FOREWORD
This excellent book is a clear-eyed, down-to-earth chronicle of one of the most significant changes taking place in business today—the transformation of the marketing function.
The stereotype—and, to some degree, the reality—of marketing in the latter half of the twentieth century is made clear in one of my favorite Dilbert cartoons. Dilbert looks with longing at a party the marketers are having (clearly, as an engineer, he hasn't been invited). Over the entrance to the party is a banner: “Welcome to Marketing! Two drink minimum.” Marketers were creative, improvisational, subjective, artistic, and (sometimes overly) sociable. Their focus was on persuading people to adopt products and services through advertising and promotions. Company ...