Marketing Mistakes and Successes, 12th Edition

PREFACE

Welcome to the 12th edition of Marketing Mistakes and Successes. Who would have thought that interest in mistakes would be so enduring? Many of you are past users, a few even for decades. We hope you will find this new edition a worthy successor to earlier editions.

The new Toyota and Borders cases should arouse keen student interest. A fair number of the older cases faced significant changes in the last few years, for better or for worse, and these are captured to add to learning insights.

After so many years of investigating mistakes and successes, it might seem a challenge to keep these new editions fresh and interesting. The joy of the chase has made this an intriguing endeavor through the decades. Still, it is always difficult to abandon interesting cases that have stimulated student discussions and provoked useful insights, but newer case possibilities are ever contesting for inclusion. Examples of good and bad handling of problems and opportunities are forever emerging.

For new users, we hope the book will meet your full expectations and be an effective instructional tool. Although case books abound, you and your students may find this book somewhat unique and very readable, a book that can help transform dry and rather remote concepts into practical reality, and lead to lively class discussions, and even debates. In the gentle environment of the classroom, students can hone their analytical skills and also their persuasive skills—not selling products but selling ...