Over the past decade there has been a growing storm of criticism of marketing, and widespread disappointment in the marketing concept. In 1993 an article entitled "Marketing's Mid-Life Crisis", quoted one t ypical CEO as saying: "Marketing is like a millstone round my neck". A Coopers & Lybrand survey, entitled "Marketing at the Crossroads", quoted another executive as saying: "Marketing is increasingly living a lie in my organisation". Other articles predicted the death of the brand, and the rejection of mar- keting by Wall Street and the City. The work that marketing people do has variously been described as a profession, an art, a science, a sinister instrument of mass persuasion and a ludicrous waste of money.
The term "marketing" is widely used in a pejorative sense in the media, and marketing types are fre- quently portrayed as false, immoral scoundrels. Yet, despite this, marketing people still see themselves as professionals; giving consumers the products they want, and practising a marketing science which creates the very lifeblood of business. Says John Stubbs, CEO of CIM: "Marketing has made impressive strides over the last five years". Professionalism, effectiveness and, most of all, influence have grown. Government understands and supports marketing. This is hardly surprising, since most companies now have only two ways to go: grow profits by winning customers and markets, and increase productivity. Ironically productivity is almost invariably impacted by marketing.