Logo
One of the most important changes to American Marketing Association's new definition for marketing is that marketing is presented as a broader activity
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) January 14, 2008
The American Marketing Association today unveiled the new definition of marketing, which will be used as the official definition in books, by marketing professionals and taught in university lecture halls nationwide.
The new definition includes the role marketing plays within society at large, and defines marketing as a science, educational process and a philosophy -- not just a management system. It also expands the previous scope of the term to incorporate the concept that one can market something to "do good."
"One of the most important changes to American Marketing Association's new definition for marketing is that marketing is presented as a broader activity," says Nancy Costopulos, Chief Marketing Officer of the American Marketing Association. "Marketing is no longer a function -- it is an educational process."
The new definition reads:
"Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."
The previous definition stated:
"Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders."
The American Marketing Association revisits the definition for marketing every five years in a disciplined effort to reflect on the state of the marketing field. This process, as laid out in the Association's bylaws, is guided by a committee whose members represent a cross-section of the marketing industry. The committee formed in late 2006, under the leadership of Donald R. Lehmann, the George E. Warren Professor of Business at Columbia Business School in New York.
The committee used qualitative insight generated through an evaluation of the 1985 and 2004 definitions of marketing to craft a new definition that better serves the constituents of the American Marketing Association. As part of this process, Association members were asked to provide input on what they liked best about the previous definition, and what they would change. Members were later asked to offer feedback on a draft of the revised definition. At the end of the revision process, the American Marketing Association found that more than 70 percent of their membership viewed the new definition as an improvement.
"Marketing and its various elements change with the times," says Costopulos. "American Marketing Association recognizes that shifts in the marketing world warrant a change in the way we define our practice."
History of the Definition of Marketing
As early as 1935, the National Association of Marketing Teachers, a predecessor of the American Marketing Association, conceived the original definition for marketing. The American Marketing Association revisits the definition every five years. The next review of will take place in 2012. For a timeline of the definition for marketing, see the attached file.
About the Committee
Mike Lotti, the former chairman-elect of the Board of Directors of the American Marketing Association and chairman of the Governance Committee, appointed the following committee to revisit the 2004 definition of marketing.
Don Lehmann, Columbia University, Committee Chair Shelby Hunt, Texas Tech University, At-large Member Wayne McCullough, Daimler-Chrysler, At-large Member James Piltier, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Collegiate Chapters Council Ric Sweeney, University of Cincinnati, Professional Chapters Council Joan Treistman, M/A/R/C Research, Marketing Research Council William Wilkie, University of Notre Dame, At-large Member Becky Youngberg, American Marketing Association
George Zinkhan, University of Georgia, Academic Council
About the American Marketing Association
The American Marketing Association is the largest marketing association in North America. It is a professional association for individuals involved in the practice, teaching and study of marketing worldwide. It is also the source that marketers turn to every day to deepen their marketing expertise, elevate their careers, and, ultimately, achieve better results. American Marketing Association members are connected to a network of experienced marketers nearly 40,000 strong.
American Marketing Association offers highly acclaimed Training Series, professional conferences, and Hot Topic events focused on the immediate needs of marketers, as well as trends shaping the future. American Marketing Association's website, MarketingPower.com, is the everyday connection to marketing data, articles, case studies, best practices and a robust job bank. Additionally, the American Marketing Association is the source for the field's top magazines and journals, including Marketing News. Through local and collegiate chapters, American Marketing Association members are connected with the best people and the best practices.
American Marketing Association is also the creator of Mplanet, the unparalleled industry event that brings together the world's most creative thinkers, including senior marketing executives, top academicians and other thought leaders, to share fresh insights, new concepts, the latest research and solutions for the most pressing marketing challenges and opportunities. Mplanet 2009 will take place in Orlando, Florida, January 26-28, 2009.
For more information on the American Marketing Association or Mplanet 2009, please visit //www.MarketingPower.com.
# # #
When most people want to research the word “marketing,” they visit the “What Is Marketing?” page on the American Marketing Association website. It’s the definitive page for the whole industry.
Yet, as complete as that page is, we’d like to expand on it.
As the largest AMA chapter in North America, we meet a lot of people who are interested in our offerings and events, yet still don’t think of themselves as “marketers.” But they are!
The definition of “marketer”
The AMA defines “marketing” as:
The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
– American Marketing Association
So, we’d like to establish our definition of “marketer” as:
Anyone who contributes their skills, knowledge and/or efforts to the activity of creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings of value.
– AMA Chicago
In other words, you might just be a marketer if you:
- Conduct, deliver or make use of marketing research
- Play any role in any facet of digital marketing
- Design, implement or use marketing automation technology
- Generate, deliver or deploy marketing analytics or metrics
- Teach marketing in an academic setting
- Work (in any capacity) for a marketing agency
- Work for a recruitment agency that places people in marketing roles
- Work for a vendor that serves brands or marketing agencies
- Perform a marketing function for a non-profit organization
- Belong to a marketing association
In fact, current AMA Chicago members list 329 different job titles for themselves. You can call yourself a lot of different things and still be a marketer.
Questions about marketing and marketers
One definition, of course, can’t even begin to answer all the questions about marketing and marketers. That’s why we ask our members a new question on the topic every month.
This month’s question: What is the best part of marketing? Let us know!
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Read more. ACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
The American Marketing Association’s Definition of Marketing Explained
Probably the best definition of marketing to consider is the one that is published by the American Marketing Association. Although many textbooks will have their own variation of the definition of marketing, the American Marketing Association is really the peak body for marketing practitioners, and therefore reflects current perceptions and understanding. The American Marketing Association also reviews their definitions every few years, ensuring that the definition is kept up-to-date.
Their most current marketing definition is:
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. (Approved July 2013)
Link to AMA
At first glance, this definition may appear to be a little bit cumbersome, especially compared to some of the more pithy text book definitions of marketing. However, let’s dissect this definition to gain a better understanding of the broad concept of what marketing is all about.
The first group of words in the definition are “… the activity, set of institutions, and processes…”. These are interrelated words which essentially communicate similar points. Firstly, we should note that marketing is an activity, rather than an outcome. Essentially, it is the things that we do for an organization that are designed to achieve overall corporate goals.
The term “set of institutions” refers to various tools, practices, approaches and mechanisms that we would use in a marketing role. Therefore, as you can see, the words “activity” and “set of institutions” and “processes” are essentially similar – and highlight that marketing is all about doing certain tasks in order to achieve certain goals.
This leads into the concept of goals – and as highlighted in the definition above, typically our goals are “creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value”. This part of the definition highlights the key outcomes of marketing. It is quite similar to our 4P’s marketing mix model that we tend to know well.
For example, “creating value” essentially refers to creating and/or developing suitable products that provide benefits and solutions to the marketplace. The word “communicating” obviously refers to our promotional mix, and the word “delivering” refers to our channels or our place mix.
“Exchanging” refers to actually achieving some form of sale in the marketplace – where we typically exchange a product for a financial return, that is, a price.
The final part of the definition refers to “customers, clients, partners and society at large“. The definition says we want to provide value to these various stakeholders. Customers are a key part of most businesses and organizations and quite obviously belongs in this definition.
“Clients” is a broader term which suggests a non-profit focus. This is important because marketing activities extend beyond simply profit motivated firms. Many non-government organisations, not-for-profit firms and even government institutions, and locations and events and ideas, and so on – are marketed. Therefore the word “clients” reflects a broader perspective beyond just customers.
“Partners” refers to the array of supporting businesses and relationships that are critical in achieving commercial success. Partners would include suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, as well as consultants, legal advisers, strategic partners, and so on.
“Society at large” reflects the current trend towards firms providing overall value to the broader community, rather than being simply focused upon their own profitability. It is a reflection of the shift to the societal marketing concept.
Therefore, if we take all the above points into consideration – the American Marketing Association’s definition of marketing simply states – marketing is the tasks undertaken to deliver value in the marketplace.
It is presented in its formal definition in little more complex manner simply to ensure that a broader view of marketing is understood.