kotler beyond advertising

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Beyond Advertising

Philip Kotler remains one of the most influential marketing thinkers

BRAMD EQUITY ET __29 FEB, 2012,, VIVEK KAUL,ET BUREAU


Philip Kotler

At 80, Philip Kotler remains one of the most influential thinkers on marketing.

His best-selling textbook 'Marketing Management' is still among the most widely used in colleges across the world.


Philip Kotler

• Trained as an economist with a Master's Degree from the University of Chicago and a PhD in economics at MIT, Kotler confesses to being drawn to marketing by what was missing from economics.

• He's often called the father of marketing; something he regards as a compliment, while at the same time ceding the title of the "grandfather of marketing" to management thinker Peter Drucker.


Philip Kotler

• He is currently the SC Johnson & Son Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

• In this interview he discusses the impact of social media on marketing, how being both idealistic and profitable is not a contradiction and why Peter Drucker is still important


What impact do the internet, social media and communication technology have

on marketing? [B]

• People's brand choices used to be heavily influenced by advertising. – Today this is changing.

• Persons with access to computers, iPads, or smart phones now take time to research the brands in a category , such as cars or TV, before making a choice.

• Younger persons find it very easy to look up information about products on the internet, ask their Facebook friends, attend to bloggers, watch YouTube.


What impact do the internet, social media and communication technology have

on marketing? [B]

• All this means that sellers must learn the ins and outs of digital marketing .

• They must hire skilled netizens and carry out experiments to find what works.

• Buyers are increasingly welcoming fresh content rather than just repetitive ads.


Could you give us any examples of this in practice?

• L’Oreal last year created a customised online video series of beauty tutorials to help customers better understand how to improve their appearance.

• John Deer publishes a digital version of 'The Homestead' carrying topics of interest to those who might buy tractors or combines.

• Content marketing is increasing in relation to straightforward advertising.


To shift tracks, Indian and Chinese brands find it difficult to crack the markets in Europe and the US. What should they do?

• While cracking into Western markets is not easy, a growing number of emerging multinationals from India, China and other emerging economies are succeeding admirably.

• Consider Acer, Bharti, HTC, Haier, Huawei, Lenovo , Tata Motors, Tata Tea, Wipro and others. Some are growing by buying existing companies and brands.

• Others are growing organically.


Your research suggests that the 3 year strategic plan is anachronistic and worthless. Why is that?

• I don't remember saying three year strategic plans are anachronistic and worthless.

• What would be worthless is only preparing a new plan each year without a three or five year plan already developed.

• A company needs to develop a long view and not only a tactical short view.

• Even if the long view turns out to be wrong, this will be realised in time.

• In fact, no company follows its three year plan for three years. It is revised and updated every year.


In this day and age which companies have a better chance at succeeding? [A]

• Companies have a better chance if they go beyond just making something.

• They need to describe their business as pursuing a bigger idea, one that adds value not only to their customers but to employees, stakeholders and society as a whole.

• We think better of firms that "go green" or employ the poor or pay living wages.

• A new book by Jim Stengel, former P&G global marketing leader, called Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies , describes 50 companies that are pursuing both an ideal and profit at the same time.


In this day and age which companies have a better chance at succeeding? [B]

• Being idealistic and being profitable is not a contradiction.

• And it requires taking the long view of strategic planning to help a company determine what its contribution will be beyond just making a product.

• A company should not only plan and replan, but embrace some ideal to guide and motivate their planning.


Peter Drucker used to say business has only 2 functions: Marketing and innovation which produce results. Everything else is a cost. How do you interpret this in the current scheme of things? [A]

• Peter Drucker's aim was to draw attention to two functions that generally received less attention from management . – Management at that time thought mainly about making and

selling. – Much of making was to produce minor variations in an existing

product.

• Peter knew this wasn't innovation; this was tweaking. – Nor did he think that a company that occasionally developed

something new could pass for having a true dedication to innovation.

– As for selling, companies either thought it was the same as marketing or that it was a minor function that existed to help selling.


Peter Drucker used to say business has only 2 functions: Marketing and innovation which produce results. Everything else is a cost. How do you interpret this in the current scheme of things? [B]

• So, Peter disabused them by calling marketing the main function and its aim is to make selling unnecessary!

• That marketing's aim is to develop offerings that are so timely and relevant so customers would flock to buy them, and therefore companies needed to do little or no selling.

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