I have to disagree with Akbar and Viqar. Art definition is "The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination" and most marketing activities do not need imagination instead its more science and numbers. While advertisements could be an art since it takes marketing input and designers generate visual outcomes from imaginations.
Think about marketing plans, focus groups, market research, swot analysis, competitor analysis, pricing strategy, etc... Nothing artistic about these activities it require study and intelligence.
Possibly safest to say part art part science depending on the seniority and exact nature of the marketing role. The more creative aspects of marketing will require artistic/creative talent for sure but senior marketeers responsible for running a marketing budget and meeting company and divisional objectives will find they have to spend a lot of time analyzing data and market trends and continuously conducting various forms of analysis and forecasting scenarios in order to ensure the artistic and creative aspects of their work are actually on track and optimal and are acheiving desired results relative to benchmarks and based on the company's objectives.
obviously, the marketing does not take place among the list of arts and follows different purposes, however some parts of marketing is near to the art. where the marketing tries to impress human feelings and intelligence which is done in the art as well.
