Comments
Anything that calls itself The Marketing Book needs to be the "everything you needed to know but were afraid to ask" of marketing. Luckily the fourth edition of this marketers' bible is just that. Divided into four parts and 30 chapters, each written by an expert in their particular field, it's a crash course in marketing theory and practice. From planning, strategy and research through to getting the marketing mix right, branding, promotions and even marketing for small to medium enterprises.
Part of the Chartered Institute of Marketing / Butterworth-Heinemann textbook series, it's primarily designed for marketing students, but is also invaluable for practitioners due to its modular approach. Each chapter is set out in a clean and concise way with plenty of diagrams and examples, so that you don't have to dig down deep to get the information you need. There are several new topics in this new edition reflecting the changes in marketing practice that have taken place over the last five years. Particularly interesting is the chapter on Marketing and the Internet, which is a great introduction to the different approaches needed for this new medium. Other new chapters deal with product development, marketing of services and social marketing on the special challenges of marketing lifestyle changes such as public awareness campaigns on racism and the AIDS adverts of the 80s. A well laid-out and informative text. --Kristen Bowditch
