Ernest F. Cooke

An Update on the Concept of the Marketing Mix

Marketing academics make extensive use of the marketing mix as educators and researchers. Since the marketing mix was first proposed around 1950 much has been done to develop the concept. The objective in writing this paper is to bring together in one place the basic current thinking concerning the concept of the marketing mix.

Product Positioning - What is it?

The term positioning as it applies to marketing is relatively new. Brown and Sims discuss the evolution of this term in marketing literature and they place positioning along with product differentiation and market segmentation. Product differentiation may be defined as taking a homogeneous marketing mix and through mass selling techniques, create in the mind of the buyer the idea that the mix is different. Market segmentation may be defined as creating a specific marketing mix for a certain segment of the market, based on that segment’s characteristics.

Positioning: Another Look

The Positioning concept introduced over ten years ago, is not clear or well defined. Professionals in marketing frequently refer to Positioning but rarely use it in a universally understood context. Academicians tend to apply the term hand-in-hand with classical Market Segmentation and Product Differentiation or occasionally use Positioning to describe spatial models and clustering techniques related to forecasting and new product development. Advertising agencies sell Positioning as an innovative technique to be used to psyche consumers into believing what the marketers wants the person to perceive about his product, particularly compared to other products. Recognized marketing authorities either interpret and relabel Positioning relative to their own theories, ignore or deny its existence as a new or innovative concept, or loosely apply it to a myraid of marketing related situations. Determining Positioning’s place as a strategy begins with a look at the evolution of the term and its relevance to well-established concepts.

The Sun Belt Myth

It is generally accepted that states in the sun belt are growing much faster than other states and that this in itself makes the sun belt a particularly significant market. The purpose of this paper is to examine 1980 census data in relation to earlier censuses to see just where the significant markets are located in 1980.

The Major (Largest? Best?) Consumer Markets - Where Are They?

How do you define a consumer market? How large should a single market be? Where are the largest markets today? Why is it important to know exactly which are the major markets? Why are various lists of major markets different? Why are various lists of major markets different? These questions are examined and answered in this paper.

What Is False, Deceptive or Misleading Advertising?

The answer to the question which is the title of this paper changes over time. Today’s answer is provided by reviewing FTC interpretations, industry self-regulating mechanisms and the definitions and interpretations of various scholars.

Job Analysis: The First Step in Selecting and Training Salespeople

Most sales management textbooks ignore or barely mention the subject of job analysis. In actual practice the decision as to what constitutes proper work standards for salespeople is frequently left to their immediate supervisors. The purpose of this paper is to discuss 1) the procedures for conducting a job analysis, 2) the proper uses of a job analysis and 3) the importance of the job analysis in effective sales management, particularly in selecting and training sales people.

A Micromarketing Model

Most of the pioneers in marketing thought were either trained as economists or trained by economists, so it is somewhat of a surprise to find that very little has been done to apply econometric techniques and microeconomics to the development of marketing theory.

Major Consumer Markets Based on 1980 Census Data

Criteria for defining the boundaries of consumer markets were established in an earlier paper. Since that time several changes have been made in SMSA’s, SCSA’s and NECMA’s and 1980 census data are available. In this paper new rankings of the major consumer markets are established based on the revisions and the new data. Growth rates for these major markets are examined and the size of 1985 major markets are estimated.