing has 40 million citations in publications in Russia and CIS countries.